Editing Taoism (section)

===Political aspects===
Taoism never had a unified political theory. While [[Huang–Lao]] positions justified a strong emperor as the legitimate ruler,{{sfnp|Hansen|2000|pp=224–226, 370–374}} the Taoist "primitivists" (of chapters 8–11 of the ''Zhuangzi'') argued for a kind of [[anarchism]]. A more moderate position is presented in the Inner Chapters of the [[Zhuangzi (book)|''Zhuangzi'']] in which the political life is presented with disdain and some kind of pluralism or perspectivism is preferred.{{sfnp|Graham|1989|pp=172, 306–311}}

The syncretist position found in texts like the ''[[Huainanzi]]'' and some of the Outer Chapters of the ''Zhuangzi'' blend Taoist positions with Confucian views.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Roth|first=Harold D.|title=Dao Companion to Daoist Philosophy |chapter=Huainanzi: The Pinnacle of Classical Daoist Syncretism |date=2014-09-27|pages=341–365|publisher=Springer Netherlands|doi=10.1007/978-90-481-2927-0_15|isbn=978-90-481-2926-3|series=Dao Companions to Chinese Philosophy |volume=6 }}</ref>