The Small Utopia

 

(Let there be) a small country with a small population,

Where the supply of goods are tenfold or hundredfold, more than they can use,

Let the people value their lives and not migrate far.

    Though there be boats and carriages,

        None be there to ride them.

    Though there be armour and weapons,

        No occasion to display them.

Let the people again tie ropes for reckoning,

        Let them enjoy their food,

        Beautify their clothing,

        Be satisfied with their homes,

        Delight in their customs,

The neighbouring settlement overlook one another

So that they can hear the barking of dogs and crowing of cocks of their neighbours,

And the people till the end of their days shall never have been outside their country.

-A Book Of Tao by Lao Tzu