一个管理严格的国家，它的人民一定狡猾。“小国寡民”才是理想的国家：国土小，人口少，不用交通工具，人民不用迁徙，不用学习文化知识，靠着纯真善良的本性，过简朴的生活。人民没有什么需求，国家就不用设立严厉的刑法，也就没有战争和冲突，用不着武器和军队。在自己国家就可以看到邻国，听到鸡鸣狗吠，但从生到死都不来往。
yī ge guǎnlǐ yángé de guójiā ，tā de rénmín yīdìng jiǎohuá 。“xiǎoguóguǎmín ”cái shì lǐxiǎng de guójiā ：guótǔ xiǎo ，rénkǒu shǎo ，bùyòng jiāotōng gōngjù ，rénmín bùyòng qiānxǐ ，bùyòng xuéxí wénhuà zhīshi ，kàozhe chúnzhēn shànliáng de běnxìng ，guò jiǎnpǔ de shēnghuó 。rénmín méiyǒu shénme xūqiú ，guójiā jiù bùyòng shèlì yánlì de xíngfǎ ，yě jiù méiyǒu zhànzhēng hé chōngtū ，yòngbuzháo wǔqì hé jūnduì 。zài zìjǐ guójiā jiù kěyǐ kàndào línguó ，tīngdào jī míng gǒu fèi ，dàn cóng shēng dào sǐ dōu bù láiwǎng 。
A country ruled with an iron fist will have devious citizens. "A small country with few citizens" is ideal with a small land area and small population. There is no need for conveyances and the people needn't migrate or move. There's no need for formal education. It relies on pure and honest human nature; life is plain and simple. The people need nothing, so the country has no need to establish a strict penal system. There will be no war or conflict, so there will be no need for weapons or soldiers. Neighboring countries can be seen and the sounds of their villages heard, but during their lives the people will have no interaction with them.