What are the advantages or disadvantages of Laozi's idea of "small country with few people" in Tao Te Ching?

Laozi's thought of small country and few people is controversial. There are many versions of Laozi, so there are different views among the commentators. In the past, history textbooks said that Laozi's thoughts were negative and retrogressive. Today, some scholars object to this statement, thinking that it is a step of Laozi's road reform thought (Lao Tzu's General Solution by Luo Shangxian). The main question is whether the phrase "make people die again, (don't) migrate far away" and the other phrase "make people reuse" in this passage refer to the situation of "tying a rope" If that's the case, that's what I meant when I accused Lao Tzu of "not even saying a word".

Anyway, as a philosopher, Lao Tzu raised a question that people paid attention to after 2000, that is, the population problem. A small country with a small population is a country with a small population, and a "small country" is a country with a small population, which means the same as "few people". In a country with a small population, people are not used as slaves or armed to fight, but live and work in peace and contentment. Judging from the current situation of countries in the world, many small countries or regions have relatively developed economies. As far as Asia is concerned, Singapore, Brunei and other countries have small areas and developed economies. The small population and abundant per capita resources provide very favorable conditions for economic development. With a small population, it is more convenient to manage, government decrees can be reached, the implementation of reform measures is easy to produce results, and opinions are easier to concentrate. "There is no Shang Xian, which makes people indisputable; Expensive and exotic goods, so that people do not steal. " To improve people's quality, it is not necessary to tout the so-called talents as typical idols, so that people can compete and seek fame and reputation; The society is rich in products and the people are self-reliant, so thieves will not run amok.

In this passage, Lao Tzu also raised the issue of immigration. Since Columbus discovered the New World, many new countries have emerged after hundreds of years of immigration. At present, there is only one Antarctic in the world that is uninhabited (except for the investigation team). Haven't western countries always wanted to find a planet suitable for human habitation outside the earth? In the era when Laozi lived, there were still a lot of undeveloped land, and people might migrate to far away places, reach places that the original rulers could not reach and rebuild the country. If you are near the territory of the old rulers, you will be attacked by them. Only by emigrating to distant places can we get rid of the clutches of the old rulers and establish a new social order. In the new country, people begin to get married again and gradually form a new culture. Here, Lao Tzu said "tie a rope, use a rope", because at that time, culture was mastered by a few people, and slaves and civilians were generally illiterate, so once they went to live in the new world, they had to start all over again. Considering that China is still literate, it is not difficult to understand that there were so few people who could read at that time. Just imagine, in Lao Tzu's time, some people migrated to distant places, and there must be new languages and characters so far.

Countries in Australia and the United States immigrated to become new countries. In the new land, there is new air, people have new mood, society has new system and new culture, people can choose a new way of life without being bound by the old system, and finally they will be transformed into a new civilization. As far as architecture is concerned, it is better to build a beautiful one after the repair, because since it is a repair, the original frame should be maintained, so it still looks the same. Because of its long history, a big city is usually rebuilt. When another city is rebuilt, the former city is old. Emerging small and medium-sized cities are generally overall planning, with wide streets, neat buildings and beautiful environment. Nowadays, in many rural areas, old villages have become ruins, but in the fields outside the village, new villages are taking shape.

As for how to realize a small country with a small land and a large population, I only consider controlling the population through immigration. At that time, the population of the earth was not saturated, and human beings did not have birth control technology. At that time, the population was regarded as wealth by the rulers. Immigrants from China migrate from the Central Plains to the surrounding areas, especially to the south, because the climate in the south is warm; The farther north, the colder the climate, the worse the natural conditions, and there are strong ethnic minorities. After the South became saturated, some people immigrated to Southeast Asia, which became the most concentrated place for overseas Chinese. Southeast Asia has good natural conditions, but the place is too small to have a country. Europeans found three continents, North and South America and Australia, with the compass invented by China, and the geographical position was extremely superior.

There are many people, and others don't take you seriously and live helplessly, thus forming the tradition of "light death". Do not cherish people, do not cherish life, and fight to the death for food. When I say get ahead, I really want to crowd out. Heroes throughout the ages are trying to get rid of the crowd and control it, but more often they are submerged in the sea of people. There are many people, but not many people can do things. There's not much to do. People who can't do things, redundant people, must do things that count people. Governing the people and herders has become the most important task of previous regimes. If the land is vast and sparsely populated, it takes a long way to see a person and feel that they are all human, just like footsteps in an empty valley.

I admire Lao Tzu's idea of a small country with few people, cherishing life and wanting people to "die again". How close is this view to the theory of controlling population growth and improving population quality?