wu wei

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English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Chinese 無為无为 (wúwéi).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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wu wei (uncountable)

  1. A state of effortless inaction, in Taoism or Chinese statecraft.
    • 2013, Benjamin Noys, quoting Franco Berardi, Malign Velocities: Accelerationism and Capitalism, Zero Books, →ISBN:
      These alternatives seem tepid, or even reactionary – take Franco ‘Bifo’ Berardi’s invocation of a politics of exhaustion that would ‘become the beginning of a slow movement toward a “wu wei” civilization, based on withdrawal, and frugal expectations for life and consumption’.