 Shen Dao presents his political credo with rare clarity. A ruler is crucial for the proper functioning of the political system; he is the real foundation of political order, not a beneficiary but rather a servant of humankind. Significantly, the ruler attains these blessed results by the sheer fact of his existence and not due to his morality or intelligence. As Shen Dao clearly states, bad laws are better than a lawless situation, and we may infer that a bad ruler is better than anarchy. What matters—as Shen Dao explains elsewhere—are not the ruler’s individual qualities but his ability to preserve his “positional power” (or “power of authority,” shi 勢). As long as the ruler preserves his power intact, i.e., by refraining from delegating it to ministers and preserving the singularity of decision-making in his own hands, the political system will act well. Otherwise, turmoil is inevitable. Shen Dao warns: