In the opinion of Wolfgang Schwabe, a student from Germany, every society and culture has a moral beacon that plays a role corresponding to that of Confucianism in Chinese society. There is already enough pressure in life as it is, explains Schwabe, and Laozi is popular because it does not address the subject of morality directly.
在德國學生施維禮看來，相對於儒家在中國社會，每個社會、文化都有自己的道德規範，人世的客觀壓力夠多了，老子書不正面說道德，因此比較受歡迎。