Wuwei and Eco-Subjugation: Interpreting Laozi’s Principle of Non-Interference for Environmental Liberation

It is no longer new to the global stage that the Anthropocene acknowledges the current profligacy of the capitalist ideology, which has resulted in the harm and abuse suffered by the global environment, which has led to many environmental crises. Having its root in capitalism exploitation and instrumentalism, the Anthropocene can be understood as a form of environmental enslavement, which we argue, requires liberation akin to that once demanded by formerly colonized peoples. To this end, and for ensuring environmental liberation from the grips of over exploitation as it prevails today, this paper examines the concept of Wuwei, a Daoist principle of non-interference, articulated by Laozi. It emphasizes inaction. This paper positions this principle as a foundational framework for ecological praxis and environmental liberation. Contrary to common misreadings that equate Wuwei with passivity or fatalism, this paper reinterprets it as a conscious mode of action that resists coercion, domination, and unsustainable anthropocentrism. In achieving the above, this paper, through the qualitative method of critical analysis, positions Laozi’s philosophy as an early form of ecological wisdom that prioritises attunement over control, restraint over mastery, and humility over intervention. It argues that the principle of Wuwei, as an indigenous knowledge, could help as a radical alternative to the exploitative paradigms that contribute to persistent modern environmental degradation. It posits that environmental liberation is not merely a matter of regulatory policy or scientific innovation, but of metaphysical reorientation, one that allows nature the ontological space to regenerate, flourish, and be. In advancing Wuwei as ecological praxis, the study contributes to a growing body of post-anthropocentric environmental thought and calls for a renewed ethic of dwelling in harmony with the Dao of the Earth.