Self-Reliance, Taoism and the Warring States

Because the best protection isn't a 30-room bunker; it's having 30 people who care about you.

This week's focus is on self-reliance, a more complex topic than it may seem. Today's essay was first posted here on Of Two Minds on June 27, 2008, and it has elicited quite a bit of commentary over the years. I've edited it slightly for today's post.

I'm not trying to be difficult, but I can't help cutting against the grain on topics like surviving the …