“He who is content with little will always have enough.”Lao Zi · Cartea despre Dao și Virtute · -400 · capitolul 44
"Enough" is not a sum, but the ratio between what you have and what you ask: ask little, and you always reach it.
The line moves the problem of abundance from outside to inside. "Enough" is not a fixed amount but the ratio between what you have and what you demand; whoever demands little always reaches the threshold, whoever demands much never does. The mechanism is comparison: discontent grows from desire, not from real lack. Example: someone craving a new car feels deprived even with a working one; someone content with what they have feels no loss. Lao Zi does not praise poverty; he shows that wealth without contentment remains a form of poverty.
Why it matters An antidote to consumer culture and social comparison: it redefines "enough" in terms you actually control.