Static Culture?

Static Culture?

Along with Tara's question about the Taoist concept of inactivity, I was wondering about the phrase:

"No action is undertaken, and yet nothing is left undone." (48)

This saying is mentioned several times throughout the Way of Lao Tzu, and I struggle with it. How can nothing be left undone if there is no action? How is there progress within society? Is progress viewed in a negative light?

The section continues with:

"An empire is often brought to order by having no activity. If one (likes to) undertake activity, he is not qualified to govern the empire." (48)

Isn't the purpose of the ruler to bring order to an empire through some kind of action?
Section 17 contains the same idea that the best way to rule is to let the people be, but does that seem realistic? From most of our reading in PLS it seems that the general thought is that people left to their own devices cause chaos, and some kind of leader is needed to keep a sense of order within society.

In general, I wonder if the Way of Lao Tzu is supposed to be some kind of prescription for people to live by? And if so, what would a Taoist follower look like?