On the record
They have, in the past, fought every step on every road to freedom because they have seen that the accumulation of small concessions will, in the end, be their defeat.
Said by
Harold J. Laski
Source
gutenberg.orgHarold J. Laski: “They have, in the past, fought every step on every road to freedom because they have seen that the accumulation of small…”
Editor's note · Context
Laski notes that those in power resist even small concessions that could lead to their eventual downfall.
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More from Harold J. Laski
Ultimately, that denial is always made upon the same ground: it is insisted that the doctrines or practices attacked are subversive of the civil order.
He is able, accordingly, to indulge in the twofold luxury not only of preserving his own authority, but also of assisting the persons attacked to enter, if they so choose, the way of truth.
To deny novelty or grievance a right of expression is a certain, if, indeed, an ultimate, validation of the truth they contain.
Each age makes some idol in its own image and sacrifices upon its altar the freedom of those who refuse it worship.
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