On the record
It may leave a stratum to whom its riches have been discovered; but it leaves the mass of men soulless automata without spontaneous response to the chords struck by another hand.
Said by
Harold J. Laski
Source
gutenberg.orgHarold J. Laski: “It may leave a stratum to whom its riches have been discovered; but it leaves the mass of men soulless automata without…”
Editor's note · Context
Laski critiques the consequences of habit, suggesting it can render individuals unresponsive and lacking spontaneity.
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More from Harold J. Laski
Each age makes some idol in its own image and sacrifices upon its altar the freedom of those who refuse it worship.
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.
When attacks on liberty are political or economic, it is their motive rather than their nature that changes.
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