On the record
They search for principles of universal right, without the perception that a right which is to be universal must necessarily be so general in character as to be useless in its application.
Said by
Harold J. Laski
Source
gutenberg.orgHarold J. Laski: “They search for principles of universal right, without the perception that a right which is to be universal must…”
Editor's note · Context
Laski critiques the pursuit of universal rights, arguing that overly general principles can be impractical.
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More from Harold J. Laski
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.
The intolerance may be Catholic, when it insists that a unity of outlook is essential for the preservation of society; or it may be Protestant when, as with Calvin and the Socinians, it holds that the blasphemous nature of the belief…
The essence of the persecuting position is always that the persecutor has hold of truth and that he would betray its service by allowing it to be questioned.
When attacks on liberty are political or economic, it is their motive rather than their nature that changes.
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