Political Quotes

Edmund Burke: He augments the power of his enemy by the very means he must take to contend with him.

On the recordJanuary 1, 1790
He augments the power of his enemy by the very means he must take to contend with him.
Said by
Edmund Burke

Editor's note · Context

In his critique of the French Revolution, Burke observes a paradoxical situation where one's efforts to contend with an enemy inadvertently strengthen that enemy.

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