On the record
It is true that the supreme power in every constitution of government must be absolute, and this may be corrupted into the arbitrary.
Said by
Edmund Burke
Source
gutenberg.orgEdmund Burke: “It is true that the supreme power in every constitution of government must be absolute, and this may be corrupted into…”
Editor's note · Context
Burke asserts that supreme power must be absolute, but warns it can devolve into arbitrary power.
Share
More from Edmund Burke
Jan 1, 1790
If any of them should happen to propose a scheme of liberty soberly limited, and defined with proper qualifications, he will be immediately outbid by his competitors, who will produce something more splendidly popular.
Jan 1, 1790
Our people will find employment enough for a truly patriotic, free, and independent spirit, in guarding what they possess from violation.
Jan 1, 1790
But when the leaders choose to make themselves bidders at an auction of popularity, their talents, in the construction of the state, will be of no service.
Jan 1, 1790
They come from one who has been no tool of power, no flatterer of greatness, and who in his last acts does not wish to belie the tenor of his life.
Other voices in this conversation
