On the record
It can never be too greatly emphasized that in each age the substance of liberty will be found in what the dominating forces of that age most greatly want.
Said by
Harold J. Laski
Source
gutenberg.orgHarold J. Laski: “It can never be too greatly emphasized that in each age the substance of liberty will be found in what the dominating…”
Editor's note · Context
This quote highlights the idea that the essence of liberty is shaped by the prevailing desires of each historical era.
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More from Harold J. Laski
When attacks on liberty are political or economic, it is their motive rather than their nature that changes.
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.
Each age makes some idol in its own image and sacrifices upon its altar the freedom of those who refuse it worship.
To deny novelty or grievance a right of expression is a certain, if, indeed, an ultimate, validation of the truth they contain.
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