On the record
Tyranny flows easily from the accumulation of petty restrictions.
Said by
Harold J. Laski
Source
gutenberg.orgEditor's note · Context
Laski warns that tyranny can easily arise from the accumulation of minor restrictions.
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More from Harold J. Laski
The theorist of the Revolution is Locke; and it was his conscious effort to justify the innovations of 1688.
Liberty means self-government, and self-government means the right of every man to be his own legislator.
In a time of crisis, particularly, when the things we hold most dear are threatened, we shall find the desire to throw overboard the habits of tolerance, almost irresistible.
But we cannot understand the eighteenth century, or its theories, unless we realize that its temper was still dominantly aristocratic.
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