On the record
Responsible government in a democracy lives always in the shadow of coming defeat; and this makes it eager to satisfy those with whose destinies it is charged.
Said by
Harold J. Laski
Source
gutenberg.orgHarold J. Laski: “Responsible government in a democracy lives always in the shadow of coming defeat; and this makes it eager to satisfy…”
Editor's note · Context
Laski notes that democratic governments are often motivated by the fear of losing power, which drives them to respond to the needs of their constituents.
Share
More from Harold J. Laski
We grant toleration in one part of the field only to deny it in another.
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.
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 finds that the incidence of freedom is significant at some special point, and there, once more, the lesson of freedom has to be learned.
Other voices in this conversation
