On the record
The logic, indeed, of habitual government suppression seems to be that abnormal opinion is always dangerous because, if it is acted upon, the supremacy of the law will be endangered.
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Harold J. Laski
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gutenberg.orgHarold J. Laski: “The logic, indeed, of habitual government suppression seems to be that abnormal opinion is always dangerous because, if…”
Editor's note · Context
Laski critiques the assumption that dissenting opinions are inherently dangerous to the law.
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More from Harold J. Laski
To deny novelty or grievance a right of expression is a certain, if, indeed, an ultimate, validation of the truth they contain.
We grant it in religion to deny it in politics; we grant it in politics, to deny it in economic matters.
The only way to deal with novelty is to understand it, and the only way to deal with grievance is to seek a remedy for the complaint it embodies.
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.
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