On the record
An aristocracy, in a word, is the prisoner of its own power, and that the most completely when men begin to question its authority.
Said by
Harold J. Laski
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gutenberg.orgHarold J. Laski: “An aristocracy, in a word, is the prisoner of its own power, and that the most completely when men begin to question its…”
Editor's note · Context
This quote encapsulates Laski's view that aristocracy becomes trapped by its own power, especially when questioned.
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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.
The intolerance may be Catholic, when it insists that a unity of outlook is essential for the preservation of society; or it may be Protestant when, as with Calvin and the Socinians, it holds that the blasphemous nature of the belief…
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.
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