On the record
Government, he says, in substance, is a trustee and trustees abuse their power; let us therefore divide it as to parts and persons that the temptation to usurp may be diminished.
Said by
Harold J. Laski
Source
gutenberg.orgHarold J. Laski: “Government, he says, in substance, is a trustee and trustees abuse their power; let us therefore divide it as to parts…”
Editor's note · Context
Laski summarizes Locke's view of government as a trustee, advocating for the division of power to prevent abuse.
Share
More from Harold J. Laski
The theorist of the Revolution is Locke; and it was his conscious effort to justify the innovations of 1688.
There are realms of conduct within which, to be free, I must be permitted to act as I please; to be denied self-expression there, is to be denied freedom.
I can see no justice in such a denial of freedom.
The contract is thus not general as with Hobbes but limited and specific in character.
Other voices in this conversation
