On the record
Power that is unaccountable makes instruments of men who should be ends in themselves.
Said by
Harold J. Laski
Source
gutenberg.orgHarold J. Laski: “Power that is unaccountable makes instruments of men who should be ends in themselves.”
Editor's note · Context
Laski asserts that unaccountable power reduces individuals to mere tools rather than recognizing their inherent worth.
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More from Harold J. Laski
It has been the historic character of persecution always to degrade the persecutor and to strengthen the persecuted by drawing attention to their claims.
Ultimately, that denial is always made upon the same ground: it is insisted that the doctrines or practices attacked are subversive of the civil order.
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.
When attacks on liberty are political or economic, it is their motive rather than their nature that changes.
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