On the record
A nation-state like America or England is not merely a body of Englishmen or Americans, but something beyond them.
Said by
Harold J. Laski
Source
gutenberg.orgHarold J. Laski: “A nation-state like America or England is not merely a body of Englishmen or Americans, but something beyond them.”
Editor's note · Context
Laski emphasizes the idea that a nation-state encompasses more than just its citizens, reflecting on the collective identity.
Share
More from Harold J. Laski
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.
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.
It has been the historic character of persecution always to degrade the persecutor and to strengthen the persecuted by drawing attention to their claims.
To deny novelty or grievance a right of expression is a certain, if, indeed, an ultimate, validation of the truth they contain.
Other voices in this conversation
