On the record
The government may decide that William Godwin is innocuous; but it will not hesitate to convict Tom Paine--in truth far less drastic--of high treason.
Said by
Harold J. Laski
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gutenberg.orgHarold J. Laski: “The government may decide that William Godwin is innocuous; but it will not hesitate to convict Tom Paine--in truth far…”
Editor's note · Context
This quote illustrates the selective nature of governmental repression based on perceived threats to authority.
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More from Harold J. Laski
Each age makes some idol in its own image and sacrifices upon its altar the freedom of those who refuse it worship.
We grant it in religion to deny it in politics; we grant it in politics, to deny it in economic matters.
We grant toleration in one part of the field only to deny it in another.
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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