And, equally, we may learn that a narrow patriotism in history and politics has social results less admirable than a quick scepticism built from the sense that our country has not always been right, our institutional standards not invariably perfect.
Laski warns against narrow patriotism in history and politics, advocating for skepticism.
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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.
We grant it in religion to deny it in politics; we grant it in politics, to deny it in economic matters.
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…
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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