On the record
That system is a very artificial one; you may make a fine argument for it, but you cannot make a loud argument, an argument which would reach and rule the multitude.
Said by
Walter Bagehot
Source
gutenberg.orgWalter Bagehot: “That system is a very artificial one; you may make a fine argument for it, but you cannot make a loud argument, an…”
Editor's note · Context
Bagehot critiques the hereditary system, arguing that it lacks a compelling justification for the masses.
Share
More from Walter Bagehot
At last it strikes you that they grew up, house by house, on the devious tracks of the old green lanes; and if you follow on to the existing fields, you may often find the change half complete.
Just so the lines of our Constitution were framed in old eras of sparse population, few wants, and simple habits; and we adhere in seeming to their shape, though civilisation has come with its dangers, complications, and enjoyments.
Political philosophy is still more imperfect; it has been framed from observations taken upon regular specimens of politics and States; as to these its teaching is most valuable.
The lessons are good where its primitive assumptions hold, but may be false where those assumptions fail.
Other voices in this conversation
