Death is the sound of distant thunder at a picnic.
W. H. AudenRead
The belief that politics can be scientific must inevitably produce tyrannies. Politics cannot be a science, because in politics theory and practice cannot be separated, and the sciences depend upon their separation. Empirical politics must be kept in bounds by democratic institutions, which leave it up to the subjects of the experiment to say whether it shall be tried, and to stop it if they dislike it, because, in politics, there is a distinction, unknown to science, between Truth and Justice.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Politics should not be treated as a science because it involves values that cannot be measured objectively.
W. H. Auden's quote highlights the inherent complexities and ethical dimensions of politics, arguing that unlike the sciences, which thrive on empirical separation of theory from practice, political matters involve human values and collective consent. He advocates for a democratic framework where people have the power to assess and challenge political experiments, implying that beliefs in the scientific nature of politics can lead to oppressive regimes because they neglect the moral and subjective aspects of governance.
Themes
PoliticsScienceDemocracyTruthJusticeTyranny
In practice
Example use cases
In a political science class discussing the limitations of empiricism in governance.
More from W. H. Auden
All quotes →That the speech of self-disclosure should be translatable seems to me very odd, but I am convinced that it is. The conclusion that I draw is that the only quality which all human being without exception possess is uniqueness: any characteristic, on the other hand, which one individual can be recognized as having in common with another, like red hair or the English language, implies the existence of other individual qualities which this classification excludes.
W. H. AudenRead
Nobody knows what the cause is, though some pretend they do; it like some hidden assassin waiting to strike at you. Childless women get it, and men when they retire; it as if there had to be some outlet for their foiled creative fire.
W. H. AudenRead
History is, strictly speaking, the study of questions; the study of answers belongs to anthropology and sociology.
W. H. AudenRead
Music is the best means we have of digesting time.
W. H. AudenRead
'Healing,' Papa would tell me, 'is not a science, but the intuitive art of wooing nature.'
W. H. AudenRead
Similar quotes
The essential point here is that all people with small, insecure incomes are in the same boat and ought to be fighting on the same side. Probably we could do with a little less talk about' capitalist' and 'proletarian' and a little more about the robbers and the robbed.
George OrwellRead
A functioning police state needs no police.
William S. BurroughsRead
But Father has also taught him: Treat a man as if he had a fine reputation to protect, and he will usually endeavor to deserve it.
Orson Scott CardRead
It's ridiculous that we continue to incarcerate anyone for using a substance that actually causes far less damage than alcohol. No one goes out looking for fights on marijuana. No one dies from marijuana intoxication. And no one should be jailed for possessing marijuana.
Susan SarandonRead
We need to have empathy. When we lose empathy, we lose our humanity.
Goldie HawnRead
Man has his future within him, dynamically alive at this present moment.
Abraham MaslowRead