When will Labour learn that you cannot build Jerusalem in Brussels.
Margaret ThatcherRead
I hate extremes of any kind. Communism [seeks] the domination of the state over the individual... All my life I have stood against banning Communism or other extremist organisations because, if you do that, they go underground and it gives them an excitement that they don't get if they are allowed to pursue their policies openly. We'll beat them into the ground on argument...
Interpretation
What this quote means
Margaret Thatcher expresses her opposition to extremist ideologies, advocating for open debate rather than suppression.
In this quote, Margaret Thatcher highlights her belief that seeking to ban extremist ideologies, such as Communism, ultimately empowers them by pushing their activities underground. She argues for confronting such ideologies through open discussion and robust debate, believing that ideas should be met with arguments rather than censorship, which can inadvertently enhance their allure and influence.
Themes
ExtremismCommunismDebateFreedomCensorship
In practice
Example use cases
During a political debate, one might refer to this quote to argue against censorship of extreme viewpoints.
More from Margaret Thatcher
All quotes →Never in the history of human credit has so much been owed.
Margaret ThatcherRead
The battle for women's rights has been largely won.
Margaret ThatcherRead
Ought we not to ask the media to agree among themselves a voluntary code of conduct, under which they would not say or show anything which could assist the terrorists' morale or their cause while the hijack lasted.
Margaret ThatcherRead
Israel must never be expected to jeopardize her security: if she was ever foolish enough to do so, and then suffered for it, the backlash against both honest brokers and Palestinians would be immense - 'land for peace' must also bring peace.
Margaret ThatcherRead
If it's me against 48, I feel sorry for the 48.
Margaret ThatcherRead
Similar quotes
Real hunger is when one man regards another man as something to eat.
Tadeusz BorowskiRead
As long as we think abstractly, as long as we find in patriotism and the exuberance of War our fulfillment, we will never understand those who do battle against us, or how we are perceived by them, or finally those who do battle for us and how we should respond to it all. We will never discover who we are. We will fail to confront the capacity we all have for violence.
Chris HedgesRead
I am inside someone who hates me. I look out from his eyes.
Amiri BarakaRead
The subjects I wanted to write about - the mystery of the human soul, evil - didn't interest newspapers, and news reporting bored me.
Svetlana AlexievichRead
The mystery of human destiny is that we are fated, but that we have the freedom to fulfill or not fulfill our fate: realization of our fated destiny depends on us. While inhuman beings like the cockroach realize the entire cycle without going astray because they make no choices.
Clarice LispectorRead
I wouldn't say I'm against same-sex marriage. I believe in freedom and equality for all people. I believe that when it comes to gay marriage, that's a political and legal issue that has to be dealt with in that arena. I have privately held beliefs, but when it comes to that, it's properly placed in the political and legal arena.
Bernice KingRead