The moment a man claims a right to control the will of a fellow being by physical force, he is at heart a slaveholder.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that using physical force to control others reveals a fundamental loss of freedom in the oppressor.
Henry Clarke Wright's quote delves into the moral implications of power dynamics between individuals. It argues that when one person employs physical force to dominate another, they not only undermine the autonomy of that other individual but also reveal their own subjugation to the very nature of oppression and control. Thus, the act of slavery is not confined to those held captive; it also reflects a deeper spiritual and psychological bondage of the oppressor.
In practice
In a discussion about social justice, this quote can emphasize the importance of autonomy.
The West as a whole in the early 1990s become obsessed with a 'peace dividend' that would be spent over and over again on any number of soft-hearted and sometimes soft-headed causes. Politicians forget that the only real peace dividend is peace.
Now everything is wonderful and hazardous and nothing's hypothetical.
I will rejoice the day when they say: This is right whether we all rot on top of each other or not, dear children, as we certainly may. Either practice restraint or be prepared for crowding.
There has never been a humane communist regime. Marxism is inherently totalitarian. It recognizes no moral limits on the state. Itβs the most convenient ideology for aspiring tyrants; it also retains its appeal for intellectuals, who have proved equally skillful at rationalizing abuses of power and at exculpating themselves.
With truths of a certain kind, it is not enough to make them appear convincing: one must also make them felt. Of such kind are moral truths.
Science without conscience is the soul's perdition.
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