There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance-that principle is contempt prior to investigation.
Herbert SpencerRead
Old forms of government finally grow so oppressive that they must be thrown off even at the risk of reigns of terror.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that oppressive governments inevitably lead to revolution, despite the potential for chaos.
Herbert Spencer emphasizes the idea that when governments become excessively oppressive, people may feel compelled to overthrow them, fully aware that this might lead to extreme consequences, such as violence and turmoil. The quote highlights the tension between the desire for freedom and the risks associated with challenging authority, suggesting that the fight for justice can sometimes lead to unintended chaos.
Themes
GovernmentOppressionRevolutionFreedomChaos
In practice
Example use cases
Referring to this quote during a speech on civil liberties can underscore the importance of fighting against oppressive regimes.
More from Herbert Spencer
All quotes →No one can be perfectly free till all are free; no one can be perfectly moral till all are moral; no one can be perfectly happy till all are happy.
Herbert SpencerRead
That feelings of love and hate make rational judgments impossible in public affairs, as in private affairs, we can clearly enough see in others, though not so clearly in ourselves.
Herbert SpencerRead
Be it or be it not true that Man is shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin, it is unquestionably true that Government is begotten of aggression, and by aggression.
Herbert SpencerRead
Organs, faculties, powers, capacities, or whatever else we call them; grow by use and diminish from disuse, it is inferred that they will continue to do so. And if this inference is unquestionable, then is the one above deduced from it-that humanity must in the end become completely adapted to its conditions-unquestionable also. Progress, therefore, is not an accident, but a necessity.
Herbert SpencerRead
This survival of the fittest implies multiplication of the fittest.
Herbert SpencerRead
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