Everybody accustomed to urban life accepts as a matter of course various limitations on liberty which are not necessary in a sparsely populated countryside. The moment a crowd congregates anywhere in a town, the police say, “Pass along, please”, and nobody is indignant. The anarchic liberty enjoyed hitherto by nations is just as impossible in the modem world as would be anarchic liberty for either pedestrians or motorists in the streets of London or New York.
Source： Bertrand Russell: Human Society in Ethics and Politics, 1954, part II: The Conflict of Passions, chapter 9: Steps topwards a stable peace, n6
More info.：https://russell-j.com/cool/47T-2_0906.htm
* a brief comment:
Do people with a strong lust for power find more pleasure in being feared than in being liked? Most people are afraid of being ostracized and therefore refrain from acting outrageously, but does that concern vanish once someone attains overwhelming power? Those who believe that power and money can buy almost anything are likely to spend their lives in pursuit of both.
It’s said that Trump inherited the equivalent of around five billion yen from his father when he was young, and that much of it was acquired through tax evasion. A film titled The Apprentice, which depicts how a rather timid young man grew into a monster under the guidance of a certain lawyer, has also been released in Japan. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen it yet, but I assume it will eventually become available for free on Amazon Prime Video, and I plan to watch it then.>
As President?the most powerful man on Earth?Trump seems to have ignored the metaphorical call of the policeman saying, “Move along, please,” and instead stood his ground, enjoying the kind of anarchic liberty that the modern world no longer permits.
* Amazon Gift Card
