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Only powerful people have liberty.
Sun Yat-Sen
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Liberty is often restricted to those in positions of power, highlighting the disparity in freedom among individuals.

This quote by Sun Yat-Sen suggests that true liberty is a privilege reserved for those who hold power in society. It speaks to the inherent inequalities that exist within social structures, where those without power may find their freedom curtailed by the systems in place. The phrase prompts reflection on how authority and governance can influence the availability of personal freedoms.

Themes

LibertyPowerFreedomInequalitySociety

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion on social justice, one might say, 'As Sun Yat-Sen noted, only powerful people have liberty, which emphasizes the need for equitable systems.'

More from Sun Yat-Sen

At Kobe, whither I fled from Hong Kong, I took a step of great importance. I cut off my cue, which had been growing all my life.
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After the Manchu government had carried on wars with foreign nations and had been defeated, China was forced to sign many unequal treaties. Foreign nations are still using these treaties to bind China, and as a result, China fails at whatever she attempts.
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What problem does Pan-Asianism attempt to solve? The problem is how to terminate the sufferings of the Asiatic peoples and how to resist the aggression of the powerful European countries. In a word, Pan-Asianism represents the cause of the oppressed Asiatic peoples.
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How can human rights be ever developed for the majority of Chinese people? The only way is to organize. To organize workers, peasants, merchants, industrialists, and students at the grassroots level.
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At thirteen, I accompanied my mother to the Hawaiian Islands. There, for the first time, I saw the wonder of a steamship and the vastness of the ocean. From that time on, I was eager to acquire the knowledge of the West and to fathom the mysteries of nature.
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Because of poverty, we must adopt the capitalist means of production to develop our resources to get rich. However, if we ignore the issue of social justice at the beginning of China's industrialization, we will sow the seeds of class warfare in the future.
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