I am truly free only when all human beings, men and women, are equally free. The freedom of other men, far from negating or limiting my freedom, is, on the contrary, its necessary premise and confirmation.
Mikhail BakuninRead
Where the state begins, individual liberty ceases, and vice versa.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the balance between state authority and individual freedom.
Mikhail Bakunin's quote suggests that there is an inherent tension between the power of the state and the freedoms of individuals. When a government expands its authority, it often encroaches upon personal liberties; conversely, when individual freedoms are maximized, the state's control may diminish. Bakunin emphasizes the need to find a balance between these forces to ensure both governance and personal autonomy.
Themes
LibertyStateIndividualFreedomAuthority
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about government overreach, this quote can illustrate the conflict between state power and personal freedoms.
More from Mikhail Bakunin
All quotes βWe must overthrow the material and moral conditions of our present-day life. . . . We must first purify our atmosphere and completely transform the milieu in which we live; for it corrupts our instinct and our will, and constricts our heart and our intelligence
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The liberty of man consists solely in this, that he obeys the laws of nature because he has himself recognized them as such, and not because they have been imposed upon him externally by any foreign will whatsoever, human or divine, collective or individual.
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By striving to do the impossible, man has always achieved what is possible. Those who have cautiously done no more than they believed possible have never taken a single step forward.
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By striving to do the impossible, man has always achieved what is possible.
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This contradiction lies here: they wish God, and they wish humanity. They persist in connecting two terms which, once separated, can come together again only to destroy each other.
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