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
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that while human nature may be flawed, it is clear that government arises from conflict and force.
Herbert Spencer reflects on the nature of humanity and governance in this quote. He posits that regardless of whether one believes humans are inherently sinful, it is undeniable that governments are formed through acts of aggression. This highlights a critical perspective on the origins of authority and the often violent foundations upon which societal structures are built.
Themes
GovernmentAggressionHuman NaturePhilosophyAuthority
In practice
Example use cases
During a seminar on political philosophy, you might quote this to discuss the nature of government.
More from Herbert Spencer
All quotes βNo 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.
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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.
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This survival of the fittest implies multiplication of the fittest.
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I emphasize the reply that the liberty which a citizen enjoys is to be measured, not by the nature of the governmental machinery he lives under, whether representative or other, but by the relative paucity of the restraints it imposes on him.
Herbert SpencerRead
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