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About this quote

What does it mean?
Force controls briefly but cannot govern long-term without constant oppression.
In plain terms
Force works only for a moment.
What can you take from it?
Force alone cannot govern.

Where it applies

  • protest
  • dictatorship

Putting it to work

  • build consent
  • use diplomacy

Questions to consider

  • Can force create order?
  • What sustains rule?

Another view

Sometimes force stops immediate violence.

More from Edmund Burke

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