It is indeed probable that more harm and misery have been caused by men determined to use coercion to stamp out a moral evil than by men intent on doing evil.
Attribution disputed; shown as originally published.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Attempting to force moral goodness through coercion causes more suffering than the evil it aims to stop.
- In plain terms
- Using force to make people good creates more problems than the bad behavior it tries to fix.
- What can you take from it?
- Coercive moralism creates more harm than the evil it targets.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When does stopping evil justify causing harm?
- Is coercion ever a valid moral tool?
Another view
The claim is difficult to prove empirically without defining harm and misery.
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