When there are too many policemen, there can be no liberty. When there are too many soldiers, there can be no peace. When there are too many lawyers, there can be no justice.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Excessive control or oversight in any sector undermines freedom, peace, and justice.
- In plain terms
- Too much authority in any area kills what it tries to protect.
- What can you take from it?
- Limit power to preserve liberty, peace, and justice.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Where is balance lost in your community?
- How much authority is too much?
Another view
Some situations require strong enforcement to maintain order.
More from Lin Yutang
What is patriotism but the love of the food one ate as a child?
Permalink to quote #18 Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother.
Permalink to quote #20 If you spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned how to live.
Permalink to quote #17
Related quotes
Equality of possessions is no doubt right, but, as men could not make might obey right, they have made right obey might. (299)
Blaise PascalBlaise Pascal quote #16 The function of the law is not to provide justice or to preserve freedom. The function of the law is to keep those who hold power, in power.
Gerry SpenceGerry Spence quote #31 We can either have a free Parliament or a free people. Personal freedom requires that all authority is restrained by long-run principles which the opinion of t…
Friedrich HayekFriedrich Hayek quote #45