Through systematic terror, through indoctrination, through systematic manipulation of stimulus, reward, and punishment, we can today break man and convert him into brute animal. ...The first step toward survival is therefore to make government legitimate again by attempting to deprive it of these powers... by international action to ban such powers. -- Landmarks of Tomorrow: A Report on the New 'Post-Modern' World (1959)
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Government overreach through terror and manipulation dehumanizes people, so legitimacy requires limiting such powers internationally.
- In plain terms
- Governments can crush human spirit with fear and control, so we must stop them from having such power.
- What can you take from it?
- Limit government powers that manipulate or terrorize citizens to preserve human dignity.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How much power should a government have?
- What protects citizens from state abuse?
Another view
Restricting government power too much may weaken its ability to protect citizens from other threats.
More from Peter F. Drucker
Communism is evil. Its driving forces are the deadly sins of envy and hatred. -- Landmarks of Tomorrow: A Report on the New 'Post-Modern' World (1959)
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