“In the world as we find it, even the barest requirements of a life worth living cannot all be always met in full. Toppling a tyranny may trigger civil war. Protecting a broad range of liberal freedoms may result in the regime that guarantees them being short lived. At the same time, supporting a strong state as a bulwark against anarchy may worsen the abuse of power. Wise policy can temper these conflicts. It cannot hope to overcome them.”

—  John Gray

'Modus Vivendi' (p.28)
Gray's Anatomy: Selected Writings (2009)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "In the world as we find it, even the barest requirements of a life worth living cannot all be always met in full. Toppl…" by John Gray?
John Gray photo
John Gray 164
British philosopher 1948

Related quotes

Karl Jaspers photo

“We cannot avoid conflict, conflict with society, other individuals and with oneself. Conflicts may be the sources of defeat, lost life and a limitation of our potentiality but they may also lead to greater depth of living and the birth of more far-reaching unities, which flourish in the tensions that engender them.”

Karl Jaspers (1883–1969) German psychiatrist and philosopher

As quoted in Turning Conflict Into Profit : A Roadmap for Resolving Personal and Organizational Disputes (2005) by Larry Axelrod and Rowland Johnson

Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton photo
John Gray photo

“The result of toppling tyranny in divided countries is usually civil war and ethnic cleansing.”

John Gray (1948) British philosopher

"The death of this crackpot creed is nothing to mourn," http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2007/jul/31/comment.politics1 The Guardian (2007-07-31)

Morrison Waite photo
Newton Lee photo
Michael Moorcock photo

“Everything may exist for a short while—even justice. But the true state of the universe is anarchy. It is the mortal’s tragedy that he can never accept this.”

Source: Book 3, Chapter 6 “The God Feasters” (p. 139), Corum, The Knight of the Swords (1971)

Thomas Jefferson photo

“The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time; the hand of force may destroy, but cannot disjoin them.”

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) 3rd President of the United States of America

1770s, A Summary View of the Rights of British America (1774)
Variant: The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time; the hand of force may destroy, but cannot disjoin them.

Bernard Cornwell photo
Alfred Austin photo

“Is life worth living? Yes, so long
As there is wrong to right,
Wail of the weak against the strong,
Or tyranny to fight;”

Alfred Austin (1835–1913) British writer and poet

Is Life Worth Living? http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/1/9/3/1/19316/19316.htm (1896)

Roberto Mangabeira Unger photo

Related topics