“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.”

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

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John Gray164

British philosopher 1948

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He may live without love,—what is passion but pining?
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Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton (1831–1891) English statesman and poet

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John Gray (1948) British philosopher

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

“There are rules, orders, regulations, Sharpe, by which our lives are conducted. If we ignore those rules, burdensome though they may be, then we open the gates to anarchy and tyranny; the very things against which we fight!”

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Roberto Mangabeira Unger book The Self Awakened: Pragmatism Unbound

Source: The Self Awakened: Pragmatism Unbound (2007), p. 143-4

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John Gray164

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