“It is my firm conviction that if the State suppressed capitalism by violence, it will be caught in the coils of violence itself, and fail to develop non-violence at any time. The state represents violence in a concentrated and organized form. The Individual has a soul, but as the state is a soulless machine, it can never be weaned from violence to which it owes its very existence.”
Share this quote
About this quote
Means don't wash off the ends they produce. Reach for organized force to fix an injustice and you build the habit of force into whatever replaces it, because the tool you use to seize power is the tool you'll keep using to hold it. A machine that runs on coercion can't be argued into gentleness later.
When to use it
- A parent who enforces rules only by threat raises kids who obey through fear, not understanding.
- A team led by intimidation stays productive until the boss leaves, then quietly falls apart.
- A movement that wins by silencing critics finds it can't tolerate any dissent once it's in charge.