“ No one believes that every people is capable of working every sort of institution. ”
John Stuart Mill, Considerations on Representative Government (1861). copy citation
| Author | John Stuart Mill |
|---|---|
| Source | Considerations on Representative Government |
| Topic | institutions work |
| Date | 1861 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/5669/5669-h/5669-h.htm |
Context
“It is difficult to decide which of these doctrines would be the most absurd, if we could suppose either of them held as an exclusive theory. But the principles which men profess, on any controverted subject, are usually a very incomplete exponent of the opinions they really hold. No one believes that every people is capable of working every sort of institution. Carry the analogy of mechanical contrivances as far as we will, a man does not choose even an instrument of timber and iron on the sole ground that it is in itself the best. He considers whether he possesses the other requisites which must be combined with it to render its employment advantageous, and, in particular whether those by whom it will have to be worked possess the knowledge and skill necessary for its management.”
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