“ Every ideal prevented men from judging justly the particular case; every moral generalization oppressed the individual ”
G. K. Chesterton, Heretics (1905). copy citation
| Author | G. K. Chesterton |
|---|---|
| Source | Heretics |
| Topic | ideals moral |
| Date | 1905 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/470/470-h/470-h.htm |
Context
“Shaw's old and recognized philosophy was that powerfully presented in "The Quintessence of Ibsenism." It was, in brief, that conservative ideals were bad, not because they were conservative, but because they were ideals. Every ideal prevented men from judging justly the particular case; every moral generalization oppressed the individual; the golden rule was there was no golden rule. And the objection to this is simply that it pretends to free men, but really restrains them from doing the only thing that men want to do. What is the good of telling a community that it has every liberty except the liberty to make laws?”
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