In the less advanced states of society, people hardly recognise any relation with their equals. To be an equal is to be an enemy.
 John Stuart Mill, The Subjection of Women (1869). copy citation

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Author John Stuart Mill
Source The Subjection of Women
Topic society state
Date 1869
Language English
Reference
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Weblink http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27083/27083-h/27083-h.htm

Context

“Though the truth may not be felt or generally acknowledged for generations to come, the only school of genuine moral sentiment is society between equals. The moral education of mankind has hitherto emanated chiefly from the law of force, and is adapted almost solely to the relations which force creates. In the less advanced states of society, people hardly recognise any relation with their equals. To be an equal is to be an enemy. Society, from its highest place to its lowest, is one long chain, or rather ladder, where every individual is either above or below his nearest neighbour, and wherever he does not command he must obey.” source