Might makes right: Difference between revisions
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'''Might makes right''' is the idea that whoever can use force to gain power (especially sovereign power) over other people has the right to use such force, because the ability to overcome his adversaries' resistance proves his superiority over them. [[Ludwig von Mises]] notes, "The opponents of democracy champion the right of a minority to seize control of the state by force and to rule over the majority. The moral justification of this procedure consists, it is thought, precisely in the power actually to seize the reins of government. One recognizes the best, those who alone are competent to govern and command, by virtue of their demonstrated ability to impose their rule on the majority against its will."<ref>{{cite book|title=Liberalism|author=Mises, Ludwig von|url= | '''Might makes right''' is the idea that whoever can use force to gain power (especially sovereign power) over other people has the right to use such force, because the ability to overcome his adversaries' resistance proves his superiority over them. [[Ludwig von Mises]] notes, "The opponents of democracy champion the right of a minority to seize control of the state by force and to rule over the majority. The moral justification of this procedure consists, it is thought, precisely in the power actually to seize the reins of government. One recognizes the best, those who alone are competent to govern and command, by virtue of their demonstrated ability to impose their rule on the majority against its will."<ref>{{cite book|title=Liberalism|author=Mises, Ludwig von|url=https://mises.freecapitalists.org/liberal/ch1sec9.asp|chapter=Critique of the Doctrine of Force}}</ref> {{stub}} | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
Latest revision as of 04:09, 16 August 2026
Might makes right is the idea that whoever can use force to gain power (especially sovereign power) over other people has the right to use such force, because the ability to overcome his adversaries' resistance proves his superiority over them. Ludwig von Mises notes, "The opponents of democracy champion the right of a minority to seize control of the state by force and to rule over the majority. The moral justification of this procedure consists, it is thought, precisely in the power actually to seize the reins of government. One recognizes the best, those who alone are competent to govern and command, by virtue of their demonstrated ability to impose their rule on the majority against its will."[1]
References
- ↑ Mises, Ludwig von. "Critique of the Doctrine of Force". Liberalism. https://mises.freecapitalists.org/liberal/ch1sec9.asp.