“The freedom of the individual is the foundation of the state.”
What this quote means
Milan Hodža asserts that individual freedom is the foundation of the state, thus reversing the perspective that sees the state as the source of rights. According to him, the state exists to protect and guarantee the freedoms of individuals, not to restrict them. This liberal conception places the individual at the center, with the state as a means to preserve that freedom. It reminds us that any state legitimacy rests on respect for fundamental rights. This quote resonates in debates about the balance between security and freedom, inviting us to defend individual liberties against abuses of power.
How to apply it daily
Defend your rights and those of others: educate yourself about the laws that protect you, and support actions that ensure individual freedoms.
Continue
Related quotes
Same author or same theme — keep reading.
“Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”Create visual
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”Create visual
“The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win.”Create visual
“War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children.”Create visual
“The end may justify the means as long as there is something that justifies the end.”Create visual
“Insurrection is an art, and like all arts, it has its laws.”Create visual