Webdiary - Founded and Inspired by Margo Kingston

"When it comes to genuine power politics - totally shorn of all other considerations - there’s only one real place to turn. And, no...it’s not Machiavelli - or Hobbes - given that neither were willing to advocate the suppression of all other aspects of life in pursuit of power. Nietszche was also remiss in certain ways here, being - in the final analysis - far more interested in the development of potential than in power as a (pure) end in itself." John Henry Calvinist.

"The benefits of tolerating free speech outweigh the harm of abusing it. Indeed, the Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen has demonstrated that free speech even helps mitigate seemingly natural catastrophes like famines, because it reveals the ways in which a few haves exploit the many have-nots. As the watchdog organization Transparency International reminds us, corruption exposed is in many cases corruption prevented. These practical consequences are above and beyond the liberating effect of allowing the “marketplace of ideas,” rather than state authorities, to judge people’s expressed views." Ralf Dahrendorf.