Friedrich August von Hayek Quote

"All political theories assume, of course,
that most individuals are very ignorant.
Those who plead for liberty differ from the rest
in that they include among the ignorant
themselves as well as the wisest."

by:	Friedrich August von Hayek (1899-1992), Nobel Laureate of Economic Sciences 1974
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Categories:	Economics, Freedom, Knowledge, Liberty, Politics, Respect, Responsibility, Wisdom, Ignorance
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So, I presume all political theorists are neither ignorant or wise  -- RobertSRQ
I believe the point is that to plead for liberty you must plead the case for all, regardless of the fact that some seem to be too ignorant to put it to good use.  -- warren, olathe      1
I think warren touches on a positive note here. A body politic that is established to represent inalienable rights to/by/from/for/of individual sovereigns does not fit the "All political theories". In the republic of individual sovereigns, the focus is on individual inalienable rights, not the quote's referenced intelligence. Even a democracy that assumes a self justifying morality doesn't quite fit the quote.  -- Mike, Norwalk
Pleading the case for the common man's Liberty. In a child of understanding wisdom is found. Given time, they will put wisdom into words.  -- Ronw13, Yachats Or
The quote is equally applicable to 'religious theologies' as well as political theories. Admitting one may not 'know' allows for reality to 'be' -- treating theory as 'settled science' attempts to make fixed what is naturally a process of creation and discovery. If we go too far right, the pendulum will swing left, and vice versa. It will never be settled. Take your stand, serve your purpose, and let the cards fall where they may. ;-)  -- E Archer, NYC

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