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David Hume argued that Individual Liberty emerged slowly out of the “violent system of government” which had earlier prevailed in Europe (1778)
- There is no such thing as freedom of choice unless there is freedom to refuse. David Hume. Choices, Freedom Of Choice, Refuse.
- A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence. David Hume. Wise, Wisdom, Knowledge.
- When men are most sure and arrogant they are commonly most mistaken. David Hume. Men, Stupidity, Arrogance.
- All knowledge degenerates into probability. David Hume. Knowledge, Science, Degenerates.
If Edmund Burke pondered over one of the key questions of political theory, “who guards us from the guardians?”, David Hume was pondering an equally difficult problem: “why is it so easy for the few in power to govern the many?”
By opinion of interest, I chiefly understand the sense of the general advantage which is reaped from government; together with the persuasion, that the particular government, which is established, is equally advantageous with any other that could easily be settled.
Apr 26, 2018 · “[Free] government…must act by general and equal laws that are previously known to all…In this sense…liberty is the perfection of civil society.” Hume observed that “In all governments there is an intestine struggle… between authority and liberty.”
A great sacrifice of liberty must necessarily be made in every government; yet even the authority, which confines liberty, can never, and perhaps ought never, in any constitution, to become quite entire and uncontroulable.
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Hume sees all governments as the result of a struggle between authority and liberty, with the best of them achieving a balance between the two by implementing systems of “general laws.” Hume’s cautious approach to social change may fairly be called conservative.
