KIRK ON VIOLENCE “In every principal premise of his argument, Stephen declared,

KIRK ON VIOLENCE

“In every principal premise of his argument, Stephen declared, Mills suffered from an inadequate understanding of human nature and history. All the great moments of humankind said Stephen, have been achieved by force, not by free discussion; and if we leave forced out of our calculations, very soon we will be subject to the intolerant wills of men who have no scruples about employing force against us. It is consummate folly to tolerate every variety of opinion, on every topic, out of devotion to an abstract “liberty”; for opinion soon finds its expression in action, and the fanatics whom we tolerated will not tolerate us when they have power.” (Pages 23–24).