 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
The fear of being blamed is a very powerful deterrent, but actual blame, when the blameworthy action has been performed, is, as a rule, painful without being morally helpful. The person blamed is likely to become sullen and defiant, to despair of the good opinion of the community, and to acquiesce in the position of an Ishmael. This result is especially probable when it is not an individual, but a large group, that is blamed. After the first world war the victors told the Germans that the guilt was wholly Germany's, and even forced them to sign a document by which they pretended to acknowledge their sole culpability.
Source: Bertrand Russell: Russell: Human Society in Ethics and Politics, (1954), chapter 7：sin
More info.:https://russell-j.com/cool/47T-0714.htm
* a brief comment: original text in Japanese, translated with DeepL.com (free version)r
Although it is not as strong as it used to be, the attitude of ``If we win, the government forces, if we lose, we fight as the rebels'' has not disappeared, and it continues to cause new flames.
In the name of ``justice,'' we have created or tolerated new ``evil'' because we believe that ``evil must not be tolerated.''
Should we say, "History repeats itself," or should we say, "History doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes" (Mark Twain)...?