 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
Holders of power, always and everywhere, are indifferent to the good or evil of those who have no power, except in so far as they are restrained by fear. This may sound too harsh a saying. It may be said that decent people will not inflict torture on others beyond a point. This may be said, but history shows that it is not true. The decent people in question succeed in not knowing, or pretending not to know, what torments are inflicted to make them happy.
Source: Bertrand Russell: What is Democracy? 1953: Evils of Power
More info.: https://russell-j.com/1020_What-is-Democracy.htm
* a brief comment (Translated with DeepL.com)
When I discussed the translation ‘indifference to good and evil’ with Google gemini, I received the following response. ‘Russell states that those in power are indifferent to the “good and evil” of those who are not in power, and a mere interpretation of “good or bad” or “good luck or bad luck” weakens the context. The interpretation of ‘good and evil’ involves an ethical dimension and allows Russell's critical perspective on power to be expressed more clearly. Those in power often tend to judge and try to exploit the ‘good and evil’ of those not in power for their own convenience.