 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
I argued that power, rather than wealth, should be the basic concept in social theory, and that social justice should consist in equalization of power to the greatest practicable degree. It followed that State ownership of land and capital was no advance unless the State was democratic, and even then only if methods were devised for curbing the power of officials.
Source: The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell, v.2 chap. 1:The First War, 1968
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Various disparities exist not only in capitalist countries that celebrate 'free competition', but also in communist and national socialist countries that have nationalised land. The most significant cause of this - regardless of regime - is the inequality of power. This was argued in Power - A New Social Analysis, published in 1938 in the run-up to the Second World War, but did not attract much public attention at the time. Today, the advanced nature of Russell's ideas might be better understood.
By the way, the 'even then only if' part may be difficult to understand.
I asked ChatGPT to explain it clearly.
[Explanation by ChatGPT].
The expression "even then only if methods were devised for curbing the power of officials" has the following meaning in context
"even then": even if that condition is met
"only if": only then.
In other words, it means: 'only if methods are devised for curbing the power of officials, even if the state is democratic'. Here 'only if' serves as an emphatic 'only if the conditions are met'.
When this expression is used, it usually indicates the intention that if the preconditions are not met, the situation or proposal being spoken of will not be possible. It is therefore important to take the whole context into account in order to translate the sentence in a way that is not unnatural.
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