Crime Quote by Walter Savage Landor
“Cruelty, if we consider it as a crime, is the greatest of all; if we consider it as a madness, we are equally justifiable in applying to it the readiest and the surest means of oppression.”
About This Quote
Cruelty can be justified as crime or madness, leading to oppressive actions.
In simple terms: Cruelty rationalized as law or insanity.
Key Takeaway
Beware rationalizations of oppression.
Themes
ethics
power
oppression
Mood
critical
serious
Type
philosophical
political
When to use this quote
- legal systems
- social movements
- authoritarian regimes
Key Concepts
moral philosophy
political theory
Questions to Reflect On
- What distinguishes lawful oppression from moral cruelty?
- How can societies prevent abuse of such rationalizations?
A Different Perspective
Justifications can be manipulated.
![“Some of the justifiable critiques has been by - been so successful in telling this story, you know, there's a danger of saying, oh, well, you know, we don't need to worry about this because that's absolutely not the case. What [Hans] Rosling is doing is showing us an overall global trend, which in…” quote by Keith Devlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/3dd/keith-devlin-19829_bad-thing_some-of-the-justifiable-critiques-has-be_763450.jpg)
