Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Lewis on Equality

Many props to Roy for directing my attention to Present Concerns by C.S. Lewis. While I'm reading through it right now, I might have a few more posts regarding the essays in the book.

First, here are Lewis's thoughts on equality:
“Mankind is so fallen that no man can be trusted with unchecked power over his fellows. Aristotle said that some people were only fit to be slaves. I do not contradict him. But I reject slavery because I see no men fit to be masters.”
and
“I do not think that equality is one of those things (like wisdom or happiness) which are good simply in themselves and for their own sakes. I think it is in the same class as medicine, which is good because we are ill.”

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:19 AM

    do you agree with the "some were meant to be slaves?" i've thought about this for about a week now (off and on of course).

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  2. Ethan
    I would disagree that some were meant to be slaves in the modern sense. But based on what I've heard, being a slave back in the day wasn't so bad. Kind of like a servant that has rights. Of course you should know more than me on that topic (or will eventually).

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