3 Quotes & Sayings By Mihailo Markovic

Mihailo Markovic was born in Belgrade, Serbia, in 1833. He was a student of Law at the University of Belgrade and became an attorney in 1849. During his years as a lawyer he became very involved in politics. He was, in particular, an outspoken opponent of the Austrian Empire Read more

At the age of twenty-eight he was expelled from the country for his political activities. Having lost all connections with Serbia, he emigrated to Paris. For the next two years he traveled throughout Europe selling "autographs" (heavily forged signatures).

He returned to Serbia in 1855 and began collaborating with Naum Vešnjak, editor of the newspaper Danas, which became the voice of Serbian public opinion during this period. The articles that Markovic wrote after Vešnjak's death were collected later in several books and lead to his being recognized as one of Serbia's most important writers.

1
Another basic characteristic of liberalism which constitutes a formidable obstacle to an oppressed group's liberation is its conception of human nature. If selfishness, aggressiveness, the drive to conquer and dominate, really are among defining human traits, as every liberal philosopher since Locke tries to convince us, the oppression in civil society–i.e. in the social sphere not regulated by the state–is a fact of life, and the basic civil relationship between a man and a women will always remain a battlefield. Woman, being less aggressive, is then either the less human of the two and doomed to subjugation, or else she must get more power-hungry herself and try to dominate man. Liberation for both is not feasible. Mihailo Markovic
2
Discovery of one’s self, of one’s specific individual powers and potential capacities, learning how to develop them and use them as a socialized human being that cares about the needs of other individuals–would have to become the primary task of a new humanist education. Mihailo Markovic