Rejoicing in his absolute authority, the single egoist will exploit it methodically, whereas a mêlée of egoists will bring about a ruinous disorder and a disastrous cleavage, because the contrariety of the appetites to be satisfied will prevent the satisfaction of any single one. Clearly, then, the effect of the pursuit of private ends under cover of the public good will be worse if there are many with a hand in power than if there is only one. Bertrand De Jouvenel
About This Quote

When we look at the world today we notice people who are much like the picture above. A single person who has absolute power and authority. People who can do as they please. There is nothing wrong with that if they are the only one in power.

If everyone is like that, however, it creates a massive problem. The many will attempt to do as they please and the results will be disastrous. The many cannot agree on what is best and so they will break and fight amongst themselves.

They will create a disaster by fighting and dividing up their power. We see this happening all the time in our society today.

Source: Sovereignty

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  1. The entire stock of relationships which suited in war–militiae–was regarded as inadmissible and improper in peace–domi. We have the measure of how right the Romans were in this respect in the experience of the intellectual and moral impoverishment brought about by total mobilisation.
  2. These observations bring out the fact that, whenever liberty is regarded merely as the power to do something which it is desired to do, the tyrant need only base himself on the desires of the masses to suppress the liberties cherished by a few. But...
  3. The modern absolutism, which we find the most natural thing in the world, would have been quite beyond the dreams of the most absolute of kings.
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  5. It is as futile and dangerous to aim at making of society one large family, as sentimental socialism seeks to do, as to aim at making of it one large team, as positivist socialism seeks to do.
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