♦ nivek ♦ Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 "Every State is known by the rights it maintains."-- Harold J. Laski (1893-1950) Source: A Grammar of Politics, 1925 http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/Harold.Laski.Quote.A33B "Early in 1979, I and several other young nurses from my ward weresummoned to a mass meeting. All sixty-odd of us were young marriedwomen who had not yet been sterilized. Secretary Wang arrived and tookup a position in front of the assembly. His round little face, normallythe picture of conviviality, was set in an expression of the utmostgravity. 'Today we have a matter of extreme urgency,' he began, 'atoudeng dashi, to discuss. It concerns the population of themotherland. The People's Republic of China has within its bordersnearly a billion people, or one-fifth of the world's population. Thisis a big burden for the people's government. ... Having children is nota question that we can afford to let each family, each household,decide for itself. ... It is a question that should be decided at thenational level. China is a socialist country. This means that theinterests of the individual must be subordinated to the interests ofthe state. Where there is conflict between the interests of the statein reducing population and the interests of the individual in havingchildren, it must be resolved in favor of the state.'" -- Chi An Source: quoted in A Mother's Ordeal: One Woman's fight Against China'sOne-child Policy, Steven W. Mosher ( New York: Harcourt Brace &Company, 1993), p. 212-213. http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/Chi.An.Quote.0D74 "Consequently, any activity that is potentially harmful to others and requires certain demonstrated competence for its safe performance, is subject to regulation that is, it is theoretically desirable that we regulate it. ... In fact, I dare say that parenting is a paradigm of such activities since the potential for harm is great (both in the extent of harm any one person can suffer and in the number of people potentially harmed) and the need for competence is so evident. Consequently, there is good reason to believe that parents should be licensed." -- Hugh LaFollette Source: "Licensing Parents", Philosophy and Public Affairs, Winter 1980 http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/Hugh.LaFollette.Quote.657D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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