"A government builds its prestige upon the..." - Quote by Mahatma Gandhi
A government builds its prestige upon the apparently voluntary association of the governed.
More by Mahatma Gandhi
“Nonviolence of the strong is infinitely braver than their violence.”
“If we are to stand the final heat of the battle, we must learn to stand our ground in the face of cavalry or baton charges and allow ourselves to be trampled under horses' hooves, or be bruised with baton charges.”
“This mad rush for wealth must cease and the labourer must be assured not only of a living wage but, also a daily task that is not mere drudgery.”
More on Government
“f the injustice is part of the necessary friction of the machine of government, let it go, let it go; perchance it will wear smooth - certainly the machine will wear out... but if it is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then I say, break the law. Let your life be a counter-friction to stop the machine. What I have to do is to see, at any rate, that I do not lend myself to the wrong which I condemn.”
“No matter what theory of the origin of government you adopt, if you follow it out to its legitimate conclusions it will bring you face to face with the moral law.”
“What crimes, for which we condemn the Government as satanic, have not we been guilty of towards our own untouchable brethren?”
More on Consent
“What I do say is, that no man is good enough to govern another man, without that other's consent. I say this is the leading principle - the sheet anchor of American republicanism.”
“No peace can last, or ought to last, which does not recognize and accept the principle that governments derive all their just powers from the consent of the governed, and that no right anywhere exists to hand peoples from sovereignty to sovereignty as if they were property.”
“What we seek is the reign of law, based upon the consent of the governed and sustained by the organized opinion of mankind.”