“Although people initially submit under coercion and force, those who come after them obey without regret and willingly do what their predecessors did because they had to. That is why men who are born under the yoke and then raised and brought up in slavery are content to live in their original circumstances without further effort, unaware of any other state or right, and considering the state into which they were born to be entirely natural. ... the powerful influence of custom is in no way more compelling than in this, namely, the habituation to submission.”
Étienne de La Boétie
Étienne de La Boétie was a French Renaissance philosopher and jurist, known for his criticism of tyranny and early theory of civil disobedience.
This quote reminds us how deeply habit and social conditioning influence our freedom and how important it is to critically question submission.
Translation or original: 🇩🇪Click here
Quelle: Hier klicken
i
Étienne de La Boétie on the Power of Habit: Why Submission Becomes Natural
Étienne de La Boétie shows how habit leads us to submission – and why freedom requires more than mere rebellion.
Étienne de La Boétie (1530–1563) was a prominent French Renaissance philosopher, jurist, and statesman. He is best known for his work "Discourse on Voluntary Servitude," which examines the power of tyranny through voluntary submission. La Boétie's ideas are considered an early foundation for the concept of civil disobedience.
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!