Might makes right or Might is right is an aphorism on the origin of morality, with both

descriptive In the study of language, description or descriptive linguistics is the work of objectively analyzing and describing how language is actually used (or how it was used in the past) by a speech community. François & Ponsonnet (2013). All acad ...

and prescriptive senses. Descriptively, it asserts that a society's view of right and wrong is determined by those in power, with a meaning similar to "

History is written by the victors Philosophy of history is the philosophical study of history and its discipline. The term was coined by French philosopher Voltaire. In contemporary philosophy a distinction has developed between ''speculative'' philosophy of history and ''crit ...

". That is, although all people have their personal ideas of the good, only those strong enough to overcome obstacles and enemies can put their ideas into effect, and spread their own standards to society at large. Montague defined kratocracy or kraterocracy (from the el, κρατερός , meaning "strong") as a government based on

coercive power In a notable study of power conducted by social psychologists John R. P. French and Bertram Raven in 1959, power is divided into five separate and distinct forms. They identified those five bases of power as ''coercive, reward, legitimate, referen ...

, by those strong enough to seize control through physical violence or demagogic manipulation. "Might makes right" has been described as the credo of totalitarian regimes. The sociologist

Max Weber Maximilian Karl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German sociologist, historian, jurist and political economist, who is regarded as among the most important theorists of the development of modern Western society. His ideas profo ...

analyzed the relations between a state's power and its moral authority in . Realist scholars of

international politics International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the Scientific method, scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities betwe ...

use the phrase to describe the "

state of nature The state of nature, in moral and political philosophy, religion, social contract theories and international law, is the hypothetical life of people before societies came into existence. Philosophers of the state of nature theory deduce that ther ...

" in which power determines the relations among sovereign states. Prescriptively (or normatively), the phrase is most often used pejoratively, to protest perceived tyranny. The phrase sometimes has a positive connotation in the context of

master morality Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

or social Darwinism, which hold that a society's strongest members should rule and determine its standards of right and wrong, as well as its goals for the greater good.

History

The idea of "woe to the conquered" is vividly expressed in Homer, in the hawk parable from

Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...

's '' Works and Days'', and in Livy, in which the equivalent Latin phrase " vae victis" is first recorded. The idea, though not the wording, has been attributed to the '' History of the Peloponnesian War'' by the ancient historian Thucydides, who stated that "right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must." In the first chapter of Plato's ''

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

'', Thrasymachus claims that "justice is nothing else than the interest of the stronger", which Socrates then disputes.

Callicles Callicles (; el, Καλλικλῆς; c. 484 – late 5th century BC) is thought to have been an ancient Athenian political philosopher. He figures prominently in Plato’s dialogue '' Gorgias'', where he "presents himself as a no-holds-barred, ...

in ''

Gorgias Gorgias (; grc-gre, Γοργίας; 483–375 BC) was an ancient Greek sophist, pre-Socratic philosopher, and rhetorician who was a native of Leontinoi in Sicily. Along with Protagoras, he forms the first generation of Sophists. Several doxogr ...

'' argues similarly that the strong should rule the weak, as a right owed to their superiority. The first commonly quoted use of "might makes right" in English was in 1846 by the American

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

and Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist Adin Ballou (1803–1890), who wrote, "But now, instead of discussion and argument, brute force rises up to the rescue of discomfited error, and crushes truth and right into the dust. 'Might makes right,' and hoary folly totters on in her mad career escorted by armies and navies." Abraham Lincoln's Cooper Union Address, Cooper Union campaign address (1860) reverses the phrase: "Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it". He spoke in defense of neutral engagement with slave-holders, as against violent confrontation. Montague coined the term ''Kratocracy'', from the el, κρατερός , meaning "strong", for government by those who are strong enough to seize power through force or cunning. In a letter to Albert Einstein from 1932, Sigmund Freud also explores the history and validity of "might versus right".

References

General references

* Freud, Sigmund (1968). "Why War?", ''Civilization, War and Death''.

External links

{{Wikiquote 1840s neologisms Adages Concepts in ethics Political terminology Quotations from military Slogans

History

See also

References

General references

External links