The creation of the world — said Plato — is the victory of persuasion over force

Persuasion versus Force Essay by Mark Skousen  (mskousen.com)
- Highlight Loc. 12-19  | Added on Thursday, January 19, 2012, 11:39 PM

Here’s what it says: “The creation of the world — said Plato — is the victory of persuasion over force… Civilization is the maintenance of social order, by its own inherent persuasiveness as embodying the nobler alternative. The recourse to force, however unavoidable, is a disclosure of the failure of civilization, either in the general society or in a remnant of individuals… “Now the intercourse between individuals and between social groups takes one of these two forms: force or persuasion. Commerce is the great example of intercourse by way of persuasion. War, slavery, and governmental compulsion exemplify the reign of force.”