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Whoever holds power can impose their will as if it were justice.

Ioan Slavici · Nuvele · 1881 · Moara cu noroc1 minute readpublic domain
He who has power, also has right.Ioan Slavici · Nuvele · 1881 · Moara cu noroc

Slavici cynically observes that in many situations, justice is not an abstract principle but a result of power relations. Whoever holds power—physical, economic, or political—can define what is right and make that definition stick. A master judging a quarrel between servants will always side with the more loyal one.

Why it mattersIt warns us not to confuse authority with morality and to be vigilant when power masquerades as justice.

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