Comment

Abstract

‘To MEET the threat, and to realize the potential, we do not need a doctrine of salvation. We have the weapons we need, our minds. Reasoned analysis, imaginative designing and an experimental approach to action form a rational, or at any rate reasonable, triptych which has always served men well. This is the method of liberty; its substance is defined by the new conditions in which we live today. The new liberty means that we have to change our attitudes in order to pass through the turbulence ahead in a manner which enhances human life‐chances. This is what I mean when I say that the subject of history is changing; and the change in approach is reflected in the words which we use—new words; improvement instead of expansion, good husbandry instead of affluence, human activity instead of work, and of course one word which is quite old, liberty.’—Ralf Dahrendorf (‘The new liberty’, 1975 Reith Lectures)

Citation

Smith, J., Ashworth, W., Radmore, D.F., Olden, A., Garratt, M., Labdon, P., Murison, W., Cawthorne, D. and Revill, D. (1977), "Comment", New Library World, Vol. 78 No. 4, pp. 65-74. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb038345