Power at its best
is love implementing the demands of justice,
and justice at its best
is love correcting everything that stands against love.
“What happened is that some of our philosophers got off base. And one of the great problems of history is that the concepts of love and power have usually been contrasted as opposites – polar opposites – so that love is identified with a resignation of power, and power with a denial of love.
It was this misinterpretation that caused Nietzsche, who was a philosopher of the will to power, to reject the Christian concept of love. It was this same misinterpretation which induced Christian theologians to reject the Nietzschean philosophy of the will to power in the name of the Christian idea of love.
Now, we’ve got to get this thing right. What is needed is a realization that power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic.
Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.”
– The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr.
Tags: Emotion Work, Love
Wow that’s a really good quote. I love it.
Me too – I love that love is such a powerful concept in his ideology. It’s not just being a sweetie — it’s standing up and acting decisively and compassionately for justice. This form of love includes all of the emotions, and especially healthy anger. Excellent.