Norman Angell vs. John Dalberg-Acton
Side-by-side comparison of two thinkers
Norman Angell
1872 – 1967
Sir Ralph Norman Angell was a lecturer, journalist, author and Member of Parliament for the Labour Party. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to promote peace, particularly through writings that argued that modern economic interdependence made war irrational and self-defeating.
"The root problem is very simply stated: if there were no sovereign independent states, if the states of the civilized world were organized in some sort of feder…"
John Dalberg-Acton
1834 – 1902
John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, 13th Marquess of Groppoli,, better known as Lord Acton, was an English Catholic historian, Liberal politician, and writer. A strong advocate for individual liberty, Acton is best known for his observation on the dangers of concentrated authority. In an 1887 letter to an Anglican bishop, he famously wrote, 'Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely', underscoring his belief that unchecked power poses the greatest threat to human freedom.
"The law of liberty tends to abolish the reign of race over race, of faith over faith, of class over class. It is not the realisation of a political ideal: it is…"