p. 256
“
[T]here are no institutions on earth which enable each separate person to have a hand in the exercise of Power, for Power is command, and everyone cannot command. Sovereignty of the people is, therefore, nothing but a fiction, and one which must in the long run prove destructive of individual liberties.
— Bertrand de Jouvenel
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "[T]here are no institutions on earth which enable each separate person to have a hand in the exercise of Power, for Power is command, and everyone cannot command. Sovereignty of the people is, therefore, nothing but a fiction, and one which must in the long run prove destructive of individual liberties." in the context of "p. 256" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Bertrand de Jouvenel" (Quotes, On Power: Its Nature and the History of Its Growth (1949): (Sometimes also alternatively entitled: "The Natural History of Its Growth"). Translated by J. F. Huntington. New York: The Viking Press. (Original French work published 1945))
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 19, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Tags
About Bertrand de Jouvenel
Bertrand de Jouvenel des Ursins (31 October 1903 – 1 March 1987), a late French aristocrat, was a philosopher, political economist, and futurist. Among other places, he taught at Oxford, the Cambridge, Yale and Berkeley.
About Bertrand de Jouvenel
Bertrand de Jouvenel des Ursins (31 October 1903 – 1 March 1987), a late French aristocrat, was a philosopher, political economist, and futurist. Among other places, he taught at Oxford, the Cambridge, Yale and Berkeley.
View all quotes →