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Poetry · Chapter
LXXXIII explained
The chapter reflects on the nature of submission to majority rule, acknowledging that compliance is born of necessity rather than genuine respect.
What happens
The chapter reflects on the nature of submission to majority rule, acknowledging that compliance is born of necessity rather than genuine respect.
Themes in this chapter
Political Satire
The chapter critiques the forced deference to majority rule, highlighting the gap between compelled submission and authentic respect.
Key passages
“We submit to the majority because we have to. But we are not compelled to call our attitude of subjection a posture of respect.”
We obey the majority out of necessity, not because we genuinely admire or honor them.
The narrator distinguishes between forced compliance and voluntary reverence.