Our democracy is being born in pain. A political culture is emerging — one that presupposes debate and pluralism, but also legal order and, if democracy is to work, strong government authority based on one law for all.
Meaning
Delivered in his Nobel lecture, this admits that freedom arrives with disorder before habits of debate and law take hold. Democracy needs both disagreement and rules that apply equally to everyone. Remember this when a new group of yours struggles: set shared rules early, then let people argue within them.
Source: Nobel Address (1991)
About the author
Mikhail Gorbachev (1931-2022) was the last leader of the Soviet Union, serving as General Secretary of the Communist Party from 1985 to 1991. His reforms of glasnost and perestroika helped end the Cold War, and he received the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize.
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