The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose.
James Baldwin The Fire Next Time (1963)
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When and why it was written
- When
- Published in 1963, at the height of the civil rights movement.
- Why
- Baldwin was explaining to a white readership what their arrangements had produced.
What it means
The sentence is an analysis of risk, addressed to the society doing the creating rather than to the man.
Someone with nothing to lose cannot be governed by threat, because every lever depends on there being something to take. Baldwin's point is that such a person is manufactured, not born, and the manufacturer is the one in danger.
Read the source
The Fire Next Time, 1963
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Your turn
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