"All too often arrogance accompanies strength, and we must never assume that justice is on the side of the strong. The use of power must always be accompanied by moral choice"
About this Quote
Power, Bikel warns, comes with a built-in costume: righteousness. The line is doing two things at once. First, it punctures the lazy equation that strength equals virtue. Second, it insists that “moral choice” isn’t a decorative add-on to authority; it’s the only thing that keeps authority from becoming mere force.
The key move is the way he separates justice from outcomes. “On the side of the strong” is a brutal little phrase because it names a social reflex: we root for winners, we retrofit their victories into proof of merit, and we call that story “justice.” Bikel doesn’t argue that strength is evil. He argues that strength is seductive, and arrogance is its most reliable side effect. The warning lands because it’s psychologically accurate: power shrinks self-doubt, and without self-doubt, conscience becomes optional.
As an actor and public figure with a life spanning war, mass politics, and celebrity culture, Bikel is also speaking from a world where performance matters. Power doesn’t just act; it stages itself. Arrogance is part propaganda, part self-protection, the posture that says, “I must be right because I can.” His insistence that power be “accompanied” by choice implies an ongoing discipline, not a one-time test. You don’t get moral legitimacy for having power; you earn it moment by moment in how you use it.
The subtext is a demand for accountability: don’t admire strength until you’ve inspected its ethics.
The key move is the way he separates justice from outcomes. “On the side of the strong” is a brutal little phrase because it names a social reflex: we root for winners, we retrofit their victories into proof of merit, and we call that story “justice.” Bikel doesn’t argue that strength is evil. He argues that strength is seductive, and arrogance is its most reliable side effect. The warning lands because it’s psychologically accurate: power shrinks self-doubt, and without self-doubt, conscience becomes optional.
As an actor and public figure with a life spanning war, mass politics, and celebrity culture, Bikel is also speaking from a world where performance matters. Power doesn’t just act; it stages itself. Arrogance is part propaganda, part self-protection, the posture that says, “I must be right because I can.” His insistence that power be “accompanied” by choice implies an ongoing discipline, not a one-time test. You don’t get moral legitimacy for having power; you earn it moment by moment in how you use it.
The subtext is a demand for accountability: don’t admire strength until you’ve inspected its ethics.
Quote Details
| Topic | Ethics & Morality |
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