"Right is its own defense"
About this Quote
Brecht compresses a political ethic into four words: when an action aligns with justice and human need, its very rectitude offers both justification and protection. The line pushes back against appeals to authority, tradition, or force; it stakes everything on clarity, reason, and the ability of what is just to withstand open scrutiny. If an argument requires obscurity or intimidation to survive, it has already confessed its weakness. Right, laid bare, holds.
Yet Brecht rarely left such aphorisms unchallenged by reality. His theater exposes how institutions often mistake power for right, and how courts, churches, and markets can dress domination in moral clothing. Under such conditions, the idea that right is its own defense becomes both a standard and a provocation. It marks the measure by which a society should judge itself, while reminding us that, as things stand, the innocent may still need solidarity, organization, and strategy. The line is an ethical compass, not a guarantee.
The method of epic theater supports this stance. By interrupting illusion and showing the workings of society, Brecht invites audiences to evaluate actions rather than merely empathize. When processes are visible, right can defend itself because spectators can test claims against consequences. Truth does not need melodrama; it needs conditions that allow it to be seen.
There is also a practical politics embedded here. The best defense of a just cause is to act justly and to make the justice of the action intelligible to others: document, explain, expose. Whistleblowers, organizers, and dissidents rely on the strength of public reasoning and shared conscience; their safety grows when their case is unmistakable. At the same time, their vulnerability exposes the gap between the ideal and the world. The phrase urges two tasks at once: to act in ways that can stand in daylight, and to build institutions where daylight is enough.
Yet Brecht rarely left such aphorisms unchallenged by reality. His theater exposes how institutions often mistake power for right, and how courts, churches, and markets can dress domination in moral clothing. Under such conditions, the idea that right is its own defense becomes both a standard and a provocation. It marks the measure by which a society should judge itself, while reminding us that, as things stand, the innocent may still need solidarity, organization, and strategy. The line is an ethical compass, not a guarantee.
The method of epic theater supports this stance. By interrupting illusion and showing the workings of society, Brecht invites audiences to evaluate actions rather than merely empathize. When processes are visible, right can defend itself because spectators can test claims against consequences. Truth does not need melodrama; it needs conditions that allow it to be seen.
There is also a practical politics embedded here. The best defense of a just cause is to act justly and to make the justice of the action intelligible to others: document, explain, expose. Whistleblowers, organizers, and dissidents rely on the strength of public reasoning and shared conscience; their safety grows when their case is unmistakable. At the same time, their vulnerability exposes the gap between the ideal and the world. The phrase urges two tasks at once: to act in ways that can stand in daylight, and to build institutions where daylight is enough.
Quote Details
| Topic | Justice |
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