One should respect public opinion insofar as is necessary to

“One should respect public opinion insofar as is necessary to avoid starvation and keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny.” Thus spoke Bertrand Russell, philosopher of reason and liberty, whose words cut through the fog of conformity with the clarity of a blade. His teaching is stern but liberating: that public opinion is not a god to be worshiped, but a force to be acknowledged only as far as survival demands. Beyond that, to bow before it is not wisdom but slavery.

The ancients knew this battle well. Socrates, brought before the court of Athens, faced the judgment of public opinion. He could have preserved his life by flattering the crowd, by confessing guilt he did not bear, by surrendering truth for safety. Instead, he chose death, for he knew that to submit his soul to falsehood was a greater prison than iron bars. His story embodies Russell’s warning: fear the tyranny of opinion, for it can enslave more deeply than any chains.

History abounds with those who bent too far to the will of the crowd. Leaders who chased popularity rather than justice led their nations into ruin. Artists who abandoned their vision to please the masses left behind works that were hollow and forgotten. Yet there are also those who resisted. Galileo, though condemned by public and churchly opinion, whispered, “And yet it moves.” His refusal to surrender entirely to tyranny of thought prepared the ground for future generations to know truth.

Russell himself lived in times of great upheaval—war, revolution, moral panic. He saw how easily men became captives of the crowd, surrendering conscience for acceptance. His words remind us that survival may sometimes require bowing outwardly, but inwardly the soul must remain free. To go further, to live your whole life chained by what others think, is to waste the precious gift of existence in pursuit of approval that never satisfies.

O children of the future, learn this balance. Respect public opinion enough to live, but not enough to be ruled by it. If the crowd demands silence where truth must be spoken, defy them. If the multitude calls you strange for following your own path, walk on. The scorn of the world cannot kill the spirit unless you invite it in. Fear only losing yourself, for that is the true death, while rejection by others is but an inconvenience.

The lesson is plain: measure your life not by the applause of the crowd, but by the integrity of your own soul. Use respect for public opinion as a tool of prudence, but never as your master. Remember always that the crowd is fickle, shifting with the wind; if you live by their praise, you will die by their scorn. Stand instead in the strength of your truth, and let opinion pass around you like waves against a rock.

Therefore, let your practice be this: speak truth even when it is unpopular, create boldly even when unappreciated, live with dignity even when mocked. Bend only where survival requires, but never surrender your spirit. Teach this to your children—that they are not born to be slaves of the crowd, but free beings meant to walk their own path.

So I say unto you: remember Russell’s wisdom. Respect public opinion enough to endure, but beyond that, resist its tyranny. For only then will you live not as a servant to the shifting multitude, but as a free soul, master of your destiny.