Shakespeare and social (in)justice

Thieves for their robbery have authority...“Thieves for their robbery have authority,
When judges steal themselves.”
(Measure for Measure act 2, sc. 2)

Tips for Use.  We can find erudite explanations about the mechanisms enabling society to function. Explanations given by historians, sociologists, psychologists, economists, politicians, philosophers and even poets as in this case. But the mystery remains. Petty crimes are justly prosecuted and punished while thievery on a large scale not only goes unpunished, but is actually rewarded. Examples abound and one of the most egregious is the case of the mega-banks. Banks that, after having squandered the citizens’ funds in reckless speculations and mega-bonuses for the speculators, are “saved” by injecting more citizens’ money into the same banks. It is still continuing as we speak. An employee who steals company money to gamble is punished, a banker who steals customers’ money to gamble is rewarded whether he wins or loses. The quote is suitable to offer a concise rendering of the case, especially by some elusive politician who has the guts to raise a sword against the evil of endemic corruption.
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Of course, if you acquire the book “Your Daily Shakespeare” you will not only enjoy it but you will find it very useful. The quote in this post and more than ten thousand others  will lead you to find the words that perfectly strengthen your argument(s). After all Shakespeare wrote them, I simply extracted, structured and compiled them so as to make Shakespeare very “user friendly” as they say. And if you wish I will even sign the book. But this is the extent of any “sales” effort, call or solicitation.

In the play. Angelo, left in charge of Vienna and a great enforcer of chastity laws, is attracted to Isabel and studies plans of seduction. The plans will eventually misfire thanks to the intervention of a more honest politician, the Duke of Vienna. Still, as Angelo plots, he is conscious that by pursuing his scheme with Isabel, he is breaking the very law that he is inflexibly enforcing with everybody else.

Original image:  papershreddercompanies.blogspot.com

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