Original artwork, not a still
Foundation • 1951
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
This is Hardin's creed: force is what a society falls back on once cleverness has failed. Hardin wins by timing, economics and religion instead, so the line works as a mission statement for the early Foundation stories. It echoes Samuel Johnson's remark about patriotism and scoundrels, and it is still quoted in political arguments as shorthand for out-thinking a problem rather than fighting it.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for FoundationShow the scene
Salvor Hardin is the first mayor of Terminus, home of the Foundation. The line comes from the story first published as "Foundation" in Astounding in May 1942, retitled "The Encyclopedists" when five linked stories were gathered into the 1951 Gnome Press book, where it falls in section 5. Hardin delivers it as a retort. The phrase also appears three times in "The Mayors" (originally "Bridle and Saddle", June 1942), the story in which the neighbouring planet Anacreon declares war on the Foundation.
Sources (3)
- Wikiquote: Isaac AsimovFoundation: Part II, The Encyclopedists, section 5Reference checked
- Wikipedia: Foundation (Asimov novel)Introduction and Publication historyReference checked
- Wikipedia: Salvor HardinIntroduction and LiteratureReference checked
Context reviewed