Let them hate, so long as they fear.

Let them hate, so long as they fear.

It is the very essence of despotism that it can never afford to fail. This is what distinguishes it most read more

It is the very essence of despotism that it can never afford to fail. This is what distinguishes it most vitally from democracy. In a despotism there is no organized opposition which can take over the power when the Administration in office has failed. All the eggs are in one basket. Everything is staked on one coterie of men. When the going is good, they move more quickly and efficiently than democracies, where the opposition has to be persuaded and conciliated. But when they lose, there are no reserves. There are no substitutes on the bench ready to go out on the field and carry the ball. That is why democracies with the habit of party government have outlived all other forms of government in the modern world. They have, as it were, at least two governments always at hand, and when one fails they have the other. They have diversified the risks of mortality, corruption, and stupidity which pervade all human affairs. They have remembered that the most beautifully impressive machine cannot run for very long unless there is available a complete supply of spare parts.

It is not conclusive proof of a doctrine's correctness that its adversaries use the police, the hangman, and violent mobs read more

It is not conclusive proof of a doctrine's correctness that its adversaries use the police, the hangman, and violent mobs to fight it. But it is a proof of the fact that those taking recourse to violent oppression are in their subconsciousness convinced of the untenability of their own doctrines.

For Americans war is almost all of the time a nuisance, and military skill is a luxury like Mah-Jongg. But read more

For Americans war is almost all of the time a nuisance, and military skill is a luxury like Mah-Jongg. But when the issue is brought home to them, war becomes as important, for the necessary period, as business or sport. And it is hard to decide which is likely to be the more ominous for the Axis -- an American decision that this is sport, or that it is business. - The American Character.

An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with read more

An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life. - Beyond the Horizon, 1942.

The office of president is a bastardized thing, half royalty and half democracy, that nobody knows whether to genuflect or read more

The office of president is a bastardized thing, half royalty and half democracy, that nobody knows whether to genuflect or spit.

If the French were really intelligent, they'd speak English.

If the French were really intelligent, they'd speak English.

Bad monetary and fiscal policy, often designed by the IMF, is the real cause of global problems. The only explanation read more

Bad monetary and fiscal policy, often designed by the IMF, is the real cause of global problems. The only explanation for why government leaders continue to follow these policies is that by blaming markets, they avoid blaming themselves.

What is history but the story of how politicians have squandered the blood and treasure of the human race.

What is history but the story of how politicians have squandered the blood and treasure of the human race.