All that a good government aims at...is to add no unnecessary and artificial aid to the force of its own read more

All that a good government aims at...is to add no unnecessary and artificial aid to the force of its own unavoidable consequences, and to abstain from fortifying and accumulating social inequality as a means of increasing political inequalities.

Sir, I would rather be right than be President.

Sir, I would rather be right than be President.

For the sake of domestic peace, liberalism aims at democratic government. Democracy is therefore not a revolutionary institution. On the read more

For the sake of domestic peace, liberalism aims at democratic government. Democracy is therefore not a revolutionary institution. On the contrary it is the very means of preventing revolution and civil wars. It provides a method for the peaceful adjustment of government to the will of the majority.

Free speech is not to be regulated like diseased cattle and impure butter. The audience that hissed yesterday may applaud read more

Free speech is not to be regulated like diseased cattle and impure butter. The audience that hissed yesterday may applaud today, even for the same performance.

The glory of a nation and an age is always the work of a few great persons, and it disappears read more

The glory of a nation and an age is always the work of a few great persons, and it disappears with them.

...the crimes of violence committed for selfish, personal motives are historically insignificant compared to those committed ad majorem gloriam Dei, read more

...the crimes of violence committed for selfish, personal motives are historically insignificant compared to those committed ad majorem gloriam Dei, out of a self-sacrificing devotion to the flag, a leader, a religious faith or political conviction.

A man is not finished when he's defeated; he's finished when he quits.

A man is not finished when he's defeated; he's finished when he quits.

...democracy can be interpreted to assert not only equality before the law but also essentialistic identity in all respects. This read more

...democracy can be interpreted to assert not only equality before the law but also essentialistic identity in all respects. This is expressed in the claim, "All men are created equal," which is something very different from the statement, "All men have equal rights and are equal before the law." Anyone who believes in the genetic uniqueness of every individual thereby believes in the conclusion, "No two individuals are created equal.".

War: a wretched debasement of all the pretenses of civilization.

War: a wretched debasement of all the pretenses of civilization.