The true civilization is where every man gives to every other every right that he claims for himself.

The true civilization is where every man gives to every other every right that he claims for himself.

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.

Chinks in America's egalitarian armor are not hard to find. Democracy is the fig leaf of elitism.

Chinks in America's egalitarian armor are not hard to find. Democracy is the fig leaf of elitism.

Progress is precisely that which the rules and regulations did not foresee.

Progress is precisely that which the rules and regulations did not foresee.

What the public does is not to express its opinions but to align itself for or against a proposal. If read more

What the public does is not to express its opinions but to align itself for or against a proposal. If that theory is accepted, we must abandon the notion that democratic government can be the direct expression of the will of the people. We must abandon the notion that the people govern. Instead we must adopt the theory that, by their occasional mobilizations as a majority, people support or oppose the individuals who actually govern. We must say that the popular will does not direct continuously but that it intervenes occasionally.

I realize that patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone.

I realize that patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone.

I think most historians will agree that the part played by impulses of selfish, individual aggression in the holocausts of read more

I think most historians will agree that the part played by impulses of selfish, individual aggression in the holocausts of history was small; first and foremost, the slaughter was meant as an offering to the gods, to king and country, or the future happiness of mankind. The crimes of Caligula shrink to insignificance compared to the havoc wrought by Torquemada. The number of victims of robbers, highwaymen, rapists, gangsters and other criminals at any period of history is negligible compared to the massive numbers of those cheerfully slain in the name of the true religion, just policy, or correct ideology.

I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end.

I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end.

It is the fundamental theory of all the more recent American law...that the average citizen is half-witted, and hence not read more

It is the fundamental theory of all the more recent American law...that the average citizen is half-witted, and hence not to be trusted to either his own devices or his own thoughts.