..the Bill of Rights does not come from the people and is not subject to change by majorities. It comes read more

..the Bill of Rights does not come from the people and is not subject to change by majorities. It comes from the nature of things. It declares the inalienable rights of man not only against all government but also against the people collectively.

The first duty of society is to give each of its members the possibility of fulfilling his destiny. When it read more

The first duty of society is to give each of its members the possibility of fulfilling his destiny. When it becomes incapable of performing this duty it must be transformed. - Reflections on Life.

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.

The man whose authority is recent is always stern.

The man whose authority is recent is always stern.

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.

The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.

The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.

The common good comes before the private good.

The common good comes before the private good.

We vote too much. We deliberate too little. We have brought within the scope of the federal jurisdiction a vast read more

We vote too much. We deliberate too little. We have brought within the scope of the federal jurisdiction a vast number of subjects that do not belong here, but are nevertheless here. What we need to do is to stop passing laws. We have enough laws now to govern the world for the next ten thousand years.

Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river.

Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river.