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Discontent is likely to be highest when misery is bearable; when conditions have so improved that an ideal state seems read more
Discontent is likely to be highest when misery is bearable; when conditions have so improved that an ideal state seems almost within reach. A grievance is most poignant when almost redressed. De Tocqueville in his researches into the state of society in France before the revolution was struck by the discovery that "in no one of the periods which have followed the Revolution of 1789 has the national prosperity of France augmented more rapidly than it did in the twenty years preceding that event." He is forced to conclude that "the French found their position the more intolerable the better it became.
The disposition of all power is to abuses, nor does it at all mend the matter that its possessors are read more
The disposition of all power is to abuses, nor does it at all mend the matter that its possessors are a majority.
I am not anti-American. But I am strongly pro-Canadian.
I am not anti-American. But I am strongly pro-Canadian.
If a politician murders his mother, the first response of the press or of his opponents will likely be not read more
If a politician murders his mother, the first response of the press or of his opponents will likely be not that it was a terrible thing to do, but rather that in a statement made six years before he had gone on record as being opposed to matricide.
Power corrupts. Absolute power is kind of neat.
Power corrupts. Absolute power is kind of neat.
In a democracy, dissent is an act of faith.
In a democracy, dissent is an act of faith.
The first sign of corruption in a society that is still alive is that the end justifies the means.
The first sign of corruption in a society that is still alive is that the end justifies the means.
If you think of yourselves as helpless and ineffectual, it is certain that you will create a despotic government to read more
If you think of yourselves as helpless and ineffectual, it is certain that you will create a despotic government to be your master. The wise despot, therefore, maintains among his subjects a popular sense that they are helpless and ineffectual.
Concentrated political power is the most dangerous thing on earth.
Concentrated political power is the most dangerous thing on earth.
