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.

Now since man is naturally inclined to avoid pain- and since labor is pain in itself- it follows that men read more

Now since man is naturally inclined to avoid pain- and since labor is pain in itself- it follows that men will resort to plunder whenever plunder is easier than work. History shows this quite clearly. And under these conditions, neither religion nor morality can stop it.When, then, does plunder stop? It stops when it becomes more painful and more dangerous than labor.It is evident, then, that the proper purpose of law is to use the power of its collective force to stop this fatal tendency to plunder instead of to work. All the measures of the law should protect property and punish plunder.

El Salvador is a democracy so it's not surprising that there are many voices to be heard here. Yet in read more

El Salvador is a democracy so it's not surprising that there are many voices to be heard here. Yet in my conversations with Salvadorans... I have heard a single voice.

I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."N. B.: This read more

I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."N. B.: This quote is commonly attributed to Voltaire, but it is not found in his writing. - The Friends of Voltaire.

The framers gave us the Second Amendment not so we could go deer or duck hunting but to give us read more

The framers gave us the Second Amendment not so we could go deer or duck hunting but to give us a modicum of protection against congressional tyranny.

Darkness yields to
starlight,
to the light of the rising
sun, and to the
light of the soul.

Darkness yields to
starlight,
to the light of the rising
sun, and to the
light of the soul.

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.

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.

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.