Politics / Government Quotes ( 90 - 100 of 719 )
...the differences between the conservative and the radical seem to spring mainly from their attitude toward the future. Fear of read more
...the differences between the conservative and the radical seem to spring mainly from their attitude toward the future. Fear of the future causes us to lean against and cling to the present, while faith in the future renders us receptive to change.
Fifty-one percent of a nation can establish a totalitarian regime, suppress minorities and still remain democratic.
Fifty-one percent of a nation can establish a totalitarian regime, suppress minorities and still remain democratic.
...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.".
If we desire respect for the law, we must first make the law respectable.
If we desire respect for the law, we must first make the law respectable.
We have perhaps a natural fear of ends. We would rather be always on the way than arrive. Given the read more
We have perhaps a natural fear of ends. We would rather be always on the way than arrive. Given the means, we hang on to them and often forget the ends.
...when we renounce the self and become part of a compact whole, we not only renounce personal advantage but are read more
...when we renounce the self and become part of a compact whole, we not only renounce personal advantage but are also rid of personal responsibility. There is no telling to what extremes of cruelty and ruthlessness a man will go when he is freed from the fears, hesitations, doubts and the vague stirrings of decency that go with individual judgement. When we lose our individual independence in the corporateness of a mass movement, we find a new freedom- freedom to hate, bully, lie, torture, murder and betray without shame and remorse. Herein undoubtedly lies part of the attractiveness of a mass movement.
There is a powerful craving in most of us to see ourselves as instruments in the hands of others and read more
There is a powerful craving in most of us to see ourselves as instruments in the hands of others and thus free ourselves from the responsibility for acts which are prompted by our own questionable inclinations and impulses. Both the strong and the weak grasp at this alibi. The latter hide their malevolence under the virtue of obedience: they acted dishonorably because they had to obey orders. The strong, too, claim absolution by proclaiming themselves the chosen instrument of a higher power- God, history, fate, nation or humanity.
We clamor for equality chiefly in matters in which we ourselves cannot hope to attain excellence. To discover what a read more
We clamor for equality chiefly in matters in which we ourselves cannot hope to attain excellence. To discover what a man truly craves but knows he cannot have we must find the field in which he advocates absolute equality. By this test Communists are frustrated Capitalists.
The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false-face for the urge to rule it.
The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false-face for the urge to rule it.
Republicans are men of narrow vision, who are afraid of the future.
Republicans are men of narrow vision, who are afraid of the future.
