F.a. Hayek

From the saintly and single-minded idealist to the fanatic is often but a step.

From the saintly and single-minded idealist to the fanatic is often but a step.

The successful politician owes his power to the fact that he moves within the accepted framework of thought, that he read more

The successful politician owes his power to the fact that he moves within the accepted framework of thought, that he thinks and talks conventionally. It would be almost a contradiction in terms for a politician to be a leader in the field of ideas. His task in a democracy is to find out what the opinions held by the largest number are, not to give currency to new opinions which may become the majority view in some distant future.

...it is always from a minority acting in ways different from what the majority would prescribe that the majority in read more

...it is always from a minority acting in ways different from what the majority would prescribe that the majority in the end learns to do better.

A society that does not recognize that each individual has values of his own which he is entitled to follow read more

A society that does not recognize that each individual has values of his own which he is entitled to follow can have no respect for the dignity of the individual and cannot really know freedom.

All political theories assume, of course, that most individuals are very ignorant. Those who plead for liberty differ from the read more

All political theories assume, of course, that most individuals are very ignorant. Those who plead for liberty differ from the rest in that they include among the ignorant themselves as well as the wisest.