Reinhold Niebuhr

Family life is too intimate to be preserved by the spirit of justice. It can be sustained by a spirit read more

Family life is too intimate to be preserved by the spirit of justice. It can be sustained by a spirit of love which goes beyond justice.

Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's
inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.

Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's
inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.

Democracy means not 'I am as good as you are,' but 'You are as
good as I am.'

Democracy means not 'I am as good as you are,' but 'You are as
good as I am.'

And the wisdom to distinguish one from the other.

And the wisdom to distinguish one from the other.

A republic properly understood is a sovereignty of justice, in
contradistinction to a sovereignty of will.

A republic properly understood is a sovereignty of justice, in
contradistinction to a sovereignty of will.