Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to read more

Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule--and both commonly succeed, and are right.

...one of the most notable characteristics of any Age of Conflict is the effort to achieve economic expansion by political read more

...one of the most notable characteristics of any Age of Conflict is the effort to achieve economic expansion by political rather than by economic means.

If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for the law.

If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for the law.

The thing I enjoyed most were visits from children. They did not want public office.

The thing I enjoyed most were visits from children. They did not want public office.

One of the peculiarities of the American Revolution was that its leaders pinned their hopes on the organization of decision-making read more

One of the peculiarities of the American Revolution was that its leaders pinned their hopes on the organization of decision-making units, the structuring of their incentives, and the counterbalancing of the units against one another, rather than on the more usual (and more exciting) principle of substituting "the good guys" for "the bad guys.".

Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer; preserve my life from fear of the enemy. [Psalms 64:1].

Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer; preserve my life from fear of the enemy. [Psalms 64:1].

There is nothing an economist should fear so much as applause.

There is nothing an economist should fear so much as applause.

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.

Politics is not a game. It is an earnest business.

Politics is not a game. It is an earnest business.