The tendency of democracies is, in all things, to mediocrity, since the tastes, knowledge, and principles of the majority form read more

The tendency of democracies is, in all things, to mediocrity, since the tastes, knowledge, and principles of the majority form the tribunal of appeal.

This I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. read more

This I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual.

Property is a central economic institution of any society, and private property is the central institution of a free society.

Property is a central economic institution of any society, and private property is the central institution of a free society.

Government and state can never be perfect because they owe their raison d'etre to the imperfection of man and can read more

Government and state can never be perfect because they owe their raison d'etre to the imperfection of man and can attain their end, the elimination of man's innate impulse to violence, only by recourse to violence, the very thing they are called upon to prevent.

Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations, may she always be in the right; but our country, right or read more

Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations, may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong.

The direct use of physical force is so poor a solution to the problem of limited resources that it is read more

The direct use of physical force is so poor a solution to the problem of limited resources that it is commonly employed only by small children and great nations.

I think most historians will agree that the part played by impulses of selfish, individual aggression in the holocausts of read more

I think most historians will agree that the part played by impulses of selfish, individual aggression in the holocausts of history was small; first and foremost, the slaughter was meant as an offering to the gods, to king and country, or the future happiness of mankind. The crimes of Caligula shrink to insignificance compared to the havoc wrought by Torquemada. The number of victims of robbers, highwaymen, rapists, gangsters and other criminals at any period of history is negligible compared to the massive numbers of those cheerfully slain in the name of the true religion, just policy, or correct ideology.

It is no secret that organized crime in America takes in over forty billion dollars a year. This is quite read more

It is no secret that organized crime in America takes in over forty billion dollars a year. This is quite a profitable sum, especially when one considers that the Mafia spends very little for office supplies.

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep read more

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. - "Amendment II".