The conception that government should be guided by majority opinion makes sense only if that opinion is independent of government. read more

The conception that government should be guided by majority opinion makes sense only if that opinion is independent of government. The ideal of democracy rests on the belief that the view which will direct government emerges from an independent and spontaneous process. It requires, therefore, the existence of a large sphere independent of majority control in which the opinions of the individuals are formed.

A man is not finished when he's defeated; he's finished when he quits.

A man is not finished when he's defeated; he's finished when he quits.

Diplomacy is to do and say the nastiest things in the nicest way.

Diplomacy is to do and say the nastiest things in the nicest way.

Politics, as a practice, whatever its professions, has always been the
systematic organization of hatreds.

Politics, as a practice, whatever its professions, has always been the
systematic organization of hatreds.

Ever since the beginning of modern science, the best minds have recognized that "the range of acknowledged ignorance will grow read more

Ever since the beginning of modern science, the best minds have recognized that "the range of acknowledged ignorance will grow with the advance of science." Unfortunately, the popular effect of this scientific advance has been a belief, seemingly shared by many scientists, that the range of our ignorance is steadily diminishing and that we can therefore aim at more comprehensive and deliberate control of all human activities. It is for this reason that those intoxicated by the advance of knowledge so often become the enemies of freedom.

When the people have no tyrant, their own public opinion becomes one.

When the people have no tyrant, their own public opinion becomes one.

In war there is no substitute for victory.

In war there is no substitute for victory.

I like the English. They have the most rigid code of immorality in the world.

I like the English. They have the most rigid code of immorality in the world.

Every device employed to bolster individual freedom must have as its chief purpose the impairment of the absoluteness of power. read more

Every device employed to bolster individual freedom must have as its chief purpose the impairment of the absoluteness of power. The indications are that such an impairment is brought about not by strengthening the individual and pitting him against the possessors of power, but by distributing and diversifying power and pitting one category or unit of power against the other. Where power is one, the defeated individual, however strong and resourceful, can have no refuge and no recourse.