The essential characteristic of Western civilization that distinguishes it from the arrested and petrified civilizations of the East was and is its concern for freedom from the state. The history of the West, from the age of the Greek polis down to the present-day resistance to socialism, is essentially the history of the fight for liberty against the encroachments of the officeholders.
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A little government and a little luck are necessary in life; but only a fool trusts either of them.
A little government and a little luck are necessary in life; but only a fool trusts either of them.
Politics are about power; we cannot evade that truth or its consequences. We dream of a better world but it read more
Politics are about power; we cannot evade that truth or its consequences. We dream of a better world but it is in Utopia- that is, nowhere.
He is free who knows how to keep in his own hand the power to decide, at each step, the read more
He is free who knows how to keep in his own hand the power to decide, at each step, the course of his life, and who lives in a society which does not block the exercise of that power.
Political campaigns are designedly made into emotional orgies which endeavor to distract attention from the real issues involved, and they read more
Political campaigns are designedly made into emotional orgies which endeavor to distract attention from the real issues involved, and they actually paralyze what slight powers of cerebration man can normally muster.
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.
Absolute power corrupts even when exercised for humane purposes. The benevolent despot who sees himself as a shepherd of the read more
Absolute power corrupts even when exercised for humane purposes. The benevolent despot who sees himself as a shepherd of the people still demands from others the submissiveness of sheep.
One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.
One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.
No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation.
No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation.
Love your enemies just in case your friends turn out to be a bunch of bastards.
Love your enemies just in case your friends turn out to be a bunch of bastards.
