We vote too much. We deliberate too little. We have brought within the scope of the federal jurisdiction a vast number of subjects that do not belong here, but are nevertheless here. What we need to do is to stop passing laws. We have enough laws now to govern the world for the next ten thousand years.
You May Also Like / View all maxioms
It is the very essence of despotism that it can never afford to fail. This is what distinguishes it most read more
It is the very essence of despotism that it can never afford to fail. This is what distinguishes it most vitally from democracy. In a despotism there is no organized opposition which can take over the power when the Administration in office has failed. All the eggs are in one basket. Everything is staked on one coterie of men. When the going is good, they move more quickly and efficiently than democracies, where the opposition has to be persuaded and conciliated. But when they lose, there are no reserves. There are no substitutes on the bench ready to go out on the field and carry the ball. That is why democracies with the habit of party government have outlived all other forms of government in the modern world. They have, as it were, at least two governments always at hand, and when one fails they have the other. They have diversified the risks of mortality, corruption, and stupidity which pervade all human affairs. They have remembered that the most beautifully impressive machine cannot run for very long unless there is available a complete supply of spare parts.
The only index by which to judge a government or a way of life is by the quality of the read more
The only index by which to judge a government or a way of life is by the quality of the people it acts upon. No matter how noble the objectives of a government, if it blurs decency and kindness, cheapens human life, and breeds ill will and suspicion- it is an evil government.
Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.
Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.
The tendency of democracies is, in all things, to mediocrity.
The tendency of democracies is, in all things, to mediocrity.
Power tires only those who do not have it.
Power tires only those who do not have it.
I'm going to be a vice president very much like George Bush was. He proved to be a very effective read more
I'm going to be a vice president very much like George Bush was. He proved to be a very effective vice president, perhaps the most effective we've had in a couple of hundred years.
Beware lest in your anxiety to avoid war you obtain a master.
Beware lest in your anxiety to avoid war you obtain a master.
Once you get into this great stream of history, you can't get out.
Once you get into this great stream of history, you can't get out.
All political theories assume, of course, that most individuals are very ignorant. Those who plead for liberty differ from the read more
All political theories assume, of course, that most individuals are very ignorant. Those who plead for liberty differ from the rest in that they include among the ignorant themselves as well as the wisest.
