What the public does is not to express its opinions but to align itself for or against a proposal. If read more

What the public does is not to express its opinions but to align itself for or against a proposal. If that theory is accepted, we must abandon the notion that democratic government can be the direct expression of the will of the people. We must abandon the notion that the people govern. Instead we must adopt the theory that, by their occasional mobilizations as a majority, people support or oppose the individuals who actually govern. We must say that the popular will does not direct continuously but that it intervenes occasionally.

If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs read more

If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it.

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.

Republicans have been accused of abandoning the poor. It's the other way around. They never vote for us.

Republicans have been accused of abandoning the poor. It's the other way around. They never vote for us.

The United States brags about its political system, but the President says one thing during the election, something else when read more

The United States brags about its political system, but the President says one thing during the election, something else when he takes office, something else at midterm and something else when he leaves.

Politics is the art of the possible.

Politics is the art of the possible.

Patriotism has its roots deep in the instincts and the affections. Love of country is the expansion of dutiful love.

Patriotism has its roots deep in the instincts and the affections. Love of country is the expansion of dutiful love.

It seems that an essential condition for crises is to be found in the existence of a highly developed system read more

It seems that an essential condition for crises is to be found in the existence of a highly developed system of communications and the spreading of a homogenous mentality over vast areas.But when the hour and the right material are at hand, the contagion spreads with the speed of electricity over hundreds of miles, and affects the most diverse populations, which hardly know each other. The message flies through the air and they all suddenly agree on that one issue, if only a sulky admission that "there's got to be a change.".

No one ever heard of the truth being enforced by law. Whenever the secular arm is called in to sustain read more

No one ever heard of the truth being enforced by law. Whenever the secular arm is called in to sustain an idea, whether new or old, it is always a bad idea, and not infrequently it is downright idiotic.