From the fact that people are very different it follows that, if we treat them equally, the result must be inequality in their actual position, and that the only way to place them in an equal position would be to treat them differently. Equality before the law and material equality are therefore not only different but are in conflict which each other; and we can achieve either one or the other, but not both at the same time.
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All that a good government aims at...is to add no unnecessary and artificial aid to the force of its own read more
All that a good government aims at...is to add no unnecessary and artificial aid to the force of its own unavoidable consequences, and to abstain from fortifying and accumulating social inequality as a means of increasing political inequalities.
Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.
Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.
The successful politician owes his power to the fact that he moves within the accepted framework of thought, that he read more
The successful politician owes his power to the fact that he moves within the accepted framework of thought, that he thinks and talks conventionally. It would be almost a contradiction in terms for a politician to be a leader in the field of ideas. His task in a democracy is to find out what the opinions held by the largest number are, not to give currency to new opinions which may become the majority view in some distant future.
Our elections are free -- it's in the results where eventually we pay.
Our elections are free -- it's in the results where eventually we pay.
A thief believes everybody steals.
A thief believes everybody steals.
The man whose authority is recent is always stern.
The man whose authority is recent is always stern.
An ambassador is not simply an agent; he is also a spectacle.
An ambassador is not simply an agent; he is also a spectacle.
Democracy substitutes election by the incompetent many for the appointment by the corrupt few.
Democracy substitutes election by the incompetent many for the appointment by the corrupt few.
Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid read more
Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!
