If a politician murders his mother, the first response of the press or of his opponents will likely be not read more

If a politician murders his mother, the first response of the press or of his opponents will likely be not that it was a terrible thing to do, but rather that in a statement made six years before he had gone on record as being opposed to matricide.

The kind of man who wants the government to adopt and enforce his ideas is always the kind of man read more

The kind of man who wants the government to adopt and enforce his ideas is always the kind of man whose ideas are idiotic.

Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation.

Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation.

...Although the political liberty of this country is greater than that of nearly every other civilized nation, its personal liberty read more

...Although the political liberty of this country is greater than that of nearly every other civilized nation, its personal liberty is said to be less. In other words, men are thought to be more under the control of extra-legal authorities, and to defer more to those around them, in pursuing even their lawful and innocent occupations, than in almost every other country.

A right without an attendant responsibility is as unreal as a sheet of paper which has only one side.

A right without an attendant responsibility is as unreal as a sheet of paper which has only one side.

The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire.

The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire.

I have not yet begun to fight!

I have not yet begun to fight!

All lasting change is incremented, based on unfolding traditions and developing institutions. Revolutionary upheavals may change how the world looks read more

All lasting change is incremented, based on unfolding traditions and developing institutions. Revolutionary upheavals may change how the world looks but seldom changes the way the world works. Lasting historical change comes not through tidal waves but through the irresistible creeping tide.

War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.

War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.