It is the invariable habit of bureaucracies, at all times and everywhere, to assume...that every citizen is a criminal. Their one apparent purpose, pursued with a relentless and furious diligence, is to convert the assumption into a fact. They hunt endlessly for proofs, and, when proofs are lacking, for mere suspicions. The moment they become aware of a definite citizen, John Doe, seeking what is his right under the law, they begin searching feverishly for an excuse for withholding it from him.
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The fact is that up to now a free society has not been good for the intellectual. It has neither read more
The fact is that up to now a free society has not been good for the intellectual. It has neither accorded him a superior status to sustain his confidence nor made it easy for him to acquire an unquestioned sense of social usefulness. For he derives his sense of usefulness mainly from directing, instructing, and planning- from minding other people's business- and is bound to feel superfluous and neglected where people believe themselves competent to manage individual and communal affairs, and are impatient of supervision and regulation. A free society is as much a threat to the intellectual's sense of worth as an automated economy is to the workingman's sense of worth. Any social order that can function with a minimum of leadership will be anathema to the intellectual.
A country grows in history not only because of the heroism of its troops on the field of battle, it read more
A country grows in history not only because of the heroism of its troops on the field of battle, it grows also when it turns to justice and to right for the conservation of its interests.
My brother Bob doesn't want to be in government -- he promised Dad he'd go straight.
My brother Bob doesn't want to be in government -- he promised Dad he'd go straight.
I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."N. B.: This read more
I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."N. B.: This quote is commonly attributed to Voltaire, but it is not found in his writing. - The Friends of Voltaire.
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.
Men resort to talking only when they haven't the power to enforce their convictions upon others.
Men resort to talking only when they haven't the power to enforce their convictions upon others.
Individuality is the aim of political liberty. By leaving the citizen as much freedom of action and of being as read more
Individuality is the aim of political liberty. By leaving the citizen as much freedom of action and of being as comports with order and the rights of others, the institutions render him truly a freeman. He is left to pursue his means of happiness in his own manner.
Inflation is as violent as a mugger, as frightening as an armed robber and as deadly as a hit man.
Inflation is as violent as a mugger, as frightening as an armed robber and as deadly as a hit man.
The art of the indirect approach can only be mastered, and its full scope appreciated, by study of and reflection read more
The art of the indirect approach can only be mastered, and its full scope appreciated, by study of and reflection upon the whole history of war. But we can at least crystallize the lessons into two simple maxims- one negative, the other positive. The first is that, in face of the overwhelming evidence of history, no general is justified in launching his troops to a direct attack upon an enemy firmly in position. The second, that instead of seeking to upset the enemy's equilibrium by one's attack, it must be upset before a real attack is, or can be successfully launched.
