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.

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.

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.

If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal.

If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal.

The art of economics consists in looking not merely at the immediate but at the longer effects of any act read more

The art of economics consists in looking not merely at the immediate but at the longer effects of any act or policy; it consists in tracing the consequences of that policy not merely for one group but for all groups.

It is not in the nature of politics that the best men should be elected. The best men do not read more

It is not in the nature of politics that the best men should be elected. The best men do not want to govern their fellowmen.

I was known as the chief grave robber of my state.

I was known as the chief grave robber of my state.

In every tyrant's heart there springs in the end this poison, that he cannot trust a friend.

In every tyrant's heart there springs in the end this poison, that he cannot trust a friend.

Nobody believes a rumor here in Washington until it's officially denied.

Nobody believes a rumor here in Washington until it's officially denied.