In a democracy dissent is an act of faith. Like medicine, the test of its value is not in its read more

In a democracy dissent is an act of faith. Like medicine, the test of its value is not in its taste, but in its effects.

...this is precisely the purpose of censorship- not only to block unwanted views, but to keep people who are unhappy read more

...this is precisely the purpose of censorship- not only to block unwanted views, but to keep people who are unhappy from knowing how many millions of others share their unhappiness; to keep the dormant opposition from awakening to its own developing strength.

The positive testimony of history is that the State invariably had its origin in conquest and confiscation. No primitive State read more

The positive testimony of history is that the State invariably had its origin in conquest and confiscation. No primitive State known to history originated in any other manner.

Freedom means freedom from forces and circumstances which would turn man into a thing, which would impose on man the read more

Freedom means freedom from forces and circumstances which would turn man into a thing, which would impose on man the passivity and predictability of matter. By this test, absolute power is the manifestation most inimical to human uniqueness. Absolute power wants to turn people into malleable clay.

A wise man learns more from his enemies than a fool from his friends.

A wise man learns more from his enemies than a fool from his friends.

Chinks in America's egalitarian armor are not hard to find. Democracy is the fig leaf of elitism.

Chinks in America's egalitarian armor are not hard to find. Democracy is the fig leaf of elitism.

For every talent that poverty has stimulated it has blighted a hundred.

For every talent that poverty has stimulated it has blighted a hundred.

The tendency of democracies is, in all things, to mediocrity.

The tendency of democracies is, in all things, to mediocrity.

The framers gave us the Second Amendment not so we could go deer or duck hunting but to give us read more

The framers gave us the Second Amendment not so we could go deer or duck hunting but to give us a modicum of protection against congressional tyranny.