Except in the sacred texts of democracy and in the incantations of orators, we hardly take the trouble to pretend read more

Except in the sacred texts of democracy and in the incantations of orators, we hardly take the trouble to pretend that the rule of the majority is not at bottom a rule of force. What other virtue can there be in fifty-one percent except the brute fact that fifty-one is more than forty-nine? The rule of fifty-one per cent is a convenience, it is for certain matters a satisfactory political device, it is for others the lesser of two evils, and for others it is acceptable because we do not know any less troublesome method of obtaining a political decision. But it may easily become an absurd tyranny if we regard it worshipfully, as though it were more than a political device. We have lost all sense of its true meaning when we imagine that the opinion of fifty-one per cent is in some high fashion the true opinion of the whole hundred per cent, or indulge in the sophistry that the rule of a majority is based upon the ultimate equality of man.

Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber.

Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber.

Watergate showed more strengths in our system than weaknesses... The whole country did take part in quite a genuine sense read more

Watergate showed more strengths in our system than weaknesses... The whole country did take part in quite a genuine sense in passing judgment on Richard Nixon.

Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it, misdiagnosing it, and then misapplying the wrong remedies.

Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it, misdiagnosing it, and then misapplying the wrong remedies.

Despair and misery are static factors. The dynamism of an uprising flows from hope and pride. Not actual suffering but read more

Despair and misery are static factors. The dynamism of an uprising flows from hope and pride. Not actual suffering but the hope of better things incites people to revolt.

The main political problem is how to prevent the police power from becoming tyrannical. This is the meaning of all read more

The main political problem is how to prevent the police power from becoming tyrannical. This is the meaning of all the struggles for liberty.

Anyone that wants the presidency so much that he'll spend two years organizing and campaigning for it is not to read more

Anyone that wants the presidency so much that he'll spend two years organizing and campaigning for it is not to be trusted with the office.

America is a large, friendly dog in a very small room. Every time it wags its tail, it knocks over read more

America is a large, friendly dog in a very small room. Every time it wags its tail, it knocks over a chair.

The draft is white people sending black people to fight yellow people to protect the country they stole from the read more

The draft is white people sending black people to fight yellow people to protect the country they stole from the red people.