Discontent is likely to be highest when misery is bearable; when conditions have so improved that an ideal state seems read more

Discontent is likely to be highest when misery is bearable; when conditions have so improved that an ideal state seems almost within reach. A grievance is most poignant when almost redressed. De Tocqueville in his researches into the state of society in France before the revolution was struck by the discovery that "in no one of the periods which have followed the Revolution of 1789 has the national prosperity of France augmented more rapidly than it did in the twenty years preceding that event." He is forced to conclude that "the French found their position the more intolerable the better it became.

Beware lest in your anxiety to avoid war you obtain a master.

Beware lest in your anxiety to avoid war you obtain a master.

People are beginning to realize that the apparatus of government is costly. But what they do not know is that read more

People are beginning to realize that the apparatus of government is costly. But what they do not know is that the burden falls inevitably on them.

Americans are benevolently ignorant about Canada, while Canadians are malevolently well informed about the United States.

Americans are benevolently ignorant about Canada, while Canadians are malevolently well informed about the United States.

Where freedom is real, equality is the passion of the masses. Where equality is real, freedom is the passion of read more

Where freedom is real, equality is the passion of the masses. Where equality is real, freedom is the passion of a small minority.

Discontent does not invariably create a desire for change. Other factors have to be present before discontent turns into disaffection. read more

Discontent does not invariably create a desire for change. Other factors have to be present before discontent turns into disaffection. One of these is a sense of power.

The tendency of democracies is, in all things, to mediocrity, since the tastes, knowledge, and principles of the majority form read more

The tendency of democracies is, in all things, to mediocrity, since the tastes, knowledge, and principles of the majority form the tribunal of appeal.

Many a bum show has been saved by the flag.

Many a bum show has been saved by the flag.

The right of bearing arms for a lawful purpose is not a right granted by the Constitution; neither is it read more

The right of bearing arms for a lawful purpose is not a right granted by the Constitution; neither is it in any manner dependent upon that instrument for its existence.