Few men desire liberty; most men wish only for a just master.

Few men desire liberty; most men wish only for a just master.

Oh! Duty is an icy shadow. It will freeze you. It cannot fill the heart's sanctuary.

Oh! Duty is an icy shadow. It will freeze you. It cannot fill the heart's sanctuary.

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.

The right to be heard does not autmatically include the right to be taken seriously.

The right to be heard does not autmatically include the right to be taken seriously.

It's time for the human race to enter the solar system.

It's time for the human race to enter the solar system.

It is precisely those things which belong to "the people" which have historically been despoiled- wild creatures, the air, and read more

It is precisely those things which belong to "the people" which have historically been despoiled- wild creatures, the air, and waterways being notable examples. This goes to the heart of why property rights are socially important in the first place. Property rights mean self-interested monitors. No owned creatures are in danger of extinction. No owned forests are in danger of being leveled. No one kills the goose that lays the golden egg when it is his goose.

A political career brings out the basest qualities in human nature.

A political career brings out the basest qualities in human nature.

Diplomacy is the art of saying "Nice doggie" until you can find a rock.

Diplomacy is the art of saying "Nice doggie" until you can find a rock.

Beguiled by George S. Bush's easy smile and casual indifference to the details, we are on the brink of electing read more

Beguiled by George S. Bush's easy smile and casual indifference to the details, we are on the brink of electing him to office. This isn't choosing a president, it's casting the lead in a sitcom about the presidency.