The art of the indirect approach can only be mastered, and its full scope appreciated, by study of and reflection read more

The art of the indirect approach can only be mastered, and its full scope appreciated, by study of and reflection upon the whole history of war. But we can at least crystallize the lessons into two simple maxims- one negative, the other positive. The first is that, in face of the overwhelming evidence of history, no general is justified in launching his troops to a direct attack upon an enemy firmly in position. The second, that instead of seeking to upset the enemy's equilibrium by one's attack, it must be upset before a real attack is, or can be successfully launched.

We once worried that democracy could not survive if an undereducated populace knew too little. Now we worry if it read more

We once worried that democracy could not survive if an undereducated populace knew too little. Now we worry if it can survive us knowing too much.

Well, I'm not a crook.

Well, I'm not a crook.

In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards.

In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards.

Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives.

Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives.

To succeed in politics, it is often necessary to rise above your principles.

To succeed in politics, it is often necessary to rise above your principles.

Justice, like liberty and coercion, is a concept which, for the sake of clarity, ought to be confined to the read more

Justice, like liberty and coercion, is a concept which, for the sake of clarity, ought to be confined to the deliberate treatment of men by other men.

If none were to have Liberty but those who understand what it is, there would not be many freed Men read more

If none were to have Liberty but those who understand what it is, there would not be many freed Men in the world.

The essential characteristic of Western civilization that distinguishes it from the arrested and petrified civilizations of the East was and read more

The essential characteristic of Western civilization that distinguishes it from the arrested and petrified civilizations of the East was and is its concern for freedom from the state. The history of the West, from the age of the Greek polis down to the present-day resistance to socialism, is essentially the history of the fight for liberty against the encroachments of the officeholders.