Those who see their lives as spoiled and wasted crave equality and fraternity more than they do freedom. If they clamor for freedom, it is but freedom to establish equality and uniformity. The passion for equality is partly a passion for anonymity: to be one thread of the many which make up a tunic; one thread not distinguishable from the others. No one can then point us out, measure us against others and expose our inferiority.
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It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions read more
It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.
There is Jackson with his Virginians, standing like a stone wall. Let us determine to die here, and we will read more
There is Jackson with his Virginians, standing like a stone wall. Let us determine to die here, and we will conquer.
The celebration of unbounded individualism means, beyond some point, the acceptance of force- either private (crime, riot, vigilanteism) or public read more
The celebration of unbounded individualism means, beyond some point, the acceptance of force- either private (crime, riot, vigilanteism) or public (authoritarianism).
Liberty is an opportunity for doing good, but this is only so when it is also an opportunity for doing read more
Liberty is an opportunity for doing good, but this is only so when it is also an opportunity for doing wrong.
I love deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sound they make as they go flying by.
I love deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sound they make as they go flying by.
Because we can expect future generations to be richer than we are, no matter what we do about resources, asking read more
Because we can expect future generations to be richer than we are, no matter what we do about resources, asking us to refrain from using resources now so that future generations can have them later is like asking the poor to make gifts to the rich.
From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need.
From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need.
...when we renounce the self and become part of a compact whole, we not only renounce personal advantage but are read more
...when we renounce the self and become part of a compact whole, we not only renounce personal advantage but are also rid of personal responsibility. There is no telling to what extremes of cruelty and ruthlessness a man will go when he is freed from the fears, hesitations, doubts and the vague stirrings of decency that go with individual judgement. When we lose our individual independence in the corporateness of a mass movement, we find a new freedom- freedom to hate, bully, lie, torture, murder and betray without shame and remorse. Herein undoubtedly lies part of the attractiveness of a mass movement.
You do not examine legislation in the light of the benefits it will convey if properly administered, but in the read more
You do not examine legislation in the light of the benefits it will convey if properly administered, but in the light of the wrongs it would do and the harms it would cause if improperly administered.
