Experience proves that those are oftenest abused who can be abused with the greatest impunity. Men are whipped oftenest who read more

Experience proves that those are oftenest abused who can be abused with the greatest impunity. Men are whipped oftenest who are whipped easiest.

And what is a good citizen? Simply one who never says, does or thinks anything that is unusual. Schools are read more

And what is a good citizen? Simply one who never says, does or thinks anything that is unusual. Schools are maintained in order to bring this uniformity up to the highest possible point. A school is a hopper into which children are heaved while they are still young and tender; therein they are pressed into certain standard shapes and covered from head to heels with official rubber-stamps.

Every luxury must be paid for, and everything is a luxury, starting with being in this world.

Every luxury must be paid for, and everything is a luxury, starting with being in this world.

We have a system that increasingly taxes work and subsidizes nonwork.

We have a system that increasingly taxes work and subsidizes nonwork.

The human race, to which so many of my readers belong, has been playing at children's games from the beginning, read more

The human race, to which so many of my readers belong, has been playing at children's games from the beginning, and will probably do it till the end, which is a nuisance for the few people who grow up. And one of the games to which it is most attached is called, ''Keep tomorrow dark,'' and which is also named (by the rustics in Shropshire, I have no doubt) ''Cheat the Prophet.'' The players listen very carefully and respectfully to all that the clever men have to say about what is to happen in the next generation. The players then wait until all the clever men are dead, and bury them nicely. Then they go and do something else. That is all. For a race of simple tastes, however, it is great fun.

Deeds of violence in our society are performed largely by those trying to establish their self-esteem, to defend their self-image, read more

Deeds of violence in our society are performed largely by those trying to establish their self-esteem, to defend their self-image, and to demonstrate that they, too, are significant.

What is the use of a house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?

What is the use of a house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?

Society is a madhouse whose wardens are the officials and the police.

Society is a madhouse whose wardens are the officials and the police.

It is a governing principle of nature, that the agency which can produce most good, when perverted from its proper read more

It is a governing principle of nature, that the agency which can produce most good, when perverted from its proper aim, is most productive of evil. It behooves the well-intentioned, therefore, vigorously to watch the tendency of even their most highly prized institutions, since that which was established in the interests of the right, may so easily become the agent of the wrong.