By the end, everybody had a label -- pig, liberal, radical, revolutionary ... If you had everything but a gun, read more

By the end, everybody had a label -- pig, liberal, radical, revolutionary ... If you had everything but a gun, you were a radical but not a revolutionary.

Governments will always misuse the machinery of the law as far as the state of public opinion permits.

Governments will always misuse the machinery of the law as far as the state of public opinion permits.

I gave 'em a sword. And they stuck it in, and they twisted it with relish. And I guess if read more

I gave 'em a sword. And they stuck it in, and they twisted it with relish. And I guess if I had been in their position, I'd have done the same thing.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

The more the world is specialized the more it will be run by generalists.

The more the world is specialized the more it will be run by generalists.

It is all very well to talk about being the captain of your soul. It is hard, and only a read more

It is all very well to talk about being the captain of your soul. It is hard, and only a few heroes, saints, and geniuses have been the captains of their souls for any extended period of their lives. Most men, after a little freedom, have preferred authority with the consoling assurances and the economy of effort which it brings.

All conservatism is based upon the idea that if you leave things alone you leave them as they are. But read more

All conservatism is based upon the idea that if you leave things alone you leave them as they are. But you do not. If you leave a thing alone you leave it to a torrent of change.

I think most historians will agree that the part played by impulses of selfish, individual aggression in the holocausts of read more

I think most historians will agree that the part played by impulses of selfish, individual aggression in the holocausts of history was small; first and foremost, the slaughter was meant as an offering to the gods, to king and country, or the future happiness of mankind. The crimes of Caligula shrink to insignificance compared to the havoc wrought by Torquemada. The number of victims of robbers, highwaymen, rapists, gangsters and other criminals at any period of history is negligible compared to the massive numbers of those cheerfully slain in the name of the true religion, just policy, or correct ideology.

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.