Government And Society Quotes

Of all forms of government and society, those of free men and women are in many respects the most brittle. They give the fullest freedom for activities of private persons and groups who often identify their own interests, essentially selfish, with the general welfare.

The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples' money.

A little government and a little luck are necessary in life, but only a fool trusts either of them.

It would have been very alarming - morally, and in other ways too - if an attack of that nature, the 11 September attacks, had not aroused in us and in our governments and societies the spirit of self-defence. If that had not been one of the responses it seems to me there would have been very grave cause for concern.

The more numerous the laws, the more corrupt the government.

The very word Secrecy is repugnant in a free and open society.

The very word 'secrecy' is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths, and to secret proceedings.

Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them.

If a nation values anything more than freedom, it will lose its freedom; and the irony of it is that if it is comfort or money that it values more, it will lose that too.

The jaws of power are always open to devour, and her arm is always stretched out, if possible, to destroy the freedom of thinking, speaking, and writing.

Full participation in government and society has been a basic right of the country symbolizing the full citizenship and equal protection of all.

There is a lot of censorship about writing that's exerted from all directions, from families or governments and society, even the fear of being offensive in some way.

A government of laws, and not of men.

The nine most terrifying words in the English language are "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help."

Man is not free unless government is limited.

Socialism, like the ancient ideas from which it springs, confuses the distinction between government and society. As a result of this, every time we object to a thing being done by government, the socialists conclude that we object to its being done at all . . . . It is as if the socialists were to accuse us of not wanting persons to eat because we do not want the state to raise grain

If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.

These are all cases of proved or presumptive baloney. A deception arises, sometimes innocently but collaboratively, sometimes with cynical premeditation. Usually the victim is caught up in a powerful emotion -- wonder, fear, greed, grief. Credulous acceptance of baloney can cost you money; that's what P. T. Barnum meant when he said, 'There's a sucker born every minute.' But it can be much more dangerous than that, and when governments and societies lose the capacity for critical thinking, the results can be catastrophic -- however sympathetic we may be to those who have bought the baloney.

History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.

[Socialists claim] that we reject fraternity, solidarity, organization, and association; and they brand us with the name of individualists. We can assure them that what we repudiate is not natural organization, but forced organization. It is not free association, but the forms of association that they would impose upon us. It is not spontaneous fraternity, but legal fraternity. It is not providential solidarity, but artificial solidarity, which is only an unjust displacement of responsibility. Socialism . . . confounds Government and society.

Government is not a solution to our problem government is the problem.

The happiness of society is the end of government.

I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion about the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it.

I own that I am not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive.

That government is best which governs the least, because its people discipline themselves.

Fear is the foundation of most governments.

There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty.

A wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circle of our felicities.

In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.

The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.

Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.

Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.

That government is best which governs least.

A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.

One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.

I have sworn upon the altar of god.

History teaches that war begins when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap.

I have sworn upon the altar of God Eternal, hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.

If men were angels, no government would be necessary.

I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy.

Accidents have already become an important factor restricting the development of a harmonious economy and society, and have attracted the strong attention of the Chinese government and society

What matters is abuse, and how it is anchored in a religion that denies women their rights as humans. What matters is that atrocities against women and children are carried out in Europe. What matters is that governments and societies must stop hiding behind a hollow pretense of tolerance so that they can recognize and deal with the problem.

The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.

Were we directed from Washington when to sow and when to reap, we should soon want bread.

Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.

What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms.

Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every country in Europe.

Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom of Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretence, raised in the United States.

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal.

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.