Home / Authors / Charles A. Murray

Charles A. Murray Quotes

Political Scientist

Charles A. Murray is an American political scientist known for his research on race, intelligence, and social structure. His works, such as 'Human Accomplishment' and 'The Bell Curve,' have sparked widespread debate.

Filter quotes by topic

All Welfare People Poverty Social Cost Europe Government Humans Intellectual Liberty

Famous Charles A. Murray Quotes

“Educational romanticism asks too much from students at the bottom of the intellectual pile, asks the wrong things from those in the middle, and asks too little from those at the top.”

Littles Asks Too Much Middle Students Intellectual Bottom Educational Wrong Things Romanticism

Author:Charles A. Murray

“The United States Congress, acting with large bipartisan majorities, at the urging of the President, enacted as the law of the land that all children are to be above average.”

Children States Law President United Acting United States Land Majority Congress Average Bipartisan Above Average

Author:Charles A. Murray

“People need self-respect, but self-respect must be earned - it cannot be self-respect if it's not earned - and the only way to earn anything is to achieve it in the face of the possibility of failing.”

People Ifs Way Needs Self Faces Failing Achieve Possibility Self Respect

Author:Charles A. Murray

“We tried to provide more for the poor and produced more poor instead. We tried to remove the barriers to escape poverty, and inadvertently built a trap.”

Poor Poverty Built Remove Barriers Traps

Book:Losing Ground: American Social Policy, 1950-1980

Source: Losing Ground: American Social Policy, 1950-1980

“When life becomes an extended picnic, with nothing of importance to do, ideas of greatness become an irritant. Such is the nature of the Europe syndrome.”

Ideas Greatness Europe Importance Syndromes Picnics Irritants

Book:In Our Hands: A Plan to Replace the Welfare State

Source: In Our Hands: A Plan to Replace the Welfare State

“Give people plenty and security, and they will fall into spiritual torpor.”

People Giving Spiritual Fall Security Plenty

Book:In Our Hands: A Plan to Replace the Welfare State

Source: In Our Hands: A Plan to Replace the Welfare State

“The welfare state is an enemy of private property. The excessive taxation used to support the welfare state is extremely dangerous.”

States Used Enemy Support Dangerous Property Welfare Taxation Private Property Welfare State

Author:Charles A. Murray

“Illegitimacy is the single most important social problem of our time - more important than crime, drugs, poverty, illiteracy, welfare or homelessness because it drives everything else.”

Important Problem Social Poverty Crime Drug Welfare Our Time Homelessness Illiteracy Social Problems

Author:Charles A. Murray

“The government can back up its tastes and beliefs with the police power. That is why it cannot be permitted tastes and beliefs. Most emphatically, it cannot be permitted to define one group as being privileged over another group of people. It was wrong in the days of Jim Crow; it is wrong in the days of affirmative action.”

People Government Action Belief Groups Taste Police Privileged Crow Affirmative Action Affirmative Jim Crow Police Power

Author:Charles A. Murray

“It was raining cats and dogs, and I fell in a poodle.”

Dog Rain Cat Poodles Cat And Dog

Author:Charles A. Murray

“The reason welfare is bad is not because it costs too much, nor because it "undermines the work ethic," but because it is intrinsically at odds with the way human beings come to live satisfying lives.”

Way Humans Reason Human Beings Liberty Poverty Too Much Cost Ethics Libertarian Welfare Satisfying Libertarianism Odds Work Ethic

Author:Charles A. Murray

“It was the transmutation of the classical liberal intellectual foundation by Christianity that gave modern Europe its impetus and that pushed European accomplishment so far ahead of all other cultures and civilizations around the world.”

World Culture Liberty Christianity Modern Civilization Intellectual Europe Foundation Around The World Accomplishment Other Cultures Impetus Transmutation

Author:Charles A. Murray

“The most troubling aspect of social policy towards the poor in late 20th century America is or how much it costs, but what it has bought.”

America Social Poor Century Policy Cost Late Aspect 20th Century Social Policy

Author:Charles A. Murray

“We believe that human happiness requires freedom and that freedom requires limited government.”

Believe Humans Government Limited Government Human Happiness

Author:Charles A. Murray

“What a racially segregated system once taught the young black about living with his inferiority is now taught by a benevolent social welfare system. The difference was that in an earlier age a black parent could fight the competing influences.”

Age Young Fighting Social Parent Black Differences Influence Taught Welfare Competing Inferiority Benevolent Social Welfare

Book:Losing Ground: American Social Policy, 1950-1980

Source: Losing Ground: American Social Policy, 1950-1980

About the Author

Born: January 8, 1943
Known for: Political Scientist
Quotes: 15

Books & Sources

In Our Hands: A Plan to Replace the Welfare StateRelated source material

Losing Ground: American Social Policy, 1950-1980Related source material

Similar Authors

Muhammad YunusBrowse related quotes
Daniel BatsonBrowse related quotes
Leonard ReadBrowse related quotes
Thomas SowellBrowse related quotes
William Reynolds Archer, Jr.Browse related quotes
David BoazBrowse related quotes
Ron PaulBrowse related quotes
Donald Soper, Baron SoperBrowse related quotes
Jacob G. HornbergerBrowse related quotes
Richard WexlerBrowse related quotes