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Quote by William Graham Sumner

“Any one who believes that any great enterprise of an industrial character can be started without labor must have little experience of life.”

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William Graham Sumner

William Graham Sumner was an influential American political scientist born on October 30, 1840, and died on April 12, 1910. He was a leading figure in social Darwinism and had a profound impact on American political thought from the late 19th to the early 20th century. more

“Gentlemen, the time is coming when there will be two great classes, Socialists, and Anarchists. The Anarchists want the government to be nothing, and the Socialists want the government to be everything. There can be no greater contrast. Well, the time will come when there will be only these two great parties, the Anarchists representing the laissez faire doctrine and the Socialists representing the extreme view on the other side, and when that time comes I am an Anarchist.”

Want Wells Two Government Sides Views Party Class Greater Extremes Doctrine Gentleman Contrast Anarchist Representing Laissez Faire Great Party

Author:William Graham Sumner

“Men educated in [the critical habit of thought]are slow to believe. They can hold things as possible or probable in all degrees, without certainty and without pain.”

Men Believe Pain Habit Degrees Critical Educated Certainty Without Pain

Author:William Graham Sumner

“The type and formula of most schemes of philanthropy or humanitarianism is this: A and B put their heads together to decide what C shall be made to do for D. The radical vice of all these schemes, from a sociological point of view, is that C is not allowed a voice in the matter, and his position, character, and interests, as well as the ultimate effects on society through C's interests, are entirely overlooked. I call C the Forgotten Man.”

Source: What Social Classes Owe to Each Other

Quote by William Graham Sumner

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