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Quote by Rick Perlstein

Work

The Invisible Bridge: The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan

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Author

Rick Perlstein
Rick Perlstein

Rick Perlstein is an American historian born in 1969. Known for his in-depth analysis of American politics and culture, Perlstein's work often focuses on the history and ideas of the United States from the mid-20th century to the modern era. more

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“Furthermore, a serious distortion of statesmanship occurs. Year by year, the statesman's time is increasingly devoted to an growing subset of misfits and neurotics, supposedly "oppressed" by an unfair social system which must be rectified. Little by little, the "oppressed" become the state's chief preoccupation, eclipsing the traditional tasks of statesmanship. The system no longer justifies itself in religious or historical terms, but on egalitarian grounds, in terms of "fairness" or "social justice." What actually happens, overall, is that greater and greater demands are placed upon the productive citizen to provide for the unproductive.”

“Since the debt limit simply accommodates debt that has already been incurred, raising it should, in theory, be perfunctory. But politicians have found it a useful shibboleth for showing their fealty fiscal discipline, even as they vote to ratify the debts their previous actions have a beginning the country to pay. The symbol of railing against debt has proven politically beneficial, even if not substantively meaningful.”