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Government Quotes

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Government Quotes

“Our rulers will best promote the improvement of the nation by strictly confining themselves to their own legitimate duties, by leaving capital to find its most lucrative course, commodities their fair price, industry and intelligence their natural reward, idleness and folly their natural punishment, by maintaining peace, by defending property, by diminishing the price of law, and by observing strict economy in every department of the state. Let the Government do this: the People will assuredly do the rest.”

“All free governments are managed by the combined wisdom and folly of the people.”

People Government Political Politics Diversity Folly Free Government Character Education

Author:James A. Garfield

“Political agitation, by the passions it arouses or the convictions it engenders, may in fact stimulate men to the violation of the law. Detestation of existing policies is easily transformed into forcible resistance of the authority which puts them in execution, and it would be folly to disregard the causal relation between the two. Yet to assimilate agitation, legitimate as such, with direct incitement to violent resistance, is to disregard the tolerance of all methods of political agitation which in normal times is a safeguard of free government.”

Source: The art and craft of judging: the decisions of Judge Learned Hand

“The gentlemen who wrote the Constitution were as suspicious of efficient government as they were wary of democracy, a "turbulence and a folly" that was associated with the unruly ignorance of an urban mob.”

Government Democracy Ignorance Constitution Gentleman Folly Efficient Urban Suspicious Turbulence Unruly

Book:Waiting for the Barbarians

Source: Waiting for the Barbarians

“There has been no organized effort to keep government down since Jefferson's day. Ever since then the American people have been bolstering up its powers and giving it more and more jurisdiction over their affairs. They pay for that folly in increased taxes and diminished liberties.”

People Giving Has Beens Government Effort Pay Liberty Taxes Affair Organized Folly Jurisdiction

Book:Minority Report

Source: Minority Report

“Beauty is the greatest of human powers. Any power without counterbalance or control becomes autocratic and leads to abuse and to folly. Despotism in a government is insanity; in woman, fantasy.”

Humans Government Beauty Power Fantasy Abuse Insanity Folly Despotism Human Power

Author:Honore de Balzac

“We are more heavily taxed by our idleness, pride and folly than we are taxed by government.”

Government Pride Folly Idleness

Author:Benjamin Franklin

“Government remains the paramount area of folly because it is there that men seek power over others - only to lose it over themselves.”

Men Government Loses Power Areas Remains Folly Paramount Power Over Others

Book:The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam

Source: The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam