“Consider in what way the industrial system developed upon capitalist lines. Why were a few rich men put with such ease into possession of the new methods? Why was it normal and natural in their eyes and in that of contemporary society that those who produced the new wealth with the new machinery should be proletarian and dispossessed?” MenWayShouldEyePoliticsNaturalLinesWealthEconomyRichNormalMethodPossessionContemporaryEaseLiberalismCapitalistMachineryRich ManContemporary Society Author:Hilaire Belloc
“In the same way the eminence attaching to the mere possession of great wealth disappoints us nine times out of ten, especially if the wealth has been accumulated rapidly. For great wealth is accumulated rapidly by cunning or chance, or a mixture of the two. Cunning has nothing to do with high qualities; it is rather a presumption against them; while chance has nothing to do with them either. Therefore it is that men are always complaining after meeting So-and-so, that he seemed to be astonishingly stupid, though he made a million in ten years and started as a pauper.” IfsMenWayYearsHas BeensMadeTwoPoliticsWealthChanceQualityMillionsEconomyStupidTenMeetingsMerePossessionComplainingNineLiberalismCunningMixturesDisappointPresumptionHigh QualityEminenceAlways Complaining Author:Hilaire Belloc
“All the controversialists who have become conscious of the real issue are already saying of our ideal exactly what used to be said of the Socialists' ideal. They are saying that private property is too ideal not to be impossible. They are saying that private enterprise is too good to be true. They are saying that the idea of ordinary men owning ordinary possessions is against the laws of political economy and requires an alteration in human nature.” MenHumansSaidIdeasRealLawPoliticalUsedPoliticsEconomyIssuesImpossibleHuman NatureOrdinaryConsciousIdealsPropertyPossessionUsed To BeBeing TrueLiberalismEnterprisePrivate PropertyOrdinary ManAlterationsPolitical EconomyPrivate EnterpriseToo Good To Be True Author:Gilbert K. Chesterton
“The demand for liberty is a demand for power, either for possession of powers of action not already possessed or for retention and expansion of powers already possessed.” WisdomActionPoliticsLibertyEconomyDemandPossessionLiberalismPossessedExpansionRetention Book:The Later Works, 1925-1953 Source: The Later Works, 1925-1953
“In our time, in particular, there exists another form of ownership which is becoming no less important than land: the possession of know-how, technology and skill. The wealth of the industrialized nations is based much more on this kind of ownership than on natural resources.” KnowsKindImportantWisdomFormPoliticsNationsNaturalWealthTechnologyKnow HowEconomyLandParticularBecomingSkillsResourcesPossessionOur TimeLiberalismOwnershipNatural Resources Author:Pope John Paul II
“Possession properly has two faces, two aspects: we all have a right to private property, but this is accompanied by our responsibility for its righteous use. These two things (which should be inseparable) are frequently divided today. Everyone admits that the farmer who own a horse is obligated to feed and care for it, but in the case of stocks and bonds, we often forget that the same principle should prevail.” ShouldTwoUseWisdomCareTodayFacesPoliticsForgetResponsibilityPrinciplesCasesEconomyAspectHorsePropertyPossessionTwo ThingsLiberalismDividedFarmersRighteousInseparablePrivate Property Author:Fulton J. Sheen
“To take a single step beyond the boundaries specially drawn around the powers of Congress is to take possession of a boundless field of power, no longer susceptible to definition.” GovernmentPoliticalPoliticsStepsFieldsConstitutionCongressDefinitionsPossessionBoundariesFederal GovernmentBoundlessFreedom LibertyProperty RightsBill Of RightsSusceptibleAmerican GovernmentConstitutional RightsSeparation Of PowersUs ConstitutionFederalismGeneral WelfareConstitutional GovernmentSingle StepTyranny Founding FathersPower Government Book:The Writings of Thomas Jefferson: Correspondence, cont Source: The Writings of Thomas Jefferson: Correspondence, cont
“Where an excess of power prevails, property of no sort is duly respected. No man is safe in his opinions, his person, his faculties, or his possessions.” MenPersonsGovernmentPoliticalPoliticsLibertyOpinionSafePropertyPossessionFacultyExcessProperty Rights Book:1829-1836 Source: 1829-1836