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Government quotes

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“Power is not a means, it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship.” George Orwell, “1984” - 1949

“Civil government, so far as it is instituted for the security of property, is, in reality, instituted for the defence of the rich against the poor, or of those who have some property against those who have none at all.” Adam Smith, “The Wealth of Nations” - 1776

“The government, which was designed for the people, has got into the hands of bosses and their employers, the special interests. An invisible empire has been set up above the forms of democracy.” Woodrow Wilson, “The New Freedom” - 1913

“There is no art which one government sooner learns of another, than that of draining money from the pockets of the people.” Adam Smith, “The Wealth of Nations” - 1776

“Despotism may govern without faith, but liberty cannot.” Alexis de Tocqueville, “Democracy in America” - 1835

“there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress.” Mark Twain, “Following the Equator” - 1897

“A constitution is the arrangement of magistracies in a state, especially of the highest of all. The government is everywhere sovereign in the state, and the constitution is in fact the government.” Aristotle, “Politics”

“It runs as follows: The State is made for man, not man for the State.” Albert Einstein, “The world as I see it” - 1949

“But we must remember that good laws, if they are not obeyed, do not constitute good government.” Aristotle, “Politics”

“The preservation of freedom is the protective reason for limiting and decentralizing governmental power.” Milton Friedman, “Capitalism and Freedom” - 1962

“In our civilization, and under our republican form of government, brain is so highly honored that it is rewarded by exemption from the cares of office.” Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil's Dictionary” - 1906

“One of the principles whose application was the source of much hostility was this: It is better for the Government to help a poor man to make a living for his family than to help a rich man make more profit for his company.” Theodore Roosevelt, “Theodore Roosevelt; an Autobiography” - 1913

“The whole art of government consists in the art of being honest.” Thomas Jefferson, “A Summary View of the Rights of British America” - 1774

“It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself.” Thomas Jefferson, “Notes on the State of Virginia” - 1785

“If a country is governed with repression, the people are depressed and crafty.” Lao Tzu, “Tao Te Ching” - 4th century BC

“peoples and governments never have learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it.” Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, “Lectures on the Philosophy of History” - 1837

“If you want to govern the people, you must place yourself below them. If you want to lead the people, you must learn how to follow them.” Lao Tzu, “Tao Te Ching” - 4th century BC

“Equality consists in the same treatment of similar persons, and no government can stand which is not founded upon justice.” Aristotle, “Politics”

“It is the purpose of government to see that not only the legitimate interests of the few are protected, but that the welfare and rights of the many are conserved.” Franklin D. Roosevelt, “Looking Forward” - 1933

“Were there a people of gods, their government would be democratic. So perfect a government is not for men.” Jean-Jacques Rousseau, “The Social Contract” - 1762

“For governing a country well there is nothing better than moderation.” Lao Tzu, “Tao Te Ching” - 4th century BC

“For if liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost.” Aristotle, “Politics”

“The fact is that the Great Depression, like most other periods of severe unemployment, was produced by government mismanagement rather than by any inherent instability of the private economy.” Milton Friedman, “Capitalism and Freedom” - 1962

“The existence of a free market does not of course eliminate the need for government. On the contrary, government is essential both as a forum for determining the 'rules of the game' and as an umpire to interpret and enforce the rules decided on.” Milton Friedman, “Capitalism and Freedom” - 1962

“The position now taken by the Government is absolutely destructive of legitimate business, because they outline no rule of conduct for business of any magnitude.” Theodore Roosevelt, “Theodore Roosevelt; an Autobiography” - 1913

“It is preposterous to suppose that the people of one generation can lay down the best and only rules of government for all who are to come after them, and under unforeseen contingencies.” Ulysses S. Grant, “Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant” - 1885

“Government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence; the palaces of kings are built on the ruins of the bowers of paradise.” Thomas Paine, “Common Sense” - 1776

“Is the power who is jealous of our prosperity, a proper power to govern us?” Thomas Paine, “Common Sense” - 1776

“We are a nation that has a government—not the other way around.” Ronald Reagan, “Inaugural Address” - 20 January 1981

“Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves therefore are its only safe depositories.” Thomas Jefferson, “Notes on the State of Virginia” - 1785

“religion, and not fear, has ever been the cause of the long-lived prosperity of an absolute government.” Alexis de Tocqueville, “Democracy in America” - 1835

“The great advances of civilization, whether in architecture or painting, in science or literature, in industry or agriculture, have never come from centralized government. Columbus did not set out to seek a new route to China in response to a...” Milton Friedman, “Capitalism and Freedom” - 1962

“The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.” Thomas Jefferson, “Notes on the State of Virginia” - 1785

“No theory of government was ever given a fairer test or a more prolonged experiment in a democratic country than democratic socialism received in Britain. Yet it was a miserable failure in every respect.” Margaret Thatcher, “The Downing Street Years” - 1993

“But some governments will be timid in the face of terror. And make no mistake about it: If they do not act, America will.” George W. Bush, “State of the Union Address” - 29 January 2002

“The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the Prohibition laws. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced.” Albert Einstein, “The world as I see it” - 1949

“The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.” Barack Obama, “Inaugural Address” - 20 January 2009

“A democracy is more than a form of government; it is primarily a mode of associated living, of conjoint communicated experience.” John Dewey, “Democracy and Education” - 1916

“All of us need to be reminded that the Federal Government did not create the States; the States created the Federal Government.” Ronald Reagan, “Inaugural Address” - 20 January 1981

“The trouble with the theory is that government is not a machine, but a living thing.” Woodrow Wilson, “The New Freedom” - 1913

“The government itself, which is only the mode which the people have chosen to execute their will, is equally liable to be abused and perverted before the people can act through it.” Henry David Thoreau, “Civil Disobedience” - 1849

“That government is best which governs least” Henry David Thoreau, “Civil Disobedience” - 1849

“For the greatest part of humanity and the longest periods of history, empire has been the typical mode of government. Empires have no interest in operating within an international system; they aspire to be the international system.” Henry Kissinger, “Diplomacy” - 1994

“Imagine all contradictions, all possible incompatibilities—you will find them in the government, in the law-courts, in the churches, in the public shows of this droll nation.” Voltaire, “Candide” - 1759

“In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” Ronald Reagan, “Inaugural Address” - 20 January 1981

“Unjust laws exist: shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once?” Henry David Thoreau, “Civil Disobedience” - 1849

“The need for government in these respects arises because absolute freedom is impossible. However attractive anarchy may be as a philosophy, it is not feasible in a world of imperfect men.” Milton Friedman, “Capitalism and Freedom” - 1962

“Good government should maintain the balance where every individual may have a place if he will take it, where every individual may find safety if he wishes it, where every individual may attain such power as his ability permits, consistent with...” Franklin D. Roosevelt, “Looking Forward” - 1933

“Was the government to prescribe to us our medicine and diet, our bodies would be in such keeping as our souls are now.” Thomas Jefferson, “Notes on the State of Virginia” - 1785

“Those who govern, having much business on their hands, do not generally like to take the trouble of considering and carrying into execution new projects. The best public measures are therefore seldom adopted from previous wisdom, but forc'd by...” Benjamin Franklin, “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin” - 1791

Related topics

democracy freedom people power religion justice state constitution wisdom leadership equality law politics action interest obedience liberty property rule welfare

Related authors

Thomas Paine (7)
Henry David Thoreau (6)
Aristotle (5)
Thomas Jefferson (5)
Milton Friedman (5)
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (4)
Ronald Reagan (4)
Adam Smith (3)
Lao Tzu (3)
Woodrow Wilson (3)
Albert Einstein (2)
Theodore Roosevelt (2)
Alexis de Tocqueville (2)
Franklin D. Roosevelt (2)
George W. Bush (2)
Mark Twain (1)
George Orwell (1)
Benjamin Franklin (1)
Malcolm X (1)
Confucius (1)

Related sources

Common Sense (7)
Civil Disobedience (6)
Politics (5)
Capitalism and Freedom (5)
The Social Contract (4)
Inaugural Address (4)
Notes on the State of Virginia (4)
State of the Union Address (3)
The Wealth of Nations (3)
Tao Te Ching (3)
The New Freedom (3)
The world as I see it (2)
Theodore Roosevelt; an Autobiography (2)
Democracy in America (2)
Looking Forward (2)
1984 (1)
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (1)
The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1)
Analects (1)
Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant (1)