SOCIALISM QUOTES III

quotations about socialism

I pass the test that says a man who isn't a socialist at 20 has no heart, and a man who is a socialist at 40 has no head.

WILLIAM CASEY

attributed, Washington Post, May 7, 1987


To make men Socialists is nothing, but to make Socialism human is a great thing.

OSCAR WILDE

Pall Mall Gazette, February 15, 1889

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Every reasonable human being should be a moderate Socialist.

THOMAS MANN

New York Times, June 18, 1950

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Socialism accepts... the principles, which are the cornerstones of democracy, that authority to justify its title , must rest on consent; that power is tolerable only so far as it is accountable to the public; and that differences of character and capacity between human beings, however important on their own plane, are of minor importance when compared with the capital fact of their common humanity. Its object is to extend the application of those principles from the sphere of civil and political rights, where, at present, they are nominally recognized, to that of economic and social organization, where they are systematically and insolently defined.

R. H. TAWNEY

Equality


The only hope of socialism resides in those who have already brought about in themselves, as far as is possible in the society of today, that union between manual and intellectual labor which characterizes the society we are aiming at.

SIMONE WEIL

Oppression and Liberty

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I believe that for the past twenty years there has been a creeping socialism spreading in the United States.

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

speech to Republican leaders in Custer State Park, South Dakota, June 11, 1953

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Socialists make the mistake of confusing individual worth with success. They believe you cannot allow people to succeed in case those who fail feel worthless.

KENNETH BAKER

London Observer, July 13, 1986


As with the Christian religion, the worst advertisement for Socialism is its adherents.

GEORGE ORWELL

The Road to Wigan Pier

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I think it's wrong that only one percent of the people should own ninety percent of the country.

SALLY WENTWORTH

Summer Fire


Great Socialist statesmen aren't made, they're stillborn.

SAKI

The Unbearable Bassington


Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word: equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.

ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE

speech at l'assemblée constituante, September 12, 1848

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The moment the idea is admitted into society, that property is not as sacred as the law of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. If "Thou shall not covet," and "Thou shall not steal," are not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society, before it can be civilized or made free.

JOHN ADAMS

A Defence of the Constitutions of Government

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In different places over the years I have had to prove that socialism, which to many western thinkers is a sort of kingdom of justice, was in fact full of coercion, of bureaucratic greed and corruption and avarice, and consistent within itself that socialism cannot be implemented without the aid of coercion. Communist propaganda would sometimes include statements such as "we include almost all the commandments of the Gospel in our ideology". The difference is that the Gospel asks all this to be achieved through love, through self-limitation, but socialism only uses coercion.

ALEKSANDR SOLZHENITSYN

interview, St. Austin Review, February 2003

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The issue is Socialism versus Capitalism. I am for Socialism because I am for humanity. We have been cursed with the reign of gold long enough. Money constitutes no proper basis of civilization. The time has come to regenerate society -- we are on the eve of universal change.

EUGENE V. DEBS

open letter to the American Railway Union, Chicago Railway Times, January 1, 1897

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Socialism is like Neil Diamond music. It's not good and belongs in the past, yet there's a group of people who think that it will eventually catch on if only they keep playing it.

JEFFREY EVAN BROOKS

attributed, "Socialism: The Next Social Revolution", Alternate History Discussion Board, October 12, 2013


If Socialism is what its friends say it is, it should be commended; if it is what its enemies say it is, it should be condemned.

FRANKLIN VERZELIUS NEWTON PAINTER

attributed, Why I Am Opposed to Socialism


Socialism is not feasible. It is a myth of dreamy minds. It has an idealistic atmosphere and is attractive to those who lag in the struggle of life. Its worst feature is that it deceives the people who conscientiously seek relief in it. Its leadership thrives because its impracticability prevents the experimental tests that would expose its sophistry.

JOHN CALHOUN TUTT

attributed, Why I Am Opposed to Socialism


Socialism is nothing but the capitalism of the lower classes.

OSWALD SPENGLER

The Hour of Decision

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Jesus was the first socialist, the first to seek a better life for mankind.

MIKHAIL GORBACHEV

Daily Telegraph, June 16, 1992


A man who chooses between drinking a glass of milk and a glass of a solution of potassium cyanide does not choose between two beverages; he chooses between life and death. A society that chooses between capitalism and socialism does not choose between two social systems; it chooses between social cooperation and the disintegration of society. Socialism is not an alternative to capitalism; it is an alternative to any system under which men can live as human beings.

LUDWIG VON MISES

Human Action

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