quotations about government
Most traditional governments divide people, setting them against each other to weaken the society and make it governable.
BRIAN HERBERT & KEVIN J. ANDERSON
The Butlerian Jihad
A thousand years scarce serve to form a state;
An hour may lay it in the dust.
LORD BYRON
Childe Harold's Pilgrimage
If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, it expects what never was and never will be.
THOMAS JEFFERSON
letter to Colonel Charles Yancey, January 6, 1816
Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.
GEORGE WASHINGTON
attributed
Governments are nothing more or less than gigantic criminal conspiracies, overgrown street gangs with no claims whatsoever to legitimacy. They are funded by theft and the basis of all their operations is aggression. They're no more entitled to keep their activities secret than any other gaggle of murderers, rapists and thieves.
TOMAS L. KNAPP
"At war with the concept of secrecy itself", August 25, 2013
For government; let it be in the hands of one, assisted with some counsel; and let them have commission to exercise martial laws, with some limitation. And above all, let men make that profit, of being in the wilderness, as they have God always, and his service, before their eyes.
FRANCIS BACON
"Of Plantations", The Essays or Counsels, Civil and Moral
The wheels of government go on, though wound up by different hands.
GEORGE BERKELEY
Alciphron; or, The Minute Philosopher in Seven Dialogues
For, as far as this life of mortals is concerned, which is spent and ended in a few days, what does it matter under whose government a dying man lives, if they who govern do not force him to impiety and iniquity?
ST. AUGUSTINE
The City of God
A government may endure for several ages, though the balance of power and the balance of property do not coincide. This chiefly happens where any rank or order of the state has acquired a large share in the property; but, from the original constitution of the government, has no share in the power. Under what pretence would any individual of that order assume authority in public affairs? As men are commonly much attached to their ancient government, it is not to be expected, that the public would ever favour such usurpations. But where the original constitution allows any share of power, though small, to an order of men who possess a large share of property, it is easy for them gradually to stretch their authority, and bring the balance of power to coincide with that of property.
DAVID HUME
"Of the First Principles of Government", Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary
A ruler must learn to persuade and not to compel.
FRANK HERBERT
Dune
When a country is well governed, poverty and a mean condition are something to be ashamed of. When a country is ill governed, riches and honors are something to be ashamed of.
CONFUCIUS
The Wisdom of Confucius
Let the people think they govern, and they will be govern'd.
WILLIAM PENN
Some Fruits of Solitude
A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.
EDWARD R. MURROW
attributed, People Before Profit
Where the people fear the government you have tyranny. Where the government fears the people you have liberty.
JOHN BASIL BARNHILL
"Indictment of Socialism No. 3", Barnhill-Tichenor Debate on Socialism
Contempt for government undermines its ability to protect all citizens. Good government should be based on facts. It should invest in maintenance of basic services, whether infrastructure repairs or public health, and be prepared for crises. Above all, it should attract the best and most professional people to public service. Unless we believe that public service is an honorable calling, we will never motivate talented people to join or achieve high performances. But none of this is possible unless those in positions of public trust carry out their jobs honorably, with respect for the institutions and the public they serve.
ROSABETH MOSS KANTER
America the Principled
Good Government is like a fruitful Season in a temperate Soil.
PATRICK CUMING
sermon preached in the Old Church of Edinburgh, December 18, 1745
All free governments are managed by the combined wisdom and folly of the people.
JAMES A. GARFIELD
letter to B. A. Hinsdale, April 21, 1880
A scientific body to which had been confided the government of society would soon end by devoting itself no longer to science at all, but to quite another affair; and that affair, as in the case of all established powers, would be its own eternal perpetuation by rendering the society confided to its care ever more stupid and consequently more in need of its government and direction.
MIKHAIL BAKUNIN
God and the State
In some respects government is like a game; before the players can even take the field to compete, they need to agree on a set of rules that decide how the game is to be played. Constitutions are the rules of the political game - who can vote, who can stand for office, what powers they are to have, the rights and duties of citizens and so on. Without these basic rules politics would degenerate into arbitrariness, brute force, or anarchy.
KENNETH NEWTON & JAN W. VAN DETH
Foundations of Comparative Politics
As soon as we abandon our own reason, and are content to rely upon authority, there is no end to our troubles.
BERTRAND RUSSELL
An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish