It is the supreme test of a system of government whether its machinery is adequate for repressing the selfish undertakings of cliques formed on special interests and saving the public from raids of plunderers.

Quote by William Graham Sumner

Topics: Government Quotes

Perhaps they do not recognize themselves, for a rich man is even harder to define...

Perhaps they do not recognize themselves, for a rich man is even harder to define...

I have before me a newspaper slip on which a writer expresses the opinion that...

I have before me a newspaper slip on which a writer expresses the opinion that...

A good father believes that he does wisely to encourage enterprise, productive skill, prudent self-denial,...

A good father believes that he does wisely to encourage enterprise, productive skill, prudent self-denial,...

It is remarkable that jealousy of individual property in land often goes along with very...

It is remarkable that jealousy of individual property in land often goes along with very...

Then, again, the ability to organize and conduct industrial, commercial, or financial enterprises is rare;...

Then, again, the ability to organize and conduct industrial, commercial, or financial enterprises is rare;...

The great hinderance to the development of this continent has lain in the lack of...

The great hinderance to the development of this continent has lain in the lack of...

A drunkard in the gutter is just where he ought to be, according to the...

A drunkard in the gutter is just where he ought to be, according to the...

Men never cling to their dreams with such tenacity as at the moment when they...

Men never cling to their dreams with such tenacity as at the moment when they...

Labor organizations are formed, not to employ combined effort for a common object, but to...

Labor organizations are formed, not to employ combined effort for a common object, but to...

We throw all our attention on the utterly idle question whether A has done as...

We throw all our attention on the utterly idle question whether A has done as...

There is every indication that we are to see new developments of the power of...

There is every indication that we are to see new developments of the power of...

I never have known a man of ordinary common-sense who did not urge upon his...

I never have known a man of ordinary common-sense who did not urge upon his...

It is a beneficent incident of the ownership of land that a pioneer who reduces...

It is a beneficent incident of the ownership of land that a pioneer who reduces...

There ought to be no laws to guarantee property against the folly of its possessors.

There ought to be no laws to guarantee property against the folly of its possessors.

We are to see the development of the country pushed forward at an unprecedented rate...

We are to see the development of the country pushed forward at an unprecedented rate...

Joint-stock companies are yet in their infancy, and incorporated capital, instead of being a thing...

Joint-stock companies are yet in their infancy, and incorporated capital, instead of being a thing...

He who would be well taken care of must take care of himself.

He who would be well taken care of must take care of himself.

What we prepare for is what we shall get.

What we prepare for is what we shall get.

Men of routine or men who can do what they are told are not hard...

Men of routine or men who can do what they are told are not hard...

It is often said that the earth belongs to the race, as if raw land...

It is often said that the earth belongs to the race, as if raw land...