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

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...

If I want to be free from any other man's dictation, I must understand that...

If I want to be free from any other man's dictation, I must understand that...

Undoubtedly there are, in connection with each of these things, cases of fraud, swindling, and...

Undoubtedly there are, in connection with each of these things, cases of fraud, swindling, and...

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...

The waste of capital, in proportion to the total capital, in this country between 1800...

The waste of capital, in proportion to the total capital, in this country between 1800...

It is the tendency of the social burdens to crush out the middle class, and...

It is the tendency of the social burdens to crush out the middle class, and...

Civil liberty is the status of the man who is guaranteed by law and civil...

Civil liberty is the status of the man who is guaranteed by law and civil...

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...

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 men who start out with the notion that the world owes them a living...

The men who start out with the notion that the world owes them a living...

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 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...

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...

What we prepare for is what we shall get.

What we prepare for is what we shall get.

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...

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...

Moreover, there is an unearned increment on capital and on labor, due to the presence,...

Moreover, there is an unearned increment on capital and on labor, due to the presence,...

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...

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...

The criminal law needs to be improved to meet new forms of crime, but to...

The criminal law needs to be improved to meet new forms of crime, but to...