best quotations about
Government |
| 81 quotes | Visits: 5,196 |
Quotations
 | How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don't think. — Adolf Hitler, 1889-1945, German dictator 94 likes |
 | It may be true that you can't fool all the people all the time, but you can fool enough of them to rule a large country. — Will Durant, 1885-1981, American historian & philosopher 22 likes |
 | Great empires are not maintained by timidity. — Tacitus, 55-120 AD, Roman historian 20 likes |
 | The government consists of a gang of men exactly like you and me. They have, taking one with another, no special talent for the business of government; they have only a talent for getting and holding office. — H.L. Mencken, 1880-1956, American columnist & cultural critic 17 likes |
 | If it requires a uniform, it’s a worthless endeavor. — George Carlin, 1936-2008, American comedian 15 likes |
 | The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help. — Ronald Reagan, 1911-2004, American President [1981-1989] 13 likes |
 | In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one class of citizens to give to another. — Voltaire, 1694-1778, French philosopher & writer 13 likes |
 | A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. — George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish writer, Nobel 1925 12 likes |
| Government is not a solution to our problem; government is the problem. — Ronald Reagan, 1911-2004, American President [1981-1989] 12 likes |
 | The art of putting the right men in the right places is first in the science of government; but that of finding places for the discontented is the most difficult. — Talleyrand, 1754-1838, French statesman & diplomat 11 likes |
| Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under. — H.L. Mencken, 1880-1956, American columnist & cultural critic 10 likes |
 | Every nation gets the government it deserves. — Joseph De Maistre, 1753-1821, Savoyard diplomat & philosopher 10 likes |
 | If a society is to be free, its government has to be controlled. — Ayn Rand, 1905-1982, American writer & philosopher 10 likes |
 | He’ll sit there are he’ll say “Do this! Do that!” and nothing will happen. Poor Ike - it won’t be a bit like the army. — Harry Truman, 1884-1972, American President [1945-1953] (“Ike” being his successor, president Eisenhower) 8 likes |
 | When a country is well governed, poverty and a mean condition are things to be ashamed of. When a country is ill governed, riches and honor are things to be ashamed of. — Confucius, 551-479 BC, Chinese teacher & philosopher 8 likes |
 | You ask which form of government is the best? Whichever teaches us to govern ourselves. — Wolfgang Goethe, 1749-1832, German poet & philosopher 8 likes |
 | I am sometimes a fox and sometimes a lion. The whole secret of government lies in knowing when to be the one or the other. — Napoleon, 1769-1821, French Emperor 7 likes |
 | Everything the State says is a lie, and everything it has it has stolen. — Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844-1900, German philosopher 7 likes |
| The best minds are not in government. If any were, business would steal them away. — Ronald Reagan, 1911-2004, American President [1981-1989] 7 likes |
 | When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. — Thomas Jefferson, 1749-1826, American President [1801-1809] 7 likes |
 | All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts pathological personalities. It is not that power corrupts but that it is magnetic to the corruptible. — Frank Herbert, 1920-1986, American sci-fi writer 7 likes |
 | To be governed is to be watched over, inspected, spied on, directed, legislated at, regulated, docketed, indoctrinated, preached at, controlled, assessed, weighed, censored, ordered about, by men who have neither the right, nor the knowledge, nor the virtue. — Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, 1809-1865, French anarchist 7 likes |
| Plato long ago pointed out the importance of being governed by men with sufficient sense of responsibility and comprehension of public duties to be very reluctant to undertake the work of governing. — George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish writer, Nobel 1925 7 likes |
| I believe that all government is evil, and that trying to improve it is largely a waste of time. — H.L. Mencken, 1880-1956, American columnist & cultural critic 6 likes |
 | Every cook must learn to rule the State. — Vladimir Lenin, 1870-1924, Soviet revolutionary & leader 6 likes |
 | True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country. — Kurt Vonnegut, 1922-2007, American writer 6 likes |
| Government’s first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives. — Ronald Reagan, 1911-2004, American President [1981-1989] 6 likes |
 | If the state is strong, it crushes us. If it is weak, we perish. — Paul Valery, 1871-1945, French poet 6 likes |
| Laws: We know what they are, and what they are worth! They are spider webs for the rich and mighty, steel chains for the poor and weak, fishing nets in the hands of government. — Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, 1809-1865, French anarchist 6 likes |
 | If I had a province to punish, I would let it be governed by philosophers. — Friedrich II, 1712-1786, Emperor of Prussia [1740-1786] 6 likes |
 | L' etat c'est moi. I myself am the state. — Louis XIV of France, 1638-1715, King of France (le Roi Soleil) 6 likes |
| Every government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others. — Ayn Rand, 1905-1982, American writer & philosopher 5 likes |
| As government expands, liberty contracts. — Ronald Reagan, 1911-2004, American President [1981-1989] 5 likes |
 | Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. — George Washington, 1732-1799, the first American President 5 likes |
 | We know now that government by organized money is just as dangerous as government by organized mob. — Franklin Roosevelt, 1882-1945, American President [1936-1945] 5 likes |
 | Government is an institution which prevents injustice other than such as it commits itself. — Ibn Khaldoun, 1332-1406, Arab historian & sage 5 likes |
| The government was set to protect man from criminals-and the constitution was written to protect man from the government. The Bill of Rights was not directed at private citizens, but against the government-as an explicit declaration that individual rights supersede any public or social power. — Ayn Rand, 1905-1982, American writer & philosopher 5 likes |
 | Governing today means giving acceptable signs of credibility. It is like advertising and it is the same effect that is achieved: commitment to a scenario. — Jean Baudrillard, 1929-2007, French intellectual 4 likes |
 | The power of a government is inversely proportional to the level of taxes. — Émile de Girardin, 1806-1881, French journalist 4 likes |
| If more government is the answer, then it was a really stupid question. — Ronald Reagan, 1911-2004, American President [1981-1989] 4 likes |
| Government does not solve problems. It subsidizes them. — Ronald Reagan, 1911-2004, American President [1981-1989] 4 likes |
| The whole art of government consists in the art of being honest. — Thomas Jefferson, 1749-1826, American President [1801-1809] 4 likes |
 | The CIA is made up of boys whose families sent them to Princeton but wouldn't let them into the family brokerage business. — Lyndon Johnson, 1908-1973, American President [1963-1969] 4 likes |
 | Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the government take care of him better take a closer look at the American Indian. — Henry Ford, 1863-1947, American industrialist, founder of FORD 4 likes |
 | State interference is an evil, where it cannot be shown to be a good. — Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., 1841-1935, 4 likes |
 | I believe that in time we will have reached the point where we will deserve to be free of government. — Jorge Luis Borges, 1899-1986, Argentine writer 4 likes |
| A constitution should be framed so as not to impede the action of government, nor force the government to its violation. — Napoleon, 1769-1821, French Emperor 3 likes |
| Government always finds a need for whatever money it gets. — Ronald Reagan, 1911-2004, American President [1981-1989] 3 likes |
 | To govern is always to choose among disadvantages. — Charles de Gaulle, 1890-1970, French President 3 likes |
 | It is our theory that the people own the government, not that the government should own the people. — Calvin Coolidge, 1872-1933, American President [1923-1929] 3 likes |
 | Love your country, but never trust its government. — Robert Heinlein, 1907-1988, American sci-fi writer 3 likes |
 | States as great engines move slowly. — Francis Bacon, 1561-1626, English philosopher 2 likes |
 | All government is an ugly necessity. — G. K. Chesterton, 1874-1936, English writer & critic 2 likes |
 | Religion may in most of its forms be defined as the belief that the gods are on the side of the government. |
 | Wise politics is the art of strengthening society and weakening the State. |
 | If the government was as afraid of disturbing the consumer as it is of disturbing business, this would be some democracy. |
| If there's anything a public servant hates to do it's something for the public. |
 | I find out of long experience that I admire all nations and hate all governments. |
 | France is a country that loves to change government as long as it’s always the same. |
 | Many people consider the things government does for them to be social progress but they regard the things government does for others as socialism. |
 | Anyone who studies declassified documents soon becomes aware that government secrecy is largely an effort to protect policy makers from scrutiny by citizens, not to protect the country from enemies. — Noam Chomsky, 1928-, American linguist, philosopher, social activist |
 | There is no government that is not guilty. By what it covers. |
 | In France, we always have a government of people who know what they want: they want to stay in power. |
 | There ought to be a better way than government to run the world. — Ashleigh Brilliant, 1933-, British cartoonist & epigrammatist |
 | Government is the Entertainment division of the military-industrial complex. |
 | It is economic power that determines political power, and governments become the political functionaries of economic power. |
 | There are twenty-seven specific complaints against the British Crown set forth in the Declaration of Independence. To modern ears they still sound reasonable. They still sound reasonable, in large part, because so many of them can be leveled against the federal government of the United States. |
| Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work, and then they get elected and prove it. |
| If government were a product, selling it would be illegal. |
| The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary. — H.L. Mencken, 1880-1956, American columnist & cultural critic |
 | The welfare state is the oldest con game in the world. First you take people’s money away quietly and then you give some of it back to them flamboyantly. |
| What is ominous is the ease with which some people go from saying that they don't like something to saying that the government should forbid it. When you go down that road, don't expect freedom to survive very long. |
Funny Quotes
| How can you govern a country which has two hundred and forty-six varieties of cheese? — Charles de Gaulle, 1890-1970, French President 6 likes |
| Government is like a baby: an alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other. — Ronald Reagan, 1911-2004, American President [1981-1989] 4 likes |
 | I believe there is something out there watching us. Unfortunately, it’s the government. — Woody Allen, 1935-, American actor & film director 2 likes |
| Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. |
Ancient Greek
 | The character of the state reflects the character of its governors. Το της πόλεως όλης ήθος, ομοιούται τοις άρχουσιν. — Isokrates, 436-338 BC, Ancient Greek rhetorician 7 likes |
 | It is hard to be ruled by an inferior. Χαλεπόν άρχεσθαι υπό χερείονος. — Democritus, 470-370 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher 5 likes |
| A well governed state is the best environment for growth. Πόλις ευ αγομένη μεγίστη όρθωσις εστι. — Democritus, 470-370 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher 2 likes |
 | Every ruler new to power is harsh. Άπας δε τραχύς όστις αν νέον κρατή. — Aeschylus, 525-456 BC, Ancient Greek tragedian ‐ Prometheus Bound 2 likes |
 | The king’s might is greater than human, and his arm is very long. Δύναμις υπέρ άνθρωπον η βασιλέος εστί και χείρ υπερμήκης. — Herodotus, 480-420 BC, Ancient Greek historian, the “ father of History” 2 likes |
