WIST Quotations

Addison, Joseph -- Cato, Act 4, sc. 4 (1713)

Dave — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 03:32:11 +0000

CATO: Curse on his virtues! they’ve undone his country.
Such popular humanity is treason.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman
Cato, Act 4, sc. 4 (1713)
(Source)

Speaking of Caesar.

Bryan, William Jennings -- Speech, Madison Square Garden, New York (1906-08-30)

Dave — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 17:49:11 +0000

And who can suffer injury by just taxation, impartial laws and the application of the Jeffersonian doctrine of equal rights to all and special privileges to none? Only those whose accumulations are stained with dishonesty and whose immoral methods have given them a distorted view of business, society and government. Accumulating by conscious frauds more money than they can use upon themselves, wisely distribute or safely leave to their children, these denounce as public enemies all who question their methods or throw a light upon their crimes.

William Jennings Bryan (1860–1925) American lawyer, statesman, politician, orator
Speech, Madison Square Garden, New York (1906-08-30)
(Source)

Stanley, Jason -- How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, Introduction (2018)

Dave — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 14:24:44 +0000

Fascist politics includes many distinct strategies: the mythic past, propaganda, anti-intellectualism, unreality, hierarchy, victimhood, law and order, sexual anxiety, appeals to the heartland, and a dismantling of public welfare and unity.

Jason Stanley (b. 1969) American philosopher, epistemologist, academic
How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, Introduction (2018)
(Source)

Jones, Van -- The Green Collar Economy (2008)

Dave — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 01:17:51 +0000

To change our laws and culture, the green movement must attract and include the majority of all people, not just the majority of affluent people.

Anthony Kapel "Van" Jones (b. 1968) American news commentator, author, lawyer
The Green Collar Economy (2008)

Acton, John Dalberg (Lord) -- “Review of Sir Erskine May’s Democracy in Europe,” The Quarterly Review (1878-01)

Dave — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 16:17:42 +0000

The true democratic principle, that none shall have power over the people, is taken to mean that none shall be able to restrain or to elude its power. The true democratic principle, that the people shall not be made to do what it does not like, is taken to mean that it shall never be required to tolerate what it does not like. The true democratic principle, that every man’s free will shall be as unfettered as possible, is taken to mean that the free will of the collective people shall be fettered in nothing.

John Dalberg, Lord Acton (1834-1902) British historian, politician, writer
“Review of Sir Erskine May’s Democracy in Europe,” The Quarterly Review (1878-01)
(Source)

Gordon, Peter E. -- “Why Historical Analogy Matters,” New York Review of Books (7 Jan 2020)

Dave — Thu, 02 Sep 2021 15:15:46 +0000

Fascism, after all, is not only a historical term; it describes a modern style of authoritarian rule that seeks to mobilize the masses by appealing to nationalism, xenophobia, and populist resentment. Its trademark is the use of democratic procedure even as it seeks to destroy the substantive values of democracy from within. It disdains the free press and seeks to undermine its credibility in the public sphere.

Peter E, Gordon (b. 1966) American intellectual historian
“Why Historical Analogy Matters,” New York Review of Books (7 Jan 2020)
(Source)

Arendt, Hannah -- Interview (1973-10) with Roger Errera, Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (ORTF)

Dave — Thu, 17 Dec 2020 20:11:23 +0000

Totalitarianism begins in contempt for what you have. The second step is the notion: “Things must change — no matter how, Anything is better than what we have.” Totalitarian rulers organize this kind of mass sentiment, and by organizing it articulate it, and by articulating it make the people somehow love it.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Interview (1973-10) with Roger Errera, Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (ORTF)
(Source)

This portion of the interview was published in The New York Review of Books (1978-10-26).

Other parts of the interview were turned into an episode of the French TV series "Un certain regard," directed by Jean-Claude Lubtchansky, first broadcast 1974-07-06.

Aristophanes -- The Knights, ll. 191-3 [tr. O’Neill (1938)]

Dave — Wed, 03 Jun 2020 22:20:36 +0000

DEMOSTHENES: A demagogue must be neither an educated nor an honest man; he has to be an ignoramus and a rogue.

Aristophanes (c. 450-c. 388 BC) Athenian comedic playwright
The Knights, ll. 191-3 [tr. O’Neill (1938)]
(Source)

Alt. trans. "For the character of popular leader no longer belongs to a man of education, nor yet to one good in his morals, but to the ignorant and abominable." [tr. Hickie (1853)]

Taft, William -- Veto Statement for the Arizona Enabling Act (15 Aug 1911)

Dave — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 18:06:11 +0000

No honest, clear-headed man, however great a lover of popular government, can deny that the unbridled expression of the majority of a community converted hastily into law or action would sometimes make a government tyrannical and cruel. Constitutions are checks upon the hasty action of the majority. They are the self-imposed restraints of a whole people upon a majority of them to secure sober action and a respect for the rights of the minority.

William Howard Taft (1857-1930) US President (1909-13) and Chief Justice (1921-1930)
Veto Statement for the Arizona Enabling Act (15 Aug 1911)
(Source)

Taft vetoed the admission of Arizona to the US with a state constitution that allowed popular recall of judges.

Bryan, William Jennings -- Speech, National Democratic Convention, Chicago (Jul 1896)

Dave — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 18:04:47 +0000

The humblest citizen of all the land, when clad in the armor of a righteous cause, is stronger than all the hosts of Error.

William Jennings Bryan (1860–1925) American lawyer, statesman, politician, orator
Speech, National Democratic Convention, Chicago (Jul 1896)
(Source)

Ivins, Molly -- Essay (2007-01), “Populists Have More Fun,” The Progressive, Vol. 71, No. 1

Dave — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:53:58 +0000

Listen, a populist is someone who is for the people and against the powerful, and so a populist is generally the same as a liberal — except we tend to have more fun.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (2007-01), “Populists Have More Fun,” The Progressive, Vol. 71, No. 1
(Source)

Quote included in The Progressive memorial of Ivins the following month.

Hoffer, Eric -- “The Negro Revolution,” The Temper of Our Time (1967)

Dave — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 14:11:11 +0000

Up to now, America has not been a good milieu for the rise of a mass movement. What starts out here as a mass movement ends up as a racket, a cult, or a corporation. Unlike those anywhere else, the masses in America have never despaired of the present and are not willing to sacrifice it for a new life and a new world.

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
“The Negro Revolution,” The Temper of Our Time (1967)
(Source)

Frequently misquoted as "Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket."

Originally published in the New York Times Magazine (1964-11-29).

Lincoln, Abraham -- Speech (1863-11-19), “Dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg [Gettysburg Address],” Pennsylvania

Dave — Mon, 25 May 2009 11:53:47 +0000

We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not vanish from this earth.

Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) American lawyer, politician, US President (1861–65)
Speech (1863-11-19), “Dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg [Gettysburg Address],” Pennsylvania
(Source)

Closing words of the speech.

Mencken, H. L. -- A Little Book in C Major, ch. 2, § 1 (1916)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.

H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) American writer and journalist [Henry Lewis Mencken]
A Little Book in C Major, ch. 2, § 1 (1916)
(Source)