Society
H. L. Mencken Cynical Quote
“The men the American public admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth.” H. L. Mencken US editor (1880 – 1956)
Isaac Asimov on Knowledge
“If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them.” Isaac Asimov US science fiction novelist & scholar (1920 – 1992)
George Orwell on Society
“Society has always seemed to demand a little more from human beings than it will get in practice.” George Orwell
Oscar Wilde on Society
“The public is wonderfully tolerant. It forgives everything except genius.” Oscar Wilde, The Critic as Artist, 1891 Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 – 1900)
Abigail Van Buren on Society
“The less you talk, the more you’re listened to.” Abigail Van Buren
William James on Society
“A great many people think they are thinking when they are really rearranging their prejudices.” William James US Pragmatist philosopher & psychologist (1842 – 1910)
Randolph Bourne on Society
“Society is one vast conspiracy for carving one into the kind of statue it likes, and then placing it in the most convenient niche it has.” Randolph Bourne
Fred Allen on Fame
“A celebrity is a person who works hard all his life to become well known, then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognized.” Fred Allen US radio comedian (1894 – 1956)
James F. Byrnes on Life
“Too many people are thinking of security instead of opportunity. They seem more afraid of life than death.” James F. Byrnes US jurist & politician (1879 – 1972)
Mogens Jallberg on Democracy vs. Feudalism
“In democracy it’s your vote that counts; In feudalism it’s your count that votes.” Mogens Jallberg
Albert Einstein on Solving Problems
“The world will not evolve past its current state of crisis by using the same thinking that created the situation.” Albert Einstein
John Kenneth Galbraith on Thinking
“The conventional view serves to protect us from the painful job of thinking.” John Kenneth Galbraith US (Canadian-born) administrator & economist (1908 – 2006)
Bertrand Russell on Society
“Many people would sooner die than think; In fact, they do so.” Bertrand Russell British author, mathematician, & philosopher (1872 – 1970)
Thomas Sowell on History and Society
“Much of the social history of the Western world over the past three decades has involved replacing what worked with what sounded good.” Thomas Sowell, Is Reality Optional?, 1993 (1930 – )
Matthew Arnold on Society
“This strange disease of modern life, with its sick hurry, its divided aims.” Matthew Arnold
Gilbert K. Chesterton on Education
“Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another.” Gilbert K. Chesterton
Millard Fuller on Community
“For a community to be whole and healthy, it must be based on people’s love and concern for each other.” Millard Fuller
Eric Hoffer on Freedom
“When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other.” Eric Hoffer (1902 – 1983)
Lyndon B. Johnson on Politics
“If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac River, the headline that afternoon would read ‘President Can’t Swim’.” Lyndon B. Johnson 36th president of US (1908 – 1973)
Victor Hugo on Education
“He who opens a school door, closes a prison.” Victor Hugo
George Bernard Shaw on Politics
“Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.” George Bernard Shaw Irish dramatist & socialist (1856 – 1950)
Bertrand Russell on Politics
“There is no nonsense so arrant that it cannot be made the creed of the vast majority by adequate governmental action.” Bertrand Russell British author, mathematician, & philosopher (1872 – 1970)
William Feather on Society
“One of the indictments of civilizations is that happiness and intelligence are so rarely found in the same person.” William Feather (1908 – 1976)
Dwight D. Eisenhower on Society
“A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.” Dwight D. Eisenhower Inaugural Address, January 20, 1953 34th president of US 1953-1961 (1890 – 1969)
Henry David Thoreau Cynical Quote
“What is the use of a house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?” Henry David Thoreau US Transcendentalist author (1817 – 1862)
Dave Barry on Argument
“I can win an argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this, and steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great respect, they don’t even invite me.” Dave Barry US columnist & humorist (1947 – )
Jay Leno Cynical Quote
“Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime. Teach a man to create an artificial shortage of fish and he will eat steak.” Jay Leno US comedian & television host (1950 – )
Jerry Seinfeld on Society
“A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking.” Jerry Seinfeld US comedian & television actor (1954 – )
Bertrand Russell on Happiness
“If there were in the world today any large number of people who desired their own happiness more than they desired the unhappiness of others, we could have paradise in a few years.” Bertrand Russell British author, mathematician, & philosopher (1872 – 1970)
Douglas Adams on Society
“Nothing travels faster than light, with the possible exception of bad news, which follows its own rules” Douglas Adams
George Bernard Shaw on England and America
“England and America are two countries separated by a common language.” George Bernard Shaw Irish dramatist (1856 – 1950)
Arthur Schopenhauer Wisdom Quote
“We forfeit three-fourths of ourselves in order to be like other people.” Arthur Schopenhauer German philosopher (1788 – 1860)
Oscar Wilde on Knowledge
“There are only two kinds of people who are really fascinating: people who know absolutely everything, and people who know absolutely nothing.” Oscar Wilde Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 – 1900)
Oliver Wendell Holmes on the Results of our Actions
“A hundred years after we are gone and forgotten, those who never heard of us will be living with the results of our actions.” Oliver Wendell Holmes, U.S. Supreme Court justice
Louise Beal on Society
“Love thy neighbour as yourself, but choose your neighbourhood.” Louise Beal
Gian Vincenzo Gravina Cynical Quote
“A bore is a man who deprives you of solitude without providing you with company.” Gian Vincenzo Gravina (1664 – 1718)
Cicero on Humanity and Community
“We were born to unite with our fellow men, and to join in community with the human race.” Cicero
Publius Tacitus on Laws
“The more numerous the laws, the more corrupt the government.” Publius Tacitus, Annals (117 AD) (Corruptissima re publica plurimae leges)
Nancy Astor on Change
“The main dangers in this life are the people who want to change everything – or nothing.” Nancy Astor British politician (1879 – 1964)
Edgar Watson Howe on Lies
“Americans detest all lies except lies spoken in public or printed lies.” Edgar Watson Howe US journalist (1853 – 1937)
Robertson Davies on Society
“There is no nonsense so gross that society will not, at some time, make a doctrine of it and defend it with every weapon of communal stupidity.” Robertson Davies
Albert Einstein on Wisdom at Solving Problems
“The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” Albert Einstein
Franklin P. Jones on Punctuality
“The trouble with being punctual is that nobody’s there to appreciate it.” Franklin P. Jones
Esther Dyson on Internet
“The Internet is like alcohol in some sense. It accentuates what you would do anyway. If you want to be a loner, you can be more alone. If you want to connect, it makes it easier to connect.” Esther Dyson, Interview in Time Magazine, October 2005
Victor Hugo on Society
“There is always more misery among the lower classes than there is humanity in the higher.” Victor Hugo, Les Miserables, 1862 French dramatist, novelist, & poet (1802 – 1885)
Bertrand Russell on Controversies
“The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there is no good evidence either way.” Bertrand Russell British author, mathematician, & philosopher (1872 – 1970)
Howard Scott on Business
“Criminal: A person with predatory instincts who has not sufficient capital to form a corporation.” Howard Scott (1926 – )
Mignon McLaughlin on Society
“Society honors its living conformists and its dead troublemakers.” Mignon McLaughlin
Woodrow Wilson on Equality
“There can be no equality or opportunity if men and women and children be not shielded in their lives from the consequences of great industrial and social processes which they cannot alter, control, or singly cope with.” Woodrow Wilson
Benjamin Franklin on Freedom and Security
“He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither.” Benjamin Franklin
Anatole France on Law
“The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread.” Anatole France, The Red Lily, 1894, chapter 7 French novelist (1844 – 1924)
Abraham Lincoln’s Cynical Quote
“It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues.” Abraham Lincoln 16th president of US (1809 – 1865)
Benjamin Franklin on Liberty
“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759 US author, diplomat, inventor, physicist, politician, & printer (1706 – 1790)