Once Politics Become A Tug-of-war For Shares

The Successful Politician Owes His Power To The Fact That He Moves Within The Accepted Framework Of Thought, That He Thinks And Talks Conventionally. It Would Be Almost A Contradiction In Terms For A Politician To Be A Leader In The Field Of Ideas. His Task In A Democracy Is To Find Out What The Opinions Held By The Largest Number Are, Not To Give Currency To New Opinions Which May Become The Majority View In Some Distant Future.

The Credit Which The Apparent Conformity With Recognized Scientific Standards Can Gain For Seemingly Simple But False Theories May, As The Present Instance Shows, Have Grave Consequences.

The Socratic Maxim That The Recognition Of Our Ignorance Is The Beginning Of Wisdom Has Profound Significance For Our Understanding Of Society. Most Of The Advantages Of Social Life, Especially In The More Advanced Forms That We Call "civilization" Rest On The Fact That The Individual Benefits From More Knowledge Than He Is Aware Of. It Might Be Said That Civilization Begins When The Individual In The Pursuit Of His Ends Can Make Use Of More Knowledge Than He Has Himself Acquired And When He Can Transcend The Boundaries Of His Ignorance By Profiting From Knowledge He Does Not Himself Possess.

When It Becomes Dominated By A Collectivist Creed, Democracy Will Inevitably Destroy Itself.

The Chief Difference [between Totalitarian And Free Countries] Is That Only The Totalitarians Appear Clearly To Know How They Want To Achieve That Result, While The Free World Has Only Its Past Achievements To Show, Being By Its Very Nature Unable To Offer Any Detailed "plan" For Further Growth.