Quotes by Lippmann, Walter

The great social adventure of America is no longer the conquest of the >>

Between ourselves and our real natures we interpose that wax figure of >>

The first principle of a civilized state is that the power is legitima >>

Quotations about Politicians and Politics

In politics, being ridiculous is more damaging than being extreme. >>

If American politics does not look to you like a joke, a tragic dance; >>

Elected leaders who forget how they got there won't the next time. >>

The ordinary politician has a very low estimate of human nature. In his daily life he comes into contact chiefly with persons who want to get something or to avoid something. Beyond this circle of seekers after privileges, individuals and organized minorities, he is aware of a large unorganized, indifferent mass of citizens who ask nothing in particular and rarely complain. The politician comes after a while to think that the art of politics is to satisfy the seekers after favors and to mollify the inchoate mass with noble sentiments and patriotic phrases.

Lippmann, Walter