Thomas Sowell on equality

A society that puts equality - in the sense of equality of outcome - ahead of freedom will end up with neither equality or freedom.  The use of force to achieve equality will destroy freedom, and the force, introduced for good purposes, will end up in the hands of people who use it to promote their own interests.

~ Thomas Sowell

Henry Hazlitt on economics

The whole of economics can be reduced to a single lesson, and that lesson can be reduced to a single sentence.  The art of economics consists in looking not merely at the immediate but at the longer effects of any act or policy; it consists in tracing the consequences of that policy not merely for one group but for all groups.

~ Henry Hazlitt, Economics in One Lesson, Chapter 1: "The Lesson," p. 17

James K. Polk on Congress

There is more selfishness and less principle among members of Congress than I had any conception of, before I became President of the U.S.

~ James K. Polk, 11th president

Robert Higgs on the irrationality of pursuing ends through political means

To elicit the desired response from government, people take costly actions.  They sacrifice valuable time, effort, money, and other resources in order to send letters and telegrams to politicians, campaign and vote for candidates and pressure groups, and act in other ways as members of large political groups.  Although such actions are utterly familiar, the first theorist to inquire seriously whether they are rational concluded that, except under special conditions, they are not.

~ Robert Higgs, Crisis and Leviathan, p. 39

Henry Hazlitt on why economics is prone to fallacies

Economics is haunted by more fallacies than any other study known to man. This is no accident. The inherent difficulties of the subject would be great enough in any case, but they are multiplied a thousandfold by a factor that is insignificant in, say, physics, mathematics or medicine — the special pleading of selfish interests.

 ~ Henry Hazlitt, Economics In One Lesson (1946)

Sheldon Richman on the charade of left-right politics

The political establishment, helped by the mass media and intelligentsia, has long played a game in this country. It consists in depicting the competition for power as between two blocs: one hostile to business in the name of social justice, the other friendly to business in the name of “the free market.” Each bloc’s talking points and pet projects are calculated in superficial ways to reinforce its signature theme. Whenever the blocs need to rally their respective bases, they accentuate their surface differences. The “anti-business” bloc accuses its opponents of being, say, Wall Street lackeys, while the “pro-free-enterprise” bloc accuses its opponents of being, say, socialists.

It’s all a sham that serves both side’s interests. The rivals actually want two variations of the same thing: the corporate state, a system of economic privilege that transfers wealth via government from market entrepreneurs, workers, and consumers to well-connected business interests.

~ Sheldon Richman, "The Charade," The Freeman, October 15, 2010

Andrew Jackson in vetoing the charter for the Second Bank of the United States

It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes. Distinctions in society will always exist under every just government. Equality of talents, of education, or of wealth cannot be produced by human institutions. In the full enjoyment of the gifts of Heaven and the fruits of superior industry, economy, and virtue, every man is equally entitled to protection by law; but when the laws undertake to add to these natural and just advantages artificial distinctions, to grant titles, gratuities, and exclusive privileges, to make the rich richer and the potent more powerful, the humble members of society - the farmers, mechanics, and laborers - who have neither the time nor the means of securing life favors to themselves, have a right to complain of the injustice of their Government. There are no necessary evils in government. It's evils exist only in its abuses. If it would confine itself to equal protection, and, as Heaven does its reigns, shower its favor alike on the high and the low, the rich and the poor, it would be an unqualified blessing. In the act before me (the act chartering the Second Bank of the United States) there seems to be a wide and unnecessary departure from these just principles.

~ Andrew Jackson, as quoted in G. Edward Griffin, The Creature from Jekyll Island, page 350

James Buchanan on special interest group politics

We have learned to understand interest-group politics; we no longer have a romantic vision as to how the state operates.

~ James Buchanan, The Annual John Bonython Lecture (March 27, 1990)

Ambrose Bierce on politics

Politics, n.  A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.

~ Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary (1906)

Milton Friedman on the unholy coalition of do-gooders and special interests

There are always in these cases two groups of sponsors. There are the well-meaning sponsors and there are the special interests who are using the well-meaning sponsors as front men. You almost always, when you have bad programs, have an unholy coalition of the do-gooders on the one hand and the special interests on the other.

~ Milton Friedman, PBS Open Mind, "Living Within Our Means with Milton Friedman," 1970s?