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Quotes from Working and Thinking on the Waterfront — Eric Hoffer

1902–1983 United States

← All quotes by Eric Hoffer

5 quotes

Those who lack the capacity to achieve much in an atmosphere of freedom will clamor for power.

Working and Thinking on the Waterfront (1969)

Freedom gives us a chance to realize our human and individual uniqueness.

Working and Thinking on the Waterfront (1969)

Absolute power achieves uniqueness by dehumanizing others.

Working and Thinking on the Waterfront (1969)

You accept certain unlovely things about yourself and manage to live with them. The atonement for such an acceptance is that you make allowances for others — that you cleanse yourself of the sin of self-righteousness.

Working and Thinking on the Waterfront (1969)

The significant point is that people unfit for freedom — who cannot do much with it — are hungry for power. The desire for freedom is an attribute of a "have" type of self. It says: leave me alone and I shall grow, learn, and realize my capacities.

Working and Thinking on the Waterfront (1969)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Eric Hoffer (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.