14 quotes
What a free society offers to the individual is much more than what he would be able to do if only he were free.
The Constitution of Liberty (1960)
Justice, like liberty and coercion, is a concept which, for the sake of clarity, ought to be confined to the deliberate treatment of men by other men.
The Constitution of Liberty (1960)
Freedom granted only when it is known beforehand that its effects will be beneficial is not freedom.
The Constitution of Liberty (1960)
A society that does not recognize that each individual has values of his own which he is entitled to follow can have no respect for the dignity of the individual and cannot really know freedom.
The Constitution of Liberty (1960)
The great aim of the struggle for liberty has been equality before the law.
The Constitution of Liberty (1960)
It is when it is contended that "in a democracy right is what the majority makes it to be" that democracy degenerates into demagoguery.
The Constitution of Liberty (1960)
All political theories assume, of course, that most individuals are very ignorant. Those who plead for liberty differ from the rest in that they include among the ignorant themselves as well as the wisest.
The Constitution of Liberty (1960)
The argument for liberty is not an argument against organization, which is one of the most powerful tools human reason can employ, but an argument against all exclusive, privileged, monopolistic organization, against the use of coercion to prevent others from doing better.
The Constitution of Liberty (1960)
Liberty not only means that the individual has both the opportunity and the burden of choice; it also means that he must bear the consequences of his actions … Liberty and responsibility are inseparable.
The Constitution of Liberty (1960)
The Socratic maxim that the recognition of our ignorance is the beginning of wisdom has profound significance for our understanding of society. The first requisite for this is that we become aware of men’s necessary ignorance of much that helps him to achieve his aims.
The Constitution of Liberty (1960)
Perhaps the fact that we have seen millions voting themselves into complete dependence on a tyrant has made our generation understand that to choose one's government is not necessarily to secure freedom.
The Constitution of Liberty (1960)
It would scarcely be an exaggeration to say that the greatest danger to liberty today comes from the men who are most needed and most powerful in modern government, namely, the efficient expert administrators exclusively concerned with what they regards as the public good.
The Constitution of Liberty (1960)
The case for individual freedom rests chiefly on the recognition of the inevitable and universal ignorance of all of us concerning a great many of the factors on which the achievement of our ends and welfare depend.
The Constitution of Liberty (1960)
Our faith in freedom does not rest on the foreseeable results in particular circumstances, but on the belief that it will, on balance, release more forces for the good than for the bad … Freedom granted only when it is known beforehand that its effects will be beneficial is not freedom.
The Constitution of Liberty (1960)