28 quotes
The United States is dangerously close to being a plutocracy. A third of the private wealth is owned by less than 5 percent of the population.
The Corrupt Society - From Ancient Greece To Present-Day America (1975)
Long before the empire had reached its greatest extent, the Romans were bored by it.
The Corrupt Society - From Ancient Greece To Present-Day America (1975)
It is precisely when we help one another that we gain our victories over corruption, but the victory is assured only when we help one another with all our strength.
The Corrupt Society - From Ancient Greece To Present-Day America (1975)
Corruption appears to be a universal phenomenon that lays its own imperious claims on the world, and therefore it is the duty of all nations to prepare themselves against its onslaught by taking proper precautions.
The Corrupt Society - From Ancient Greece To Present-Day America (1975)
The second corruption of the state is oligarchy (oligos = few), in which the military elite is narrowed down to a few ruling families of immense wealth and prestige, who now openly flaunt their wealth and possessions.
The Corrupt Society - From Ancient Greece To Present-Day America (1975)
Historically the first philosopher to enquire deeply into the nature of corruption in society was Ibn Khaldun (1322-1406), whose wandering life was largely spent in the northern littoral of Africa at a time when kingdoms and sultanates were crumbling.
The Corrupt Society - From Ancient Greece To Present-Day America (1975)
Where there had been hope, there was now hopelessness. Where there had been courage, there was now cynicism. Where there had been life, there was a living death. During Nixon's reign, much of life was transformed into a nightmare.
The Corrupt Society - From Ancient Greece To Present-Day America (1975)
In the Middle Ages the king offered protection to his subjects in return for their loyalty, and the subjects were doubly protected, for the church also sheltered them. The need for shelter - for a father image that cares and will hopefully provide and give some meaning to human lives - remains as real as it was in the Middle Ages, but modern technocracy has no place for either the father or the church and provides no substitute.
The Corrupt Society - From Ancient Greece To Present-Day America (1975)