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The trouble in modern democracy is that men do not approach to leadership 'til they have lost the desire to lead anyone.

— William Beveridge

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More quotes by William Beveridge

The state is or can be master of money, but in a free society it is master of very little else.

Voluntary Action (1948)

The object of government in peace and in war is not the glory of rulers or of races, but the happiness of the common man.

Social Insurance and Allied Services (1942)

A revolutionary moment in the world’s history is a time for revolutions, not for patching.

Social Insurance and Allied Services (1942)

Ignorance is an evil weed, which dictators may cultivate among their dupes, but which no democracy can afford among its citizens.

Full Employment in a Free Society (1944)

Any proposals for the future, while they should use to the full the experience gathered in the past, should not be restricted by consideration of sectional interests established in the obtaining of that experience.

Social Insurance and Allied Services (1942)

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Political leaders are never leaders. For leaders we have to look to the Awakeners! Lao Tse, Buddha, Socrates, Jesus, Milarepa, Gurdjiev, Krishnamurti.

Henry Miller My Bike & Other Friends (1977)

It's simply to say that managers and investors alike must understand that accounting numbers is the beginning, not the end, of business valuation.

Warren Buffett Letters to Shareholders (1957)

Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of the men who follow and of the man who leads that gains the victory.

George S. Patton

Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do, and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.

George S. Patton War As I Knew It (1947)

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: William Beveridge (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.