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But if political philosophy is unrealizable in one sense, it is unavoidable in another.

— Michael Sandel Democracy's Discontent (1996)

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Philosophy

More quotes by Michael Sandel

Unlike the liberty of the early republic, the modern version permits — in fact even requires — concentrated power.

To put the point another way, the republican sees liberty as internally connected to self-government and the civic virtues that sustain it.

Democracy's Discontent (1996)

Whether you're a libertarian liberal or a more egalitarian liberal, the idea is that justice means being non-judgmental with respect to the preferences people bring to public life.

Political philosophy seems often to reside at a distance from the world. Principles are one thing, politics another, and even our best efforts to live up to our ideals seldom fully succeed.

Democracy's Discontent (1996)

The idea that freedom consists in our capacity to choose our ends finds prominent expression in our politics and law. Its province is not limited to those known as liberals rather than conservatives in American politics; it can be found across the political spectrum.

Democracy's Discontent (1996)

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The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents.

H. P. Lovecraft The Call of Cthulhu (1926)

There is no governor anywhere; you are all absolutely free. There is no restraint that cannot be escaped.

Robert Anton Wilson

Every morning
I shall concern myself anew about the boundary
Between the love-deed-Yes and the power-deed-No
And pressing forward honor reality.

Martin Buber Power and Love (1926)

In the province of the mind, what one believes to be true is true or becomes true, within certain limits to be found experientially and experimentally. These limits are further beliefs to be transcended.

John C. Lilly The Human Biocomputer (1974)

Attribution

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