Politics Quotes

"Political power should only be exercised when justified by reasons acceptable to all."

"Political institutions must be justified to those they bind."

"The concept of legitimacy is central to modern political philosophy."

"Public justification requires that laws be justified by reasons all can accept."

"Political institutions should protect the basic interests of all citizens equally."

"A legitimate political system respects the capacity of citizens for moral judgment."

"Political philosophy must justify institutions by reference to principles acceptable to all."

"The minimal state is the most extensive state that can be justified."

"The state may not use its coercive apparatus for the purpose of getting some citizens to aid others."

"There is no moral obligation to help those in poverty through state redistribution."

"Redistribution for charitable purposes should be voluntary, not compulsory."

"The minimal state protects rights without using anyone as a means to others' welfare."

"The state must be neutral between conceptions of the good life for its citizens."

"The state lacks moral authority to redistribute justly acquired holdings."

"A minimal state is the only state structure consistent with individual rights."

"A state cannot be justified merely by pointing to beneficial consequences for most."

"The minimal state respects rights while larger states inevitably violate them."

"The state cannot create obligations to support others without their voluntary consent."

"A just state respects the rights of individuals to their own holdings and labor."

"The minimal state emerges from justice without violating anyone's rights."

"The state must respect that individuals have their own purposes and projects."

"A minimal state is justified as necessary to protect the rights of individuals."

"Coercion for redistributive purposes violates the self-ownership principle."

"A fair initial distribution does not justify ongoing coercive redistribution."

"In politics, the unknown remains unknown and therefore cannot guide us. We must act in ignorance."

"Democracy is not the rule of the people; it is the absence of the rule of a dictator."

"Revolutions often bring about the evils they sought to destroy."

"Politics without ethics is manipulation; ethics without politics is impotent."

"Democracy survives through continuous criticism and reform, never through complacency."

"Modern liberalism tends to assume that principles of justice can be determined independently of conceptions of the good."