A wiser rule would be to make up your mind soberly what you want, peace or war, and then to get ready for what you want; for what we prepare for is what we shall get. William Graham Sumner More Quotes by William Graham Sumner More Quotes From William Graham Sumner The invectives against capital in the hands of those who have it are double-faced, and when turned about are nothing but demands for capital in the hands of those who have it not, in order that they may do with it just what those who have it now are doing with it. William Graham Sumner justice order hands Society needs first of all to be free from meddlersthat is, to be let alone. William Graham Sumner needs firsts Who is the Forgotten Man? He is the clean, quiet, virtuous, domestic citizen, who pays his debts and his taxes and is never heard of out of his little circle. William Graham Sumner circles citizens men The State, it cannot be too often repeated, does nothing and can give nothing which it does not take from somebody. The Forgotten Man works and votes -generally he prays-but his chief business in life is to pay. William Graham Sumner political giving men I never have known a man of ordinary common-sense who did not urge upon his sons, from earliest childhood, doctrines of economy and the practice of accumulation. William Graham Sumner practice men son It is often said that the earth belongs to the race, as if raw land was a boon, or gift. William Graham Sumner land race earth The great hindrance to the development of this continent has lain in the lack of capital. William Graham Sumner continents development The men who start out with the notion that the world owes them a living generally find that the world pays its 'debt' in the penitentiary or the poor house. William Graham Sumner house men life Undoubtedly there are, in connection with each of these things, cases of fraud, swindling, and other financial crimes; that is to say, the greed and selfishness of men are perpetual. William Graham Sumner hype greed men The lobby is the army of the plutocracy. William Graham Sumner plutocracy army Furthermore, the unearned increment from land appears in the United States as a gain to the first comers, who have here laid the foundations of a new State. William Graham Sumner foundation united-states land Moreover, there is an unearned increment on capital and on labor, due to the presence, around the capitalist and the laborer, of a great, industrious, and prosperous society. William Graham Sumner capitalist dues labor We throw all our attention on the utterly idle question whether A has done as well as B, when the only question is whether A has done as well as he could. William Graham Sumner wells done attention It used to be believed that the parent had unlimited claims on the child and rights over him. In a truer view of the matter, we are coming to see that the rights are on the side of the child and the duties on the side of the parent. William Graham Sumner rights views children We live in a war of two antagonistic ethical philosophies, the ethical policy taught in the books and schools, and the success policy. William Graham Sumner philosophy war book The type and formula of most schemes of philanthropy or humanitarianism is this: A and B put their heads together to decide what C shall be made to do for D. The radical vice of all these schemes, from a sociological point of view, is that C is not allowed a voice in the matter, and his position, character, and interests, as well as the ultimate effects on society through C's interests, are entirely overlooked. I call C the Forgotten Man. William Graham Sumner views character men I have before me a newspaper slip on which a writer expresses the opinion that no one should be allowed to possess more than one million dollars' worth of property. William Graham Sumner dollars newspapers opinion It is a beneficent incident of the ownership of land that a pioneer who reduces it to use, and helps to lay the foundations of a new State, finds a profit in the increasing value of land as the new State grows up. William Graham Sumner foundation growing-up land There is no device whatever to be invented for securing happiness without industry, economy, and virtue. William Graham Sumner devices economy virtue Here we are, then, once more back at the old doctrine - Laissez faire. Let us translate it into blunt English, and it will read, Mind your own business. It is nothing but the doctrine of liberty. Let every man be happy in his own way. William Graham Sumner mind-your-own-business liberty men
