Government quotes
11.3K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
Explore further
Browse quotes that often appear alongside government — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.
Quote collection
Follow a thought to its author, or read the full quote page.
"No other people have a government more worthy of their respect and love or a land so magnificent in extent, so pleasant to look upon, and so full of generous suggestion to enterprise and labor."
"You don't pay taxes - they take taxes."
"The first lesson in civics is that efficient government begins at home."
"The Constitution exists precisely so that opinions and judgments, including esthetic and moral judgments about art and literature, can be formed, tested, and expressed. What the Constitution says is that these judgments are for the individual to make, not for the Government to decree, even with the mandate or approval of a majority. Technology expands the capacity to choose; and it denies the potential of this revolution if we assume the Government is best positioned to make these choices for us."
"National security is the first duty of government but we are also committed to reversing the substantial erosion of civil liberties."
"The policy of the American government is to leave their citizens free, neither restraining nor aiding them in their pursuits."
"The true foundation of republican government is the equal right of every citizen in his person and property and in their management."
"A judiciary independent of a king or executive alone, is a good thing; but independence of the will of the nation is a solecism, at least in a republican government."
"Instead of solving economic problems, government welfare socialism created monstrous moral and spiritual problems - the kind of problems that are inevitable when individuals turn responsibility for their lives over to others."
"A critical, independent and investigative press is the lifeblood of any democracy. The press must be free from state interference. It must have the economic strength to stand up to the blandishments of government officials. It must have sufficient independence from vested interests to be bold and inquiring without fear or favour. It must enjoy the protection of the constitution, so that it can protect our rights as citizens."
"In a free and republican government, you cannot restrain the voice of the multitude."
"It is a virtual reflex for governments to plead security concerns when they undertake any controversial action, often as a pretext for something else."
"All modern philosophizing is political, policed by governments, churches, academics, custom, fashion, and human cowardice, all off which limit it to a fake learnedness."
"Government is nothing more than the combined force of society, or the united power of the multitude, for the peace, order, safety, good and happiness of the people."
"We should be unfaithful to ourselves if we should ever lose sight of the danger to our Liberties if anything partial or extraneous should infect the purity of our free, fair, virtuous, and independent elections. If an election is to be determined by a majority of a single vote, and that can be procured by a party through artifice or corruption, the Government may be the choice of a party for its own ends, not of the nation for the national good."
"Curtailment of free speech is rationalized on grounds that a more compelling American tradition forbids criticism of the government when the nation is at war... Nothing can be more destructive of our fundamental democratic traditions than the vicious effort to silence dissenters."
"When our government is spoken of as some menacing, threatening, foreign entity, it ignores the fact that in our democracy, government is us"
"If a society is to be free, its government has to be controlled."
"The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren"
"The plea of necessity, that eternal argument of all conspirators."
