Political quotes
7.1K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
Explore further
Browse quotes that often appear alongside political — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.
Quote collection
Follow a thought to its author, or read the full quote page.
"All of us might wish at times that we lived in a more tranquil world, but we don't. And if our times are difficult and perplexing, so are they challenging and filled with opportunity."
"To say Congress is spending like drunken sailors is an insult to drunken sailors."
"Bloodletting is among the ingredients of political medicine."
"Using political tools to change social conditions won't work."
"Not to have a correct political point of view is like having no soul."
"To suffering there is a limit; to fearing, none."
"The East knew and to the present day knows only that One is Free; the Greek and the Roman world, that some are free; the German World knows that All are free. The first political form therefore which we observe in History, is Despotism, the second Democracy and Aristocracy, the third, Monarchy."
"No political party has exclusive patent rights on prosperity."
"Good novels are not written by orthodoxy-sniffers, nor by people who are conscience-stricken about their own orthodoxy. Good novels are written by people who are not frightened."
"During the 1960s, large groups of people who are normally passive and apathetic began to try to enter the political arena to press their demands.... The naive might call that democracy, but that's because they don't understand. The sophisticated understand that that's the crisis of democracy."
"Do the rhetorical quarrels of bourgeois political parties have anything to do with the interests of the humble and downtrodden?"
"The only motive that can keep politics pure is the motive of doing good for one's country and its people."
"Conservatism is the blind and fear-filled worship of dead radicals."
"The essence of a free government consists in an effectual control of rivalries."
"Sure it's a big job; but I don't know anyone who can do it better than I can."
"Life without industry is guilt, and industry without art is brutality."
"If everyone would paint, political re-education would be unnecessary."
"Any issue, including political, economic and religious activities human beings pursue in this world, should be fully understood before we pass our judgement. Therefore, it is very important to know the causes. Whatever the issue, we should be able to see the complete picture. This will enable us to comprehend the whole story."
"... the good are not willing to rule either for the sake of money or of honor."
"Both poverty and wealth, therefore, have a bad effect on the quality of the work and the workman himself. Wealth and poverty, I answered. One produces luxury and idleness and a passion for novelty, the other meanness and bad workmanship and revolution into the bargain."
