“Remember also that the smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights, cannot claim to be defenders of minorities.”
Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal (1966)
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Ayn Rand322
Russian-American novelist and philosopher 1905–1982Related quotes
Newton Lee American computer scientist
Facebook Nation: Total Information Awareness (2nd Edition), 2014
Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America
2011, Remarks by the President to Parliament in London, United Kingdom (May 2011)
“A minority may do for a society what the conscience does for an individual.”
John Howard Yoder (1927–1997) 20th century American Mennonite theologian
Source: The Priestly Kingdom (1984), p. 99
Henrik Ibsen An Enemy of the People
Act IV<br>Flertallet har magten — desværre —; men retten har det ikke. Retten har jeg og de andre få, de enkelte. Minoriteten har altid retten. http://books.google.com/books?id=3VcqAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Flertallet+har+magten+desv%C3%A6rre+men+retten+har+det+ikke+Retten+har+jeg+og+de+andre+f%C3%A5+de+enkelte+Minoriteten+har+altid+retten%22&pg=PA134#v=onepage<br>The majority has the might &mdash; more's the pity &mdash; but it hasn't right. I am right &mdash; I and one or two other individuals like me. The minority is always right. http://books.google.com/books?id=Vl0Xb4lPL5IC&q=%22The+majority+has+the+might+more's+the+pity+but+it+hasn't+right+I+am+right+I+and+one+or+two+other+individuals+like+me+The+minority+is+always+right%22&pg=PA96#v=onepage <br class="br">An Enemy of the People (1882) <br class="br">Context: Dr, Stockmann: It is the majority in our community that denies me my freedom and seeks to prevent my speaking the truth.<br>Hovstad: The majority always has right on its side.<br>Billing: And truth too, by God!<br>Dr. Stockmann: The majority never has right on its side. Never I say! That is one of those social lies against which an independent, intelligent man must wage war. Who is it that constitute the majority of the population in a country? Is it the clever folk or the stupid? I don't imagine you will dispute the fact that at present the stupid people are in an absolutely overwhelming majority all the world over. But, good Lord!&mdash; you can never pretend that it is right that the stupid folk should govern the clever ones! [the crowd cries out] Oh yes&mdash; you can shout me down, I know! But you cannot answer me. The majority has might on its side-unfortunately; but right it has not. I am in the right&mdash; I and a few other scattered individuals. The minority is always in the right.
Zaman Ali (1993) Pakistani philosopher
Source: https://books.google.com.pk/books?id=co3AzQEACAAJ&dq=inauthor:%22Zaman+Ali%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjVi-2e57jtAhWToVwKHUj0D3kQ6AEwAnoECAEQAg
Ralph Ellison (1914–1994) American novelist, literary critic, scholar and writer
"The Art of Fiction: An Interview" (The Paris Review, Spring 1955), in The Collected Essays, ed. John F. Callahan (New York: Modern Library, 1995), p. 212.
Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933) American politician, 30th president of the United States (in office from 1923 to 1929)
Foundations of the Republic; Speeches and Addresses (1926), p. 451.
1920s
Rudolf Rocker book Nationalism and Culture
Source: Nationalism and Culture (1937), Ch. 1 "The Insufficiency of Economic Materialism"
Context: The will to power which always emanates from individuals or from small minorities in society is in fact a most important driving force in history. The extent of its influence has up to now been regarded far too little, although it has frequently been the determining factor in the shaping of the whole of economic and social life.