“What socialism, fascism and other ideologies of the left have in common is an assumption that some very wise people—like themselves—need to take decisions out of the hands of lesser people, like the rest of us, and impose those decisions by government fiat.”

—  Thomas Sowell

"Socialist or Fascist?" http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/sowell061212.php3#.XEZfbc2E6Mp, Jewish World Review (June 12, 2012)
2010s
Fascism is a form of far-right, authoritarian ultranationalism characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, and strong regimentation of society and of the economy which came to prominence in early 20th-century Europe.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update July 27, 2022. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "What socialism, fascism and other ideologies of the left have in common is an assumption that some very wise people—lik…" by Thomas Sowell?
Thomas Sowell photo
Thomas Sowell 101
American economist, social theorist, political philosopher … 1930

Related quotes

Jodi Picoult photo

“On the other hand, I think cats have Asperger's. Like me, they're very smart. And like me, sometimes they simply need to be left alone.”

Jodi Picoult book House Rules

Source: House Rules

Peter Ladefoged photo

“[It's] not our decision to make. It's up to the people themselves.”

Peter Ladefoged (1925–2006) British phonetician

National Public Radio (1999); on the preservation of languages.

“Man fears the responsibility of being free. It is often easier to let others make the decisions or to rely upon the letter of the law. Some men want to be slaves. After enslaving themselves to the letter of the law, such men always go on to deny freedom to others. They will not rest until they have imposed the same oppressive burdens upon everyone”

Albert Nolan (1934) South African priest and activist

Source: Jesus Before Christianity: The Gospel of Liberation (1976), p. 71.
Context: The leaders and scholars of Jesus’ time had first enslaved themselves to the law. This not only enhanced their prestige in society, it also gave them a sense of security. Man fears the responsibility of being free. It is often easier to let others make the decisions or to rely upon the letter of the law. Some men want to be slaves. After enslaving themselves to the letter of the law, such men always go on to deny freedom to others. They will not rest until they have imposed the same oppressive burdens upon everyone (Matt 23:4,15).

George W. Bush photo

“United States can't impose peace. We can encourage the development of a state…. We can facilitate that. But we can't force people to make hard decisions. They're gonna have to do that themselves…. Gotta ask yourselves, why don't they want there to be a democracy. The answer is, because it doesn't fit in with their ideological vision.”

George W. Bush (1946) 43rd President of the United States

Oct. 17, 2007 press conference, talking about the Palestinians (not the Iraqis)
2000s, 2007

Aristotle photo

“To write well, express yourself like the common people, but think like a wise man.”

Aristotle (-384–-321 BC) Classical Greek philosopher, student of Plato and founder of Western philosophy
Vera Stanley Alder photo

“Whatever possibilities and potentialities are latent today, the fact remains that the last word and the final decision will rest with us — the people.”

Vera Stanley Alder (1898–1984) British artist

Source: Humanity Comes of Age, A study of Individual and World Fulfillment (1950), Chapter I, Secrets Behind History

Herman Cain photo

“I believe that life begins at conception. And abortion under no circumstances. … No, it comes down to it's not the government's role or anybody else's role to make that decision. Secondly, if you look at the statistical incidents, you're not talking about that big a number. So what I'm saying is it ultimately gets down to a choice that that family or that mother has to make. Not me as president, not some politician, not a bureaucrat. It gets down to that family. And whatever they decide, they decide. I shouldn't have to tell them what decision to make for such a sensitive issue. … The government shouldn't be trying to tell people everything to do, especially when it comes to social decisions that they need to make.”

Herman Cain (1945) American writer, businessman and activist

Piers Morgan Tonight
Television
2011-11-19
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1110/19/pmt.01.html, quoted in * The pro-life candidate who’s pro-choice
Political Animal
2011-10-20
Steve
Benen
Washington Monthly
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_10/the_prolife_candidate_whos_pro032941.php
2011-10-23
on abortion

Alan Watts photo

“[bible_banging]But what we've got going wrong is we've got a kind of bifurcation [in cultural development]:
You take your classified telephone directory, and open up "Churches", and have a ruler in your hand. And you will find that the longest space is occupied by authoritarian, Bible-banging churches. And these people are barbarians, who take the written word of the Bible literally. Because they need terribly, they have a personal need, for something to depend on. … The government realizes that there is a very large number of people like that; and therefore, to keep their votes, they have to pander to those kind of people. And these are the boys who never grew up; they always need Papa. … The trouble is that the boys who need Papa, are violent. They have the guns. And they are the types of people who like to be soldiers, policemen — tough guys. And therefore they have a great deal of power.”

Alan Watts (1915–1973) British philosopher, writer and speaker

Interviewed on Les Hixon's show "In The Spirit" on WBAI New York (November 1972)

Alan Ayckbourn photo

“There are very few people on top of life, and the rest of us don't like them very much.”

Alan Ayckbourn (1939) English playwright

Newsweek, March 25, 1979.

Related topics