“It is not politics that can bring true liberty to the soul; that must be achieved, if at all, by philosophy;”

— George Santayana

"The Irony of Liberalism"
Soliloquies in England and Later Soliloquies (1922)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "It is not politics that can bring true liberty to the soul; that must be achieved, if at all, by philosophy;" by George Santayana?

George Santayana 109

20th-century Spanish-American philosopher associated with P… 1863–1952

Related quotes

“The proposition, that the people are the best keepers of their own liberties, is not true; they are the worst conceivable; they are no keepers at all; they can neither judge, act, think, or will, as a political body.”

John Adams (1735–1826) 2nd President of the United States

This is attributed to Adams in The Life of Thomas Jefferson (1858) by Henry Stephens Randall, p. 587
1780s, A Defence of the Constitutions of Government (1787)

“There is no such thing as an achieved liberty; like electricity, there can be no substantial storage and it must be generated as it is enjoyed, or the lights go out.”

Robert H. Jackson (1892–1954) American judge

Source: "The Task of Maintaining Our Liberties: The Role of the Judiciary" (1953), P. 962

“If it is correct to say that there will always be rightist temperaments and leftist temperaments, it is nevertheless also correct to say that political philosophy is neither rightist nor leftist; it must simply be true.”

Jacques Maritain (1882–1973) French philosopher

The Twilight of Civilization (1939). London: Sheed & Ward, 1946, p. 41.

“The people are as capable of achieving their industrial freedom as they were to secure their political liberty, and both are necessary to a free nation.”

Eugene V. Debs (1855–1926) American labor and political leader

The Socialist Party and the Working Class (1904)

“The science of government it is my duty to study, more than all other sciences; the arts of legislation and administration and negotiation ought to take the place of, indeed exclude, in a manner, all other arts. I must study politics and war, that our sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy.”

John Adams (1735–1826) 2nd President of the United States

Letter to Abigail Adams (12 May 1780)
1780s
Context: The science of government it is my duty to study, more than all other sciences; the arts of legislation and administration and negotiation ought to take the place of, indeed exclude, in a manner, all other arts. I must study politics and war, that our sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. Our sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history and naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry and porcelain.

“It is true that liberty is precious — so precious that it must be rationed.”

Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924) Russian politician, led the October Revolution

As quoted in Soviet Communism: A New Civilization? (1936) by Sidney & Beatrice Webb
Attributions
Looking up the reference, the book that is cited is not even quoting him. The quote's origins are the book Soviet Communism: A New Civilisation by Sidney and Beatrice Webb. However, the books states that "...Lenin is said to have once observed that..." so clearly the authors are not quoting directly. The quote really just sounds like the kind of thing an anti-communist dreams.

“The high tenet of this philosophy (Liberalism) is that Liberty is an endowment from the Creator of every individual man and woman upon which no power, whether economic or political, can encroach, and that not even the government may deny. And herein it challenges all other philosophies of society and government; for all others, both before and since, insist that the individual has no such unalienable rights, that he is but the servant of the state. Liberalism holds that man is master of the state, not the servant; that the sole purpose of government is to nurture and assure these liberties. All others insist that Liberty is not a God-given right; that the state is the master of the man.”

Herbert Hoover (1874–1964) 31st President of the United States of America

Page 4
The Challenge to Liberty (1934)

“To Bring political knowledge to the workers the Social-Democratss must go among all classes of the population, must dispatch units of their army in all directions”

Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924) Russian politician, led the October Revolution

Source: What is to be Done? (1902), Chapter Three, Section D, Essential Works of Lenin (1966)

“We have achieved political freedom but our revolution is not yet complete and is still in progress, for political freedom without the assurance of the right to live and to pursue happiness, which economic progress alone can bring, can never satisfy a people.”

Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) Indian lawyer, statesman, and writer, first Prime Minister of India

Speech to the US Congress (13 October 1949)
Context: We have achieved political freedom but our revolution is not yet complete and is still in progress, for political freedom without the assurance of the right to live and to pursue happiness, which economic progress alone can bring, can never satisfy a people. Therefore, our immediate task is to raise the living standards of our people, to remove all that comes in the way of the economic growth of the nation. We have tackled the major problem of India, as it is today the major problem of Asia, the agrarian problem. Much that was feudal in our system of land tenure is being changed so that the fruits of cultivation should go to the tiller of the soil and that he may be secure in the possession of the land he cultivates. In a country of which agriculture is still the principal industry, this reform is essential not only for the well-being and contentment of the individual but also for the stability of society. One of the main causes of social instability in many parts of the world, more especially in Asia, is agrarian discontent due to the continuance of systems of land tenure which are completely out of place in the modem world. Another — and one which is also true of the greater part of Asia and Africa — is the low standard of living of the masses.

“There are times we don't want to hear about the need to temper our best hopes in order to achieve our most vital security. But we still need to do it. Before we can triumph, we must survive. Before liberty can prevail, the possibility of liberty must be preserved.”

Alan Keyes (1950) American politician

Speech at McKay Events Center in Orem, Utah, September 22, 2000. http://renewamerica.us/archives/speeches/00_09_22mckay.htm.
2000

“It is not politics that can bring true liberty to the soul; that must be achieved, if at all, by philosophy;”

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

George Santayana 109

Related quotes

Related topics