Quotes About Government

I assure you from a God's Olympian perch that government is a shared myth. When the myth dies, the government dies.

aristocratic forms. No government in history has been known to evade this pattern. And as the aristocracy develops, government tends more and more to act exclusively in the interests of the ruling class—whether that class be hereditary royalty, oligarchs of financial empires, or entrenched bureaucracy. —POLITICS AS REPEAT PHENOMENON: BENE GESSERIT TRAINING MANUAL

Frank Herbert warned young people not to trust government, telling them that the American founding fathers had understood this and had attempted to establish safeguards in the Constitution.

The tyranny of the minority cloaked in the mask of the majority," Odrade called it, her voice exultant. "Downfall of democracy. Either overthrown by its own excesses or eaten away by bureaucracy.

When religion and politics travel in the same cart, the riders believe nothing can stand in their way.

bureaucracies always become voracious aristocracies after they attain commanding power.

Your Fish Speakers aren't an army, they're a police force." "By my name, I assure you that's not so. Police are inevitably corrupted.

And rulers are notoriously cynical where religions are concerned. Religion, too, is a weapon. What manner of weapon is religion when it becomes the government?

O bun? guvernare nu depinde niciodat? de legi, ci de calit??ile personale ale celor care guverneaz?. MaÈ™in?ria guvernamental? este întotdeauna subordonat? voinÈ›ei celor care-o administreaz?. De aceea, cel mai important element al artei guvern?rii este metoda de alegere a conduc?torului.

A ruler need not be a prophet, Stil. Nor even godlike. A ruler need only be sensitive. I brought you here with me to clarify what our Imperium requires. It requires good government. That does not depend upon laws or precedent, but upon the personal qualities of whoever governs.

All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts pathological personalities. It is not that power corrupts but that it is magnetic to the corruptible. Such people have a tendency to become drunk on violence, a condition to which they are quickly addicted. —Missionaria Protectiva, Text QIV (decto)

Have they taught you about democracy?" "Yes, sir. That's where you vote for—" "That's where you distrust anyone with power over you!

Governments, if they endure, always tend increasingly toward aristocratic forms. No government in history has been known to evade this pattern. And as the aristocracy develops, government tends more and more to act exclusively in the interests of the ruling class—whether that class be hereditary royalty, oligarchs of financial empires, or entrenched bureaucracy. —Politics as Repeat Phenomenon: Bene Gesserit Training Manual

Government, on the other hand, is a cultural organism particularly attractive to doubts, questions and contentions. I see the day coming when ceremony must take the place of faith and symbolism replaces morality.

For proper government, the tribe must have ways to choose men whose lives reflect the way a government should behave.

More than one government has fallen because people discovered the real extent of official wealth.

There exists a limit to the force even the most powerful may apply without destroying themselves. Judging this limit is the true artistry of government. Misuse of power is the fatal sin. The law cannot be a tool of vengeance, never a hostage, nor a fortification against the martyrs it has created. You cannot threaten any individual and escape the consequences. —MUAD'DIB ON LAW FROM THE STILGAR COMMENTARY

Good government never depends upon laws, but upon the personal qualities of those who govern. The machinery of government is always subordinate to the will of those who administer that machinery. The most important element of government, therefore, is the method of choosing leaders.

The plodding, self-important language of government enraged him.

Toate guvernele sunt confruntate cu o problem? cronic?: puterea exercit? o mare atracÈ›ie asupra naturilor patologice. Nu atât c? puterea corupe, dar ea îi fascineaz? pe indivizii coruptibili. AceÈ™tia au tendinÈ›a de a se îmb?ta cu violen??, ceea ce creeaz? rapid condiÈ›iile unei obiÈ™nuinÈ›e ireversibile.

I prefer the cynical view," Paul said, testing. "You obviously are trained in all the lying tricks of statecraft, the double meanings and the power words. Language is nothing more than a weapon to you and, thus, you test my armor." "The cynical view," Edric said, a smile stretching his mouth. "And rulers are notoriously cynical where religions are concerned. Religion, too, is a weapon. What manner of weapon is religion when it becomes the government?

All governments needed to remain under suspicion in their time of power.

For proper government, the tribe must have ways to choose men whose lives reflect the way a government should behave." From

Governments, if they endure, always tend increasingly toward aristocratic forms. No government in history has been known to evade this pattern. And as the aristocracy develops, government tends more and more to act exclusively in the interests of the ruling class—whether that class be hereditary royalty, oligarchs of financial empires, or entrenched bureaucracy.