To say 'I love you' one must first be able to say the 'I.'
Ayn RandRead
Lobbying' is the activity of attempting to influence legislation by privately influencing the legislators. It is the result and creation of a mixed economy-of government by pressure groups. Its methods range from mere social courtesies and cocktail-party or luncheon "friendships" to favors, threats, bribes, blackmail.
Interpretation
Lobbying is the practice of influencing legislation through personal connections and pressure tactics.
This quote by Ayn Rand highlights the complexities and ethical dilemmas surrounding lobbying in a mixed economy. It suggests that lobbying can involve a spectrum of behaviors, from innocuous social interactions to unscrupulous methods like bribery and blackmail, indicating a system where private interests can significantly sway public policy and government decisions.
In practice
Used in a political debate to discuss the ethics of lobbying.
To say 'I love you' one must first be able to say the 'I.'
The difference between animals and humans is that animals change themselves for the environment, but humans change the environment for themselves.
It is my eyes which see, and the sight of my eyes grants beauty to the earth. It is my ears which hear, and the hearing of my ears gives its song to the world. It is my mind which thinks, and the judgement of my mind is the only searchlight that can find the truth. It is my will which chooses, and the choice of my will is the only edict I must respect.
What is the basic, the essential, the crucial principle that differentiates freedom from slavery? It is the principle of voluntary action versus physical coercion or compulsion.
One method of destroying a concept is by diluting its meaning. Observe that by ascribing rights to the unborn, i.e., the nonliving, the anti-abortionists obliterate the rights of the living.
I think that when in doubt about the truth of an issue, it's safer and in better taste to select the least numerous of the adversaries.
We must judge a government by its general tendencies and not by its happy accidents.
In the old days people never bothered about what others did, so long as they were free to do what they liked themselves. Today, one cannot sneeze without being corrected, let alone enjoy oneself. That's what politics have done to our society
Freedom and the power to choose should not be the privilege of wealth. They are the birthright of every American.
Where free unions and collective bargaining are forbidden, freedom is lost.
For somebody who loves foreign policy, being Secretary is the best job in the world - but it doesn't happen twice.
What is it but a cunningly devised scheme to take from one State and to give to another - to replenish the treasury of some of the States from the pockets of the people of the others; in reality, to make them support the governments and pay the debts of other States as well as their own?
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