Football strategy does not originate in a scrimmage: it is useless to expect solutions in a political campaign.
Walter LippmannRead
Most men, after a little freedom, have preferred authority with the consoling assurances and the economy of effort it brings.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Many people choose security and authority over freedom due to the comfort and ease it provides.
This quote by Walter Lippmann suggests that after experiencing freedom, a majority of individuals may ultimately favor the structure and reassurance that comes with authority. It highlights a significant human tendency to seek comfort in conformity and guidance, even if it means sacrificing personal liberty, as the effort required to maintain freedom can often be overwhelming.
Themes
FreedomAuthorityComfortEffortHuman Nature
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about government roles, one could use this quote to illustrate how citizens sometimes prefer authoritarian rule for the sake of stability.
More from Walter Lippmann
All quotes →The simple opposition between the people and big business has disappeared because the people themselves have become so deeply involved in big business.
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There is nothing so bad but it can masquerade as moral.
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The tendency of the casual mind is to pick out or stumble upon a sample which supports or defies its prejudices, and then to make it the representative of a whole class.
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The private citizen, beset by partisan appeals for the loan of his Public Opinion, will soon see, perhaps, that these appeals are not a compliment to his intelligence, but an imposition on his good nature and an insult to his sense of evidence.
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