I hope we shall . . . crush in [its] birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a desire to eliminate the influence of wealthy corporations over democracy.
Thomas Jefferson's quote reflects a concern about the potential for economic power, concentrated in the hands of wealthy corporations, to dominate political systems and social structures. He advocates for proactive measures to prevent this 'aristocracy' from gaining strength, suggesting a commitment to preserving democratic values and ensuring that wealth does not dictate the framework of governance.
In practice
In a speech about corporate influence in politics, this quote can be used to emphasize the need for reform.
The firmness with which the (American) people have withstood the... abuses of the press, the discernment they have manifested between truth and falsehood, show that they may safely be trusted to hear everything true and false and to form a correct judgment between them.
I, place economy among the first & most important republican virtues, & public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared
βWe must make our choice between economy and liberty or confusion and servitude...If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our necessities and comforts, in our labor and in our amusements...if we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people, under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy.
Very many and very meritorious were the worthy patriots who assisted in bringing back our government to its republican tack. To preserve it in that, will require unremitting vigilance.
A nation, as a society, forms a moral person, and every member of it is personally responsible for his society.
Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty.
Freedom is just another word: It seems to get truer the older I get.
Mind is the absence of meditation. The moment meditation arises in you, mind is found nowhere.
I remember it was with extreme difficulty that I could bring my master to understand the meaning of the word opinion, or how a point could be disputable; because reason taught us to affirm or deny only where we are certain; and beyond our knowledge we cannot do either.
The truth of an upright man must be accepted on his own terms. Moreover, since natures vary, we must agree that all the beauties of human excellence may be fostered by faiths that we do not share.
Cut off from his religious, metaphysical and transcendental roots, man is lost; all his actions become senseless, absurd, useless.
The atoms of our bodies are traceable to stars that manufactured them in their cores and exploded these enriched ingredients across our galaxy, billions of years ago. For this reason, we are biologically connected to every other living thing in the world. We are chemically connected to all molecules on Earth. And we are atomically connected to all atoms in the universe. We are not figuratively, but literally stardust.
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