They criticize me for harping on the obvious; if all the folks in the United States would do the few simple things they know they ought to do, most of our big problems would take care of themselves.
Calvin CoolidgeRead
We are too solicitous for government intervention, on the theory, first, that the people themselves are helpless, and second, that the Government has superior capacity for action. Often times both of these conclusions are wrong.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that relying too much on government intervention may overlook the capabilities of individuals and the effectiveness of self-reliance.
Calvin Coolidge's quote critiques the common belief that individuals are powerless without government assistance and that the government is inherently more effective in solving problems. He argues that both assumptions are often incorrect, implying that individuals have the potential and capacity to manage their own affairs and that blind trust in government can lead to misguided conclusions.
Themes
GovernmentInterventionSelf-RelianceCapacityHelplessness
In practice
Example use cases
During a town hall meeting discussing community development, referencing this quote can highlight the value of local initiative.
More from Calvin Coolidge
All quotes →It is difficult for men in high office to avoid the malady of self-delusion. They are always surrounded by worshipers. They are constantly, and for the most part sincerely, assured of their greatness.
Calvin CoolidgeRead
America's present need is not heroics, but healing; not nostrums, but normalcy; not revolution, but restoration; not agitation, but adjustment; not surgery, but serenity; not the dramatic, but the dispassionate; not experiment, but equipoise; not submergence in internationality, but sustainment in triumphant nationality.
Calvin CoolidgeRead
No method of procedure has ever been devised by which liberty could be divorced from local self-government. No plan of centralization has ever been adopted which did not result in bureaucracy, tyranny, inflexibility, reaction, and decline.
Calvin CoolidgeRead
Whether one traces his Americanism back three centuries to the Mayflower, or three years to the steerage, is not half so important as whether his Americanism of today is real and genuine. No matter by what various crafts we came here, we are all now in the same boat.
Calvin CoolidgeRead
The foundations of our society and our government rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease to be practically universal in our country.
Calvin CoolidgeRead
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