English En
  • Deutsche De
  • English En
  • Français Fr
  • Русский Ru

We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our marketing and analytics partners who may combine it with other information you've provided to them or which they've separately collected from you. You also may to see our Privacy Policy. By clicking the OK button below, you accept our cookies.

Authors:

James Q. Wilson quotes

American Politician May 27, 1931 – March 2, 2012

Cite this Page: Citation

Quotes

Some people suggest that the problem is the separation of powers. If you had a parliamentary system, the struggle for power would not result in such complex peace treaties that empower so many different people to pursue so many contradictory aims. James Q. Wilson
Without Liberty, Law loses its nature and its name, and becomes oppression. Without Law, Liberty also loses its nature and its name, and becomes licentiousness. James Q. Wilson
We live in a world shaped by the ambiguous legacy of the Enlightenment...[it] enlarged the scope of human freedom, prepared our minds for the scientific method, made man the measure of all things, and placed individual consent front and center on the political stage. James Q. Wilson
Many, if not most, of the difficulties we experience in dealing with government agencies arise from the agencies being part of a fragmented and open political system…The central feature of the American constitutional system—the separation of powers—exacerbates many of these problems. The governments of the US were not designed to be efficient or powerful, but to be tolerable and malleable. Those who designed these arrangements always assumed that the federal government would exercise few... James Q. Wilson
James Q. Wilson quote: "I believe we ought to subsidize some health care for the poor,..."
I believe we ought to subsidize some health care for the poor, but Medicare subsidizes everyone's health care. James Q. Wilson
There is no way the American public will sit still for the banning of or putting any significant restrictions on the kinds of guns they want. James Q. Wilson
I believe that the high rates of property crime (and some of the increase in violent crime) are part of the price you pay for freedom. James Q. Wilson
If a radical devolution of powers was possible, it would have been done before. The assumption of states' rights is gone. There's no support for it in the Supreme Court and there's no support for it in public opinion. James Q. Wilson
James Q. Wilson quote: "In terms of other functions, we are making a mistake about..."
In terms of other functions, we are making a mistake about insisting on a public school monopoly. James Q. Wilson
James Q. Wilson quote: "A government without the power of defense! It is a solecism."
A government without the power of defense! It is a solecism. James Q. Wilson
Community-based policing has now come to mean everything. It's a slogan. It has come to mean so many different things that people who endorse it, such as the Congress of the United States, do not know what they are talking about. James Q. Wilson
James Q. Wilson quote: "In the long run, the public interest depends on private virtue."
In the long run, the public interest depends on private virtue. James Q. Wilson
James Q. Wilson quote: "Crime is the price society pays for abandoning character."
Crime is the price society pays for abandoning character. James Q. Wilson
James Q. Wilson quote: "There aren't any liberals left in New York. They've all been..."
There aren't any liberals left in New York. They've all been mugged by now. James Q. Wilson
James Q. Wilson quote: "I will have an administrative system where there is no way to..."
I will have an administrative system where there is no way to extricate red tape. James Q. Wilson

Popular Author

Related Authors