William Petty Quotes

Some civil wars are caused by one group within a country seeking its independence, while in other cases, the civil war itself leads one group or another to seek its independence as the solution to its problems.

Without the United States, there simply would not have been an armed uprising in our country.

The civil war which has so long prevailed between Spain and the Provinces in South America still continues, without any prospect of its speedy termination.

Capitalism is so successful economically that it creates, educates and subsidizes a vested interest in social unrest.

They preached equality in everything. And faithful to their doctrine, these forerunners of modern socialism robbed Mandarins and the rich of their property, which they distributed to the poor. The villages laboring under exorbitant tribute [taxes] were willing to swear allegiance.

Taxes on acquired wealth would be the fairest solution. But such taxes have met an invincible resistance among the possessors, who are the most powerful. … The selfishness of possessing classes is not reducible. We have to adopt to it.

In the old days the problems of government were few and political, now they are many and are economic and sociological ...

They are all afraid to face high taxation to pay for the war. The rich won't stand it—and the poor can't stand it.

An economic failure becomes a radicalizing force only when an alternative exists

At the bottom of the Wealth curve Men and Women starve and children die young. In the broad middle of the curve all is turmoil and motion: people rising and falling, climbing by talent or luck and falling by alcoholism, tuberculosis and other kinds of unfitness. At the very top sit the elite of the elite, who control wealth and power for a time – until they are unseated through revolution or upheaval by a new aristocratic class. There is no progress in human history. Democracy is a fraud. Human nature is primitive, emotional, unyielding. The smarter, abler, stronger, and shrewder take the lion's share. The weak starve, lest society become degenerate:

In a democracy, when you have 20 million people in the street, you resign. Unfortunately, we don’t have a process of recall or impeachment as you have. It was a popular uprising rejecting Mr. Morsi’s continuing in power. Unfortunately, people had to call on the army to intervene. The army had to intervene because short of that, we would have ended up in a civil war.

It is needless to trouble your Lordship with daily Publications of determined resolutions not to obey the Acts of Parliament … The Country People are exercising in Arms… and getting Magazines of Arms and Ammunition … People are resorting to this town [Boston] for Protection…. Sedition flows copiously from the Pulpits. The Commissioners of Customs have thought it no longer safe or prudent to remain at Salem.

Each day threatens to engulf us in a veritable civil war... This is how things now stand gentlemen. The time has come for the Nation to make clear whether it desires to follow the way of the rebels [Kmer Rouge], or to continue in the path that I have traced.

In 1921 there was an extensive Red Scare and Military Intelligence thought that we were only days away from a civil war.

American economic greatness has never trickled down from the top.

This country is very good at creating wealth, but not very good at distributing it.

Failed states have become breeding grounds for conflict.

Today, half of the national income goes to the richest 10 percent. In 2007, the top 1 percent controlled 34.6 percent of the wealth—significantly more than the bottom 90 percent who control just 26.9 percent.

Aggressive land reform would be far less destabilizing than a violent revolt.

I don’t have anything against the rich. I just want some of their money to pay for essential services.

The so called “Arab Spring” … is really a situation which is creating more threats so far than positive incentives.

Few things are more likely to fuel insurgencies than taking land from people..

Real and personal property of those who shall take up arms against the United States, or who shall be directly proven to have taken an active part with their enemies in the field, is declared confiscated to public use, and their slaves, if any they have, are hereby declared free men.

Government is to divide the community into two great classes: one consisting of those who, in reality, pay the taxes and, of course, bear exclusively the burden of supporting the government; and the other, of those who are the recipients of their proceeds through disbursements, and who are, in fact, supported by the government; or, in fewer words, to divide it into tax payers and tax-consumers…. The effect, then, of every increase is to enrich and strengthen the one [the net tax-consumers], and to impoverish and weaken the other [the net tax-payers.

Peaceful surrender of power by the bourgeoisie is possible, if it is convinced that resistance is hopeless and if it prefers to save its skin. It is much more likely, of course, that even in small states socialism will not be achieved without civil war, and for that reason the only program of international Social-Democracy must be recognition of civil war, though violence is, of course, alien to our ideals.