Lyndon B. Johnson Quotes

We have been hearing a good deal during recent months regarding the virtues and the defects of 'rugged individualism,' so called, and 'private initiative,' so called. The champions of both are apparently unaware of the fact that in a country which has written constitutions, courts, and majority rule neither 'rugged individualism' nor 'private initiative' flourishes uncontrolled to greater or lesser extent by public interest.

At the head of any new undertaking where in France you would find the government, or in England some great lord, in the United States you are sure to find an association.

Being politically active is "more about doing things, not just standing for some platform or being involved in some political party."

What really matters from the point of view of social capital and civic engagement is not merely nominal membership, but active and involved membership.

The more government takes the place of associations, the more will individuals lose the idea of forming associations and need the government to come to their help. That is a vicious circle of cause and effect.

People don't talk to each other. You're alone with your television set or internet. But you can't have a functioning democracy without what sociologists call "secondary organizations," places where people can get together, plan, talk and develop ideas. You don't do it alone.

In the days ahead, I will propose more ways for more Americans to get involved in national service and give back to our communities, because every one of us has a role to play in building the future we want.

When 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' premiered on the WB Network in 1996, American culture was in trouble. Americans were bowling alone, pursuing individual interests to the detriment of the communal good. Business leaders were celebrating creativity and neglecting discipline. Nike's 'Just do it' ads were teaching young people to break the rules.

They take pride in their schools. They begin to participate, where, when they are renters, they don't do that. So what we're doing by this program is strengthening America.

The greatest failure is that although we have created institutions, we have not created a civil society.

I think we have a rawer version of capitalism and a more fragile community and family base than other nations. We are a more individualistic culture. From the Boston Tea Party on, we've had too little faith in government.

If the private sectors are about markets and the public sectors are about governments, then the plural sector is about communities.

The social and industrial structure of America is founded upon an enlightened citizenship.

Majority rule rests on numbers; democracy rests on the well-grounded assumption that society is neither a collection of units nor an organism but a network of human relations.

Americans want individual freedom and yet they want strong communities. There is some contradiction there.

From church to Congress, America has become a nation of self-indulgent, what's-in-it-for-me individual freedom seekers.

What makes America unique in the world is the idea of the self-directed life.

Americans of all ages, all stations of life, and all types of disposition are forever forming associations... In democratic countries knowledge of how to combine is the mother of all other forms of knowledge; on its progress depends that of all the others.

I know how illusory would be the belief that my vote determined anything; but nevertheless when I go to the polls I have a satisfaction in the sense that we are all engaged in a common venture.

This is the story of America. Everybody's doing what they think they're supposed to do.

Not only does big government get in the way when it provides disincentives to work, it also has a profoundly negative effect on community. […] The more the government does for individuals, the more community is diminished.

A country is more than an economy. We're a civic society.

I will involve everyone to make Delhi an ideal state.

It's time to put back on the agenda the importance of public ownership and public good, the value of working together collaboratively, not in competition.

Our policies should be to help develop civil society and increase contacts with people.