Eric Hoffer Quotes
Where freedom is real, equality is the passion of the masses. Where equality is real, freedom is the passion of a small minority.
Eric Hoffer, 1902-1983, Philosopher and Critic The True Believer, 1951
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As hard as it is for us to imagine today, while her husband was President of the United States, the First Lady wrote a nationally syndicated newspaper column every single day with politics frequently the subject. While she usually agreed with the President, there were occasions where they seemed to not see things exactly the same. She tended to be more liberal than he. However, there were those who believed that when she criticized politicians, it was with FDR’s knowledge and blessing and she sometimes did his “dirty work.” Eleanor Roosevelt was one of the most influential people in the country—certainly more-so than any First Lady before and since.
As absurd as this sounds to us today, it was a commonly held belief by Aristocrats, and upper class people in many societies. Some ultra conservatives in Democracies and Dictators like Franco and Mussolini.
De Tocqueville was generally concerned about what he saw as an inherent conflict between freedom and equality. Efforts to produce equality can lead in some cases to impingements on some freedoms or rights. Unlimited free rights can produce inequality and a de facto autocracy. Even in modern times America is struggling to find a proper balance.
Eric Hoffer was an American moral and social philosopher. He was the author of ten books and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in February 1983. His first book, The True Believer (1951), was widely recognized as a classic, receiving critical acclaim from both scholars and laymen, although Hoffer believed that The Ordeal of Change was his finest work.
