Irving Kristol Quotes

[conservatism:] Our Revolutionary Message... Is That A Self-disciplined People Can Create A Political Community In Which An Ordered Liberty Will Promote Both Economic Prosperity And Political Participation.

People Need Religion. It's A Vehicle For A Moral Tradition. A Crucial Role. Nothing Can Take Its Place.

If Your Aims As A Donor Are Modest, You Can Accomplish An Awful Lot. When Your Aims Become Elevated Beyond A Reasonable Level, You Not Only Don't Accomplish Much, But You Can Cause A Great Deal Of Damage.

There Is Nothing Like A Parade To Elicit The Proper Respect For The Military From The Populace.

What Rules The World Is Idea, Because Ideas Define The Way Reality Is Perceived.

I Have Observed Over The Years That The Unanticipated Consequences Of Social Action Are Always More Important, And Usually Less Agreeable, Than The Intended Consequences.

You Have To Know One Big Thing And Stick With It. The Leaders Who Had One Very Big Idea And One Very Big Commitment. This Permitted Them To Create Something. Those Are The Ones Who Leave A Legacy.

There Are Different Kinds Of Truths For Different Kinds Of People. There Are Truths Appropriate For Children; Truths That Are Appropriate For Students; Truths That Are Appropriate For Educated Adults; And Truths That Are Appropriate For Highly Educated Adults, And The Notion That There Should Be One Set Of Truths Available To Everyone Is A Modern Democratic Fallacy. It Doesn't Work.

It Was A New Kind Of Class War - The People As Citizens Versus The Politicians And Their Clients In The Public Sector.

I Regard Myself To Have Been A Young Trostkyite And I Have Not A Single Bitter Memory.

Joining A Radical Movement When One Is Young Is Very Much Like Falling In Love When One Is Young. The Girl May Turn Out To Be Rotten, But The The Experience Of Love Is So Valuable It Can Never Be Entirely Undone By The Ultimate Disenchantment.

Anyone Who Knows Anything About Journalism Knows That Reporters Are Rarely In A Position To Investigate Anything. They Lack The Authority To Subpoena Witnesses, To Cross-examine, To Scrutinize Official Records. They Are Lucky To Get Their Phone Calls Returned.