Political Quotes

Edmund Burke: “We have given those people a will: that is to say, we have more than ever alienated them from liberty.”

On the record
We have given those people a will: that is to say, we have more than ever alienated them from liberty.
Said by
Edmund Burke

Editor's note · Context

This quote reflects Burke's view that imposing a will on others can alienate them from true liberty.

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But when the leaders choose to make themselves bidders at an auction of popularity, their talents, in the construction of the state, will be of no service.

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Our people will find employment enough for a truly patriotic, free, and independent spirit, in guarding what they possess from violation.

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The improvements of the National Assembly are superficial, their errors fundamental.

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If any of them should happen to propose a scheme of liberty soberly limited, and defined with proper qualifications, he will be immediately outbid by his competitors, who will produce something more splendidly popular.

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