September 26, 2025

It is better to abolish serfdom from above than to wait for it to abolish itself from below.

Alexander II (1818–1881), Russian tsar, The Cynic’s Lexicon, Jonathon Green, ed. (London: 1986), p.5

Are you willing to vote “yea” for some program or service overwhelmingly popular with the citizenry, or do you prefer losing the next election because you knew better?

Good idea! It avoids all the messiness of revolutionary uprisings, not to mention civil war.