Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. Quote

"I have no respect for the passion of equality, which seems to me merely idealizing envy -- I don't disparage envy, but I don't accept it as legitimately my master."

by:	Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841-1935) US Supreme Court Justice, also known as "The Great Dissenter"
Source:	Holmes-Laski Letters : The Correspondence of Mr. Justice Holmes and Harold J. Laski, 1916 - 1935 (1953), Vol. 2, p. 942.
Rating:
Categories:	Economics, Envy, Equality, Individualist
	Tweet

Further to this quote: "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." ~ Winston Churchill  -- J Carlton, Calgary      1
"Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus, who thought it not robbery to be EQUAL with God but finding himself in fashion as a man lowered himself to be a servant to others." (Somewhere in the Bible). So equality is not something to grasp for, it is something you simply have to know. Once you do know it, you then can be a human being and properly relate to others. Holmes got it wrong!  -- Waffler, Smith      1
Holmes and J Carlton got it right. Waffler's Philippians 2:6 almost close reference is right in its correct reading and interpretation - God gave the "perfect law of liberty", being "no respecter of persons", all men being equal under the law. Waffler's attempt to mingle a lawful venue's overview and the anti-lawful theology of socialism is just and lie to enslave We The People by the occupying statist theocracy infesting this land.  -- Mike, Norwalk      1
Right on Mike. I wonder how much time each and every one of us could spend bent in service to our fellow man...before we all starve to death. Somebody actually has to produce something and to suggest production and innovation should be undertaken simply for the benefit of our fellow man...is right out of the Stalinist playbook. Garbage!  -- J Carlton, Calgary      1
The word 'equality' is used differently depending on the context. All are already equal under God and the law -- justice is blind, right? But the totalitarians and slavers use equality to justify robbery and servitude. We are of course unequal in birth, age, race, knowledge, skills, property, ambition, contentedness, etc.. -- and that is as it is. Those wishing to use the force of the mob against an individual in order to bring him in line with the rest are not enforcing equality but servitude. Sharing is a virtue when it is voluntary -- it is theft under coercion. The totalitarians write the 'laws' to enforce equal servitude to the state -- and Waffler has learned that this is the easiest way to a pension than to produce something of value. This holier-than-thou attitude is common among those claiming to honor the equality of all, thus legitimizing their theft under the guise of humanitarianism. But follow the rivers of tribute in such a country and you will see the leaders' wealth and power increase while the equal slaves of the nation rot in poverty -- but with free health care, after all, the totalitarian State must care for its chattel property, too.  -- E Archer, NYC
Waffler, Lots of words, but you said nothing. Don't try so hard.  -- RLS, Laurel, MD      1
Archer, Excellent ! Said very, very well.  -- Mike, Norwalk
Good to have Waffler back. He is always good for some comic relief.  -- jim k, Austin, Tx      1
Happy Easter to All !  -- Mike, Norwalk      1
Not shooting the messenger, his statement here is couched in the "legal positivism" domain of an applied philosophy (which blinds the eyes of even the elect) — as is diametrically opposed to "the laws of nature and of nature's God" (Declaration of Independence) and otherwise, constitutional law.  Equality under the law recognizes each and every, any and all individual's inalienable rights and executions within liberty as absolutes. Individual people, as living beings are not equal (some have more property, physical prowesses differ, men and women have certain genetic differences, etc., etc., etc.)  -- Mike, Norwalk      1
-- jim k, Austin
Yes.. in 1847 the Communist Manifesto made envy popular and lead to our own Civil War on the pretense of egalitarian ideals. 600,000 of one nation who founded the greatest country lost their lives from what Holmes just described. Boycott anything published by Yankee aggressor's and their offspring the socialists.  -- Don Lee, RENO      2

Tweet  Rate this quote! How many stars? 0 1 2 3 4 5	What do YOU think?
Your name:	Your town:     CLICK JUST ONCE!

Get a Quote-A-Day! Free!
Liberty Quotes sent to your mail box.
Email: