Quote by H. L. Mencken

Government is actually the worst failure of civilized man. There has never been a really good one, and even those that are most tolerable are arbitrary, cruel, grasping and unintelligent.

Government is actually the worst failure of civilized man. T

Summary

This quote suggests that governments, regardless of their form, are fundamentally flawed and ineffective. It argues that no government has ever truly succeeded in being just, fair, and intelligent. Even the most tolerable governments are portrayed as arbitrary, cruel, and grasping. The quote implies a negative view of the role and performance of government in society, suggesting that it is a failure and an obstacle to a truly civilized society.

Topics

By H. L. Mencken

Liked the quote? Share it with your friends.

Random Quotations

True repentance is to cease from sinning.

True repentance is to cease from sinning.

Ambrose of Milan

War can be so impersonal yet when we put a name, a face, a p

War can be so impersonal yet when we put a name, a face, a place and match it to families, then war is not impersonal.

Dennis Kucinich

Ignorance is not innocence, but sin.

Ignorance is not innocence, but sin.

Robert Browning

Ignorance & Stupidity

Life at its noblest leaves mere happiness far behind; and in

Life at its noblest leaves mere happiness far behind; and indeed cannot endure it. Happiness is not the object of life: life has no object: it is an end in itself; and courage consists in the readiness to sacrifice happiness for an intenser quality of life.

George Bernard Shaw

I always think they're rather charming-looking, the Burmese.

I always think they're rather charming-looking, the Burmese. They have such splendid bodies! Just think what sights you'd see in England if people went about half naked as they do here!

The Southern slave would obey God in respect to marriage, an

The Southern slave would obey God in respect to marriage, and also to the reading and studying of His word. But this, as we have seen, is forbidden him.

Those who are unhappy have no need for anything in this worl

Those who are unhappy have no need for anything in this world but people capable of giving them their attention.

I like movies I can relate to.

I like movies I can relate to.

You don't walk away if you love someone. You help the person

You don't walk away if you love someone. You help the person.

Hillary Clinton

No dancer can watch Fred Astaire and not know that we all sh

No dancer can watch Fred Astaire and not know that we all should have been in another business.

Mikhail Baryshnikov

Conrad Hilton was very generous to me in the divorce settlem

Conrad Hilton was very generous to me in the divorce settlement. He gave me 5, 000 Gideon Bibles.

I've met so many fans of daytime television who've watched t

I've met so many fans of daytime television who've watched the shows with their moms and grandmas and feel like they've known the characters their whole lives. It's sad for them to have to say goodbye to their favorite soaps and characters. We don't want that to happen to the 'Days' fans.