John McCarthy Quotes & Sayings

It is said that man doesn't live by bread alone. Sometimes this is unfortunate, because people who cannot live by bread alone too often kill other people in consequence of the fights they get into. — John McCarthy

Hard distinctions make bad philosophy. — John McCarthy

If I owned Marseilles and Hell, I'd rent out Marseilles and live in Hell. — John McCarthy

An extreme optimist is a man who believes that humanity will probably survive even if it doesn't take his advice. — John McCarthy

He who refuses to do arithmetic is doomed to talk nonsense. — John McCarthy

Language is froth on the surface of thought. — John McCarthy

When I see a slippery slope, my instinct is to build a terrace. — John McCarthy

My opinion is that he's a swindler and you're a sucker. — John McCarthy

Of course, Third World leaders love you. By ascribing third world ills to First World sins, you absolve them of blame for their countries' failure to advance. — John McCarthy

Self-righteousness has killed more people than smoking. — John McCarthy

Once a person has killed other people on behalf of an ideology, he becomes rather devoted to it. — John McCarthy

Alas few socialists are either benevolent enough to work hard at these occupations out of benevolence or self-interested enough to work hard at them for money. — John McCarthy

There is only one thing more harmful to society than an elected official forgetting the promises he made in order to get elected; that's when he doesn't forget them. — John McCarthy

An atheist doesn't have to be someone who thinks he has a proof that there can't be a god. He only has to be someone who believes that the evidence on the God question is at a similar level to the evidence on the werewolf question. — John McCarthy

The peace movement is a great force for peace. Some of the world's most quarrelsome people act out their aggressions through the peace movement. — John McCarthy

Don't try to talk anyone out of concentrating his hatred on Ayn Rand or any other dead person. It can't harm the dead. Diverted to a living person, it might actually do harm. — John McCarthy

A declining institution often experiences survival of the unfittest. — John McCarthy

Never abandon a theory that explains something until you have a theory that explains more. — John McCarthy

We modern Marxists regard socialism as a historically brief transitional stage between feudalism and capitalism, necessary only in backward countries. — John McCarthy

Asking a critic to name his favorite book is like asking a butcher to name his favorite pig. — John McCarthy

Amateur bureaucrats are often even worse than professional bureaucrats. — John McCarthy

The slogan was 'Don't trust anyone over thirty'. Sixty years later the slogan became, 'Don't trust anyone over ninety'. — John McCarthy

Inside of many liberals is a fascist struggling to get out. — John McCarthy

If a person can be said to have the wrong attitude, there is no need to pay attention to his arguments. — John McCarthy

My hobby of not attending meetings about recycling saves more energy than your hobby of recycling. — John McCarthy

With no more than six levels of misquotation, any statement can be made to say whatever you wish. — John McCarthy

Compassion is contempt with a human face. — John McCarthy

Hardly anyone has noticed that in the Northern Hemisphere people stir their drinks counterclockwise, whereas the same people stir their drinks clockwise when visiting the Southern Hemisphere. — John McCarthy

Suicidal terrorists may have short shelf lives. — John McCarthy

Proposals to forbid golf courses have about the same motivations as proposals to forbid skate boarding, although the rationalizations are different. — John McCarthy

The difference between a contemporary liberal and a socialist is that to a liberal the most beautiful word in the English language is 'forbidden', whereas to a socialist the most beautiful word is 'compulsory'. — John McCarthy

An excessive knowledge of Marxism is a sign of a misspent youth. — John McCarthy

Soccer riots kill at most tens. Intellectuals' ideological riots sometimes kill millions. — John McCarthy

Slogans rarely convince the unconvinced. However, they do rally the troops already on your side. — John McCarthy

Committing genocide on behalf of an institution generates greater loyalty to it than merely getting people fired from their jobs on its behalf. — John McCarthy

When thugs by nature meet thugs by political conviction, 5-0 is not surprising. — John McCarthy

Honor among thieves is the ancestor of all honor. — John McCarthy

In human history, the desire for revenge and the desire for loot have often been closely associated. — John McCarthy

Both politicians and journalists face situations which strain their honesty and humanity. My opinion is that politicians on the average stand up somewhat better than journalists. — John McCarthy

Foolishness is rarely a matter of lack of intelligence or even lack of information. — John McCarthy

A true intellectual is a man who, after reading a book and being convinced by its arguments, will shoot someone or, more likely, order someone shot. — John McCarthy

His ambition is to be the spider in the World Wide Web. — John McCarthy