Ralph Barton Perry Quotes & Sayings

The fundamental idea of modern capitalism is not the right of the individual to possess and enjoy what he has earned, but the ;thesis that the exercise of this right redounds to the general good. — Ralph Barton Perry

Voting is the least arduous of a citizen's duties. He has the prior and harder duty of making up his mind. — Ralph Barton Perry

Ignorance deprives people of freedom because they do not know what alternatives there are. It is impossible to choose to do what one has never "heard of." — Ralph Barton Perry

Humanitarianism needs no apology. Unless we ... feel it toward all men without exception, we shall have lost the chief redeeming force in human history. — Ralph Barton Perry

What is needed in the present plight of mankind is not more science but a change of heart that shall move mankind to devote to constructive and peaceful purposes ... — Ralph Barton Perry

I prefer credulity to skepticism and cynicism for there is more promise in almost anything than in nothing at all. — Ralph Barton Perry

The English mind is intelligent rather than intellectual. The French are intellectual in the sense that the intellect is emancipated and left free to run its own course. — Ralph Barton Perry

If patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel, it is not merely because evil deeds may be performed in the name of patriotism, but because patriotic fervor can obliterate moral distinctions altogether. — Ralph Barton Perry

A man can do his best only by confidently seeking (and perpetually missing) an unattainable perfection. — Ralph Barton Perry

Indeed I am inclined to go so far as to say that the one cause for which one may properly make war is the cause of peace. — Ralph Barton Perry

As a reformer the liberal is dissatisfied with things as they are because they violate his exceptionally tender conscience ... Liberalism does not advocate change for its own sake, but for the sake of something better in the direction of what he regards as good, namely, the maximum of liberty consistent with a regard for all men and all interests
the general happiness based on peace and justice. — Ralph Barton Perry

This insistence on "having his say upon the universe" is the profoundest motive of William James thinking as well as of his filial gratitude. — Ralph Barton Perry