"The Christian insistence on freedom — the monastic vows are voluntary sacrifices of a select few — derives from the Christian concept that man must be free in order to act morally. (A sleeping, a chained and clubbed, a drugged person can neither be sinful nor virtuous.) Yet, the free world which is practically synonymous with the world of free enterprise alone provides a climate, a way of life compatible with the dignity of man who makes free decisions, enjoys privileges, assumes responsiblilities, and develops his talents as he sees fit. He is truly the steward of his family. He can buy, sell, save, invest, gamble, plan the future, build, retrench, acquire capital, make donations, take risks. In other words, he can be the master of his economic fate and act as a man instead of a sheep in a herd under a shepherd and his dogs. No doubt, free enterprise is a harsh system; it demands real men. But socialism, which appeals to envious people craving for security and afraid to decide for themselves, impairs human dignity and crushes man utterly."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Literary criticsPhilosophers from AustriaJournalists from AustriaCatholics from AustriaHistorians from Austria
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Imported from EN Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Erik_von_Kuehnelt-Leddihn
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn
Erik Maria Ritter von Kuehnelt-Leddihn (31 July 1909 – 26 May 1999) was an Austrian Catholic nobleman and socio-political theorist.
70 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn →
Related Quotes
"There is something pathetic in seeing Americans almost daily besmirching unconsciously their ideals and their traditi…"
"America is not a democracy. We are not fighting for democracy. We fight for liberty. America not only fights for its …"
"E pluribus unum, the constructive principle of federation, In God We Trust, the recognition of God's limitless father…"
"In the linguistic usage of the Left, "democratic" denotes much more frequently highly negative values. Everybody is a…"
"[T]here are in America about a hundred different types of "democracy," each held to be "real democracy, democracy as …"
"The true "herdist" will carefully avoid acting or thinking originally, in order not to destroy the uniformity which i…"
"The herdist instinct is furthermore not only personal, in the sense that it clamors for a personal collectivism; it c…"
"The ideal dwelling place for the herdist is the city, the megalopolis with its apartment houses, clubs, cinemas, thea…"
"It should not be forgotten that none of us lacks the herd instinct completely and that there is scarcely a human bein…"
"We have said before that it is difficult to find the exact reasons for the growing popularity of the word democracy a…"