"Social stability is the product of an equilibrium between a vigorous majority and violent minorities. Disorder does not come from an increased inner pressure or from the interaction of explosive ingredients. There is no reason to believe that the nature of the violent minorities is now greatly different from what it was in the past. What has changed is the will and ability of the majority to react. It is hard to tell what causes the pervasive timidity. One thinks of video-induced stupor, intake of tranquilizers, fear of not living to enjoy the many new possessions and toys, the example of our betters in cities and on campuses who high-mindedly surrender to threats of violence and make cowardice fashionable."
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Atheists from the United StatesPhilosophers from the United StatesNon-fiction authors from the United StatesPsychologists from the United StatesHumanists
Original Language: English
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Ch. 8 "Thoughts on the Present"
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eric_Hoffer
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Eric Hoffer
1902 – 1983
US-amerikanischer Schriftsteller
179 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Eric Hoffer →
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