...the majority of people cannot endure the bareness and futility of their lives unless they have some ardent dedication, or some passionate pursuit in which they can lose themselves.

The sense of inferiority inherent in the act of imitation breeds resentment. The impulse of the imitators is to overcome the model they imitate.

America is still the best country for the common man -- white or black ... if he can't make it here he won't make it anywhere else.

It is not actual suffering but the taste of better things which excites people to revolt.

Where unity and self-sacrifice are indispensable for the normal functioning of society, everyday life is likely to be either religiofied (common tasks turned into holy causes) or militarized.

People haunted by the purposelessness of their lives try to find a new content not only by dedicating themselves to a holy cause but also by nursing a fanatical grievance. A mass movement offers them unlimited opportunities for both.

People in a hurry cannot think, cannot grow, nor can they decay. They are preserved in a state of perpetual puerility.