It is often argued that religion is valuable because it makes men good, but even if this were true it would not be a proof that religion is true. That would be an extension of pragmatism beyond endurance. Santa Claus makes children good in precisely the same way, and yet no one would argue seriously that the fact proves his existence. The defense of religion is full of such logical imbecilities.

Democracy the domination of unreflective and timorous men, moved in vast herds by mob conditions.

Economic independence is the foundation of the only sort of freedom worth a damn

The American people, I am convinced, really detest free speech. At the slightest alarm they are ready and eager to put it down.

There is, in fact, no reason to believe that any given natural phenomenon, however marvelous it may seem today, will remain forever inexplicable. Soon or late the laws governing the production of life itself will be discovered in the laboratory, and man may set up business as a creator on his own account. The thing, indeed, is not only conceivable; it is even highly probable.

The fact that I have no remedy for all the sorrows of the world is no reason for my accepting yours. It simply supports the strong probability that yours is a fake.

It is a peculiarity of the American mind that it regards any excursion into the truth as an adventure into cynicism.