In the affluent society, no useful distinction can be made between luxuries and necessities.

I've become accustomed to supporting politicians who are more conservative than I am. This is not entirely a surprise.

No hungry man who is also sober can be persuaded to use his last dollar for anything but food.

A more important antidote to American democracy is American gerontocracy. The positions of eminence and authority in Congress are allotted in accordance with length of service, regardless of quality.

From the spring of 1941, I controlled all prices in the United States. You could lower a price without my permission, but you couldn't raise a price without my permission or that of my staff.

Total physical and mental inertia are highly agreeable, much more so than we allow ourselves to imagine. A beach not only permits such inertia but enforces it, thus neatly eliminating all problems of guilt. It is now the only place in our overly active world that does.

If you're rich you can buy books. If you're poor, you need a library.