History never looks like history when you are living through it. It always looks confusing and messy, and it always feels uncomfortable.

If our society continues at its present rate to become less livable as it becomes more affluent, we promise all to end up in sumptuous misery.

Some people strengthen the society just by being the kind of people they are.

An excellent plumber is infinitely more admirable than an incompetent philosopher.

Mastery is not something that strikes in an instant, like a thunderbolt, but a gathering power that moves steadily through time, like weather.

The [nonprofit] sector is the natural home of nonmajoritarian impulses, movements and values. It comfortably harbors innovators, maverick movements, groups which feel they must fight for their place in the sun, and critics of both liberal conservative persuasion.

The ablest and most effective leaders do not hold to a single style; they may be highly supportive in personal relations when that is needed, yet capable of a quick, authoritative decision when the situation requires it.