The great conservative insight is that order is really hard to achieve. It’s really precious, and it’s really easy to lose.

We can call this "the progress principle": Pleasure comes more from making progress toward goals than from achieving them. Shakespeare captured it perfectly: "Things won are done; joy's soul lies in the doing."

If I have a mission in life, it is to convince people that everyone is morally motivated - everyone except for psychopaths.

Trying to run Congress without human relationships is like trying to run a car without motor oil. Should we be surprised when the whole thing freezes up?

Religion and science, for example, are often though to be opponents, but as I have shown, the insights of ancient religions and of modern science are both needed to reach a full understanding of human nature and the conditions of human satisfaction. The ancients may have known little about biology, chemistry, physics, but many were good psychologists.

Understanding the simple fact that morality differs around the world, and even within societies, is the first step toward understanding your righteous mind.

The most powerful force ever known on this planet is human cooperation - a force for construction and destruction.