LEWIS D. WILLIAMS

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“To me, what really matters, first and foremost, is the issue of war and peace. That’s always been my biggest issue. I genuinely don’t understand, from any political, ideological perspective, how that’s not the most important issue: if you’re a left-winger, and the basic, fundamental building block of your philosophy is that power dynamics can be abusive, and you want to be on the side of the people with less power [against] those who wield it over them — well, there’s no better example of that than war; if you’re a libertarian, and you care about government violating people’s rights — well, there’s no better example of that than war; and if you’re a right-winger, who cares about your nation and order, and things like this — well, there’s nothing more destructive to nations and order than war.” — Dave Smith

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love [only] those who love you, what reward have you?” ― Matthew 5:43-46

“In the infancy of societies, the chiefs of state shape its institutions; later the institutions shape the chiefs of state.” ― Montesquieu

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“The absence of a transcendent dimension in secular society weakens this social contract in which each supposedly limits his or her freedom in order to live in peace with others. Such universalism of interest is another aspect of modern illusion. There is no such thing as scientifically based human solidarity. I can convince myself that it is in my interest not to rob other people, not to rape and murder, because I can convince myself that the risk is too great. This is the Hobbesian model of solidarity: greed moderated by fear. But social chaos stands in the shadows of such moral anarchy. When society adheres to moral norms for no other reason than prudence, it is extremely weak and its fabric tears at the slightest crisis. In such a society, there is no basis for personal responsibility, charity or compassion. We need instruments of human solidarity that are not based on our own instincts, self-interest or on force. The communist attempt to institutionalize solidarity ended in disaster.” — Leszek Kołakowski