I hope we shall . . . crush in [its] birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a desire to eliminate the influence of wealthy corporations over democracy.
Thomas Jefferson's quote reflects a concern about the potential for economic power, concentrated in the hands of wealthy corporations, to dominate political systems and social structures. He advocates for proactive measures to prevent this 'aristocracy' from gaining strength, suggesting a commitment to preserving democratic values and ensuring that wealth does not dictate the framework of governance.
In practice
In a speech about corporate influence in politics, this quote can be used to emphasize the need for reform.
The firmness with which the (American) people have withstood the... abuses of the press, the discernment they have manifested between truth and falsehood, show that they may safely be trusted to hear everything true and false and to form a correct judgment between them.
I, place economy among the first & most important republican virtues, & public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared
βWe must make our choice between economy and liberty or confusion and servitude...If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our necessities and comforts, in our labor and in our amusements...if we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people, under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy.
Very many and very meritorious were the worthy patriots who assisted in bringing back our government to its republican tack. To preserve it in that, will require unremitting vigilance.
A nation, as a society, forms a moral person, and every member of it is personally responsible for his society.
Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty.
People who read me seem to be divided into four groups: twenty-five percent like me for the right reasons; twenty-five percent like me for the wrong reasons; twenty-five percent hate me for the wrong reasons; twenty-five percent hate me for the right reasons. It's that last twenty-five percent that worries me.
In Christian engagement, the goal is to win the person _x000D_ who is of the other worldview - not to destroy the person.
A God made by man undoubtedly has need of man to make himself known to man.
The end of childhood is when things cease to astonish us. When the world seems familiar, when one has got used to existence, one has become an adult.
Sexually progressive cultures gave us literature, philosophy, civilization and the rest, while sexually restrictive cultures gave us the Dark Ages and the Holocaust.
Misunderstanding is my cornerstone. It's everyone's, come to think of it. Illusions mistaken for truth are the pavement under our feet.
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