A colleague once described political theorists as people who were obsessed with two dozen books; after half a century of grappling with Mill's essay On Liberty, or Hobbes's Leviathan, I have sometimes thought two dozen might be a little on… — Alan Ryan Copy Share Image
“The revolt in Asia Minor was snugged out in 494, and the Athenians realized that they had acquired a dangerous enemy. Darius I's first… — Alan Ryan Copy Share Image
“In many cities, tyrants were able to seize power by offering to protect the poorer citizens against the rich or vice versa. “Tyrant” is… — Alan Ryan Copy Share Image
We do not go to work only to earn an income, but to find meaning in our lives. What we do is a large… — Alan Ryan Copy Share Image
“There were two views of how a polis was formed. The first was military: a scattered group of people came to live in one… — Alan Ryan Copy Share Image
Justice is the most "political" or institutional of the virtues. The legitimacy of a state rests upon its claim to do justice. — Alan Ryan Copy Share Image
“He had gone again and, emboldened by his first successful trip, had chosen a different sort of world to enter, that of THE MONK.… — Alan Ryan Copy Share Image
Modern liberalism has many roots. One of the most important is the ideas of a man described by an American critic as 'his satanic… — Alan Ryan Copy Share Image
It is never right to injure anyone. It can never be right to make someone worse than he is. — Alan Ryan Copy Share Image
“The revolutionaries failed to institute the novel forms of social and political organization they hankered after; Workers would not accept a ten-day week, or… — Alan Ryan Copy Share Image
A colleague once described political theorists as people who were obsessed with two dozen books; after half a century of grappling with Mill's essay… — Alan Ryan Copy Share Image
Richard A. Posner is an extraordinary person. If he did not exist, it would be hard to believe that he could. (...) He writes… — Alan Ryan Copy Share Image
“There was no politics in Persia because the great king was the master of slaves, not rulers of citizens. The point is beautifully made… — Alan Ryan Copy Share Image
