"The War on Drugs employs millions - politicians, bureaucrats, policemen, and now the military - that probably couldn't find a place for their dubious talents in a free market, unless they were to sell pencils from a tin cup on street corners."

Politics

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Thematic Reflection

This quotation examines the core nature of Politics as articulated by L. Neil Smith. Within historical and literary traditions, reflections on Politics provide actionable mental models, challenging individuals to evaluate personal ethics, self-discipline, and daily actions.

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About L. Neil Smith

Lester Neil Smith III, better known as L. Neil Smith, was an American libertarian science fiction author and political activist. His works include the trilogy of Lando Calrissian novels, all published in 1983: Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu, Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon, and Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of ThonBoka. He also wrote the novels Pallas, The Forge of the Elders, and The Probability Broach, each of which won the Libertarian Futurist Society's annual Prometheus Award for best libertarian science fiction novel. In 2016, Smith received a Special Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Libertarian Futurist Society.

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More by L. Neil Smith

"We are expected to believe that anyone who objects to the Department of Homeland Security or the USA Patriot Act is a terrorist, and that the only way to preserve our freedom is to hand it over to the government for safekeeping."

— L. Neil Smith
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"What happened in America in the 1860s was a war of secession, a war of independence, no different in principle from what happened in America in the 1770s and 1780s."

— L. Neil Smith
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"We must oppose programs that would take food from the mouths of younger generations to buy prescription drugs for old people, and we must do it... for the children."

— L. Neil Smith
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"City governments ought to be abolished, if only as a public health measure."

— L. Neil Smith
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More about Politics

"If you're an old pro, you know how well you're doing when you're doing it, and your inner government spanks you if you're not doing well."

— Jerry Lewis
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"She's leaving when the president has one of the highest approval ratings on record. From here, it can only go down. And when it does, you know who they're going to blame. They're gonna blame Andy Card!"

— Andrew Card
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"I don't look for much to come out of government ownership as long as we have Democrats and Republicans."

— Kin Hubbard
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"Great leaders cultivate leaders, not merely followers. For where clarity resides, peace inevitably follows — an essential principle for the reflective life."

— Hamilton Basso
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