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Freedom

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“Either communistic production is superior to free production, or it is not.If it is, then it must be for all things, not just for security.If not, progress requires that it be replaced by free production.Complete communism or complete liberty: that is the alternative!”
Gustave de Molinari (1819–1912) said by 1912 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My gift to you will be to take away your freedom of choice for a while. Freedom can be very unhealthy and unproductive. Instead, you’ll have freedom from choice.”
Amanda Filipacchi (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If we can't bring ourselves to say what's in our hearts when it truly matters, then we've already given up our freedom and with it the freedom of future generations, which is something that we've got no right to do. We didn't earn this freedom; it was handed to us on a plate by people who did earn it with their lives. We don't own it; we're custodians of it: it's not ours to give away.”
Pat Condell (born 1949) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Appeasing Islam" (8 March 2008)
“We cannot develop unless we enjoy both internal and external freedom: even the freedom of thinking about freedom.”
Tigran Sargsyan (born 1960) first seen 2010 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech (11 December 2010), at official site of the Government of the Republic of Armenia
“The Dream obsessed him ... but what was it? Was it Horatio Alger, rags to riches, the idea that you could start with nothing and end up rolling naked in stacks of hundreds? Or was it a dream of freedom? Personal freedom...or the concept of freedom that the founders brought into the whole world?”
William McKeen (born 1954) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Steadfast in our purpose, we now press on. We have known freedom's price. We have shown freedom's power. And in this great conflict, my fellow Americans, we will see freedom's victory. Thank you all. May God bless.”
George W. Bush (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The advance of freedom is the surest strategy to undermine the appeal of terror in the world. Where freedom takes hold, hatred gives way to hope. When freedom takes hold, men and women turn to the peaceful pursuit of a better life.”
George W. Bush (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“On this fourth day of July, 1962, we who are gathered at this same hall, entrusted with the fate and future of our States and Nation, declare now our vow to do our part to lift the weights from the shoulders of all, to join other men and nations in preserving both peace and freedom, and to regard any threat to the peace or freedom of one as a threat to the peace and freedom of all.”
John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I intend to speak for freedom, stand for freedom and be a patient friend to anyone, East or West, who will fight for freedom. It seems to me the presidency provides an incomparable opportunity for "gentle persuasion.”
George H. W. Bush (1924–2018) said by 2018 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“At all times, day by day, we have to continue fighting for freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom from want — for these are things that must be gained in peace as well as in war. (15 April 1943)”
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) said by 1962 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For the first time the peasant has seen real freedom — freedom to eat his bread, freedom from starvation.”
Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924) said by 1924 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I mean, a genuinely productive society. I mean you could produce plenty of goods without much freedom, but I think the whole sort of creative life of man is ultimately impossible without a considerable measure of individual freedom, of initiative, creation, all these things which we value, and I think value properly, are impossible without a large measure of freedom.”
Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“INTERVIEWER: You've talked about the academics and the monetarists and so on. In Great Britain, the charge to undo the welfare state was led by Keith Joseph. Keith Joseph was concerned about a sense of freedom. What's the difference between your sense of freedom and his sense of freedom?”
Tony Benn (1925–2014) said by 2014 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If some great Power would agree to make me always think what is true and do what is right, on condition of being turned into a sort of clock and wound up every morning before I got out of bed, I should instantly close with the offer. The only freedom I care about is the freedom to do right; the freedom to do wrong I am ready to part with on the cheapest terms to any one who will take it of me.”
Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–1895) first seen 1870 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On Descartes' Discourse touching the method of using one's reason rightly and of seeking scientific truth" (1870)
“National defense through war always involves some degree of national defeat. This paradox has been with us from the very beginning of our republic. Militarization in defense of freedom reduces the freedom of the defenders. There is a fundamental inconsistency between war and freedom.”
Wendell Berry (1934–2026) said by 2026 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Freedom is a tenable objective only for responsible individuals. We do not believe in freedom for madmen or children. The necessity of drawing a line between responsible individuals and others is inescapable, yet it means that there is an essential ambiguity in our ultimate objective of freedom. Paternalism is inescapable for those whom we designate as not responsible.”
Milton Friedman (1912–2006) said by 2006 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Freedom is an indivisible value and when the freedom of one is threatened the freedom of all is in jeopardy.”
Walter Reuther (1907–1970) first seen 1959 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Address before the Berlin Freedom Rally, West Berlin, Germany, May 1, 1959, as quoted in Walter P Reuther: Selected Papers (1961), by Henry M. Christman, p. 279
“Freedom of speech means not only freedom for the views with which you agree but also freedom for the views which you hate and deplore.”
Alfred Denning, Baron Denning (1899–1999) first seen 1968 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Defending the Attorney General's decision not to prosecute Enoch Powell for his anti-immigration Eastbourne speech; speech to the Institute of Journalists in London (2 December 1968), quoted in The Times (3 December 196…
“Your president leads the world in the cause of freedom right now. ... The people in Ukraine are not just fighting for your own freedom, you are fighting for all of us who love freedom. … We pray that you will enjoy some of that peace soon.”
Bono (born 1960) first seen 2022 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in "See U2’s Bono and the Edge Play Surprise Acoustic Set in Kyiv Bomb Shelter", Rolling Stone (8 May 2022), and "U2's Bono Gives 'Freedom' Concert in Kyiv Metro ", VOA News (8 May 2022)
“Yes, so it is that knowledge itself must die in order to blossom forth again in death as will; the freedom of thought, belief, and conscience, these wonderful flowers of three centuries will sink back into the lap of mother earth so that a new freedom, the freedom will, will be nourished with its most noble juices.”
Max Stirner (1806–1856) said by 1856 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The protracted struggle which dragged on in Egypt was not a conflict of visions, but the conflict between a vision of freedom, the "eternal" Platonic Idea of Freedom, and a blind clinging to power ready to use all means possible—terror, food deprivation, exhaustion, bribery—to crush the will to freedom.”
Slavoj Žižek (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To fully feel Western freedom, one must lose all hope of losing freedom. For the Russian, Western freedom is above all solitude. p. 89”
Alexander Zinoviev (1922–2006) said by 2006 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Faith teaches that there is a right and wrong beyond mere opinion or desire. Most importantly, it teaches us that freedom is not an end in itself, that how freedom is exercised matters as much as freedom itself,”
Stephen Harper (born 1959) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: March 15th, 2009.
“They won't break me because the desire for freedom, and the freedom of the Irish people, is in my heart. The day will dawn when all the people of Ireland will have the desire for freedom to show. It is then we'll see the rising of the moon.”
Bobby Sands (1954–1981) first seen 1981 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Diary entry, (17 March 1981), translated from the original Irish, in Skylark Sing your Lonely Song : An Anthology of the Writings of Bobby Sands (1991)
“The two inhabitants of Paradise were given the opportunity to choose: happiness without freedom or freedom without happiness; tertium non datur. And they, donkeys, chose freedom: so what? You understand: then they regretted the chains for centuries.”
Yevgeny Zamyatin (1884–1937) said by 1937 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Giulia Giaume, Noi, o di come nacque la distopia, in Arttrubune.com (in Italian; October 25, 2024)
“The Anarchists believe in the State; only they insist that the greater part, if not all, of the necessity for its existence is the result of an artificial limitation of the freedom of civil society, and that the completion of industrial freedom may one day so harmonize individuals that it will no longer be necessary to provide a guarantee of political freedom.”
Benjamin Tucker (1854–1939) said by 1939 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Believe that we too love freedom and desire it. To us it is more desirable than anything in the world. If you strike us down now, we shall rise again and renew the fight. You cannot conquer Ireland you cannot extinguish the Irish passion for freedom: if our deed has not been sufficient to win freedom then our children will win it with a better deed.”
Patrick Pearse (1879–1916) said by 1916 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Notes for Revolutionaries Vol 2, Foilseacháin an Ghlór Gafa, Nova Print, Belfast, 2006, pg 65
“National freedom is as important as economic freedom or the freedom of the individual.”
A. J. P. Taylor (1906–1990) first seen 1953 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 'We're the hypocrites about this!', Daily Herald (28 February 1953), p. 3
“Now as one of the signatories of the document I naturally recommend its acceptance. I do not recommend it for more than it is. Equally I do not recommend it for less than it is. In my opinion it gives us freedom, not the ultimate freedom that all nations desire and develop to, but the freedom to achieve it.”
Michael Collins (Irish leader) first seen 1921 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Regarding the Anglo-Irish Treaty during a parliamentary debate (Dáil Éireann - Volume T - 19 December, 1921 (DEBATE ON TREATY))
“Freedom and justice are complementary concepts; freedom is no more feasible without justice than justice is possible without freedom.”
Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921–1990) said by 1990 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Freedom is for love and service. Our ability to give ourselves away in love and service is the true measure of our freedom. After having declared: “For you were called to freedom”, Paul adds: “Through love become slaves to one another”.”
Kurien Kunnumpuram (1931–2018) first seen 2011 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Kunnumpuram, Kurien, 2011 “Theological Exploration,” Jnanadeepa: Pune Journal of Religious Studies 14/2 (July-Dec 2011)
“In the marketplace he told of honor, and how it is a higher law than any law. At the crossroads he talked of freedom, the freedom of the wind and clouds, and freedom that loves all things and is without guilt. Beside the city gates he told stories of the forgotten cities that were and of the forgotten cities that might be, if only men would forget them.”
Gene Wolfe (1931–2019) first seen 1980 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The God and His Man", Asimov's Science Fiction (1980); reprinted in Gene Wolfe, Endangered Species (1989); reprinted in Gene Wolfe, The Best of Gene Wolfe (2009)
“She knew what she was now. She had a purpose. Freedom was still hers, but it was a purposeful freedom. She would seek responsibility, for freedom without responsibility was worthless, and to that duality she would add power, for responsibility without power was impotence. She would go to Wisdom and enthrone the trinity of liberties within herself.”
Ian McDonald (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The freedom of an individual merges in the freedom of all and serves the freedom of all.”
Abd al-Karim Qasim (1914–1963) first seen 1959 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech delivered at the second congress of the peace partisans (April 14, 1959).
“If we stand together and choose freedom, our future will be brighter. Freedom will bring back jobs and raise wages. Freedom will lift people out of dependency to the dignity of work.”
Ted Cruz (born 1970) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In the history of the world, Hinduism is the only religion that exhibits a complete independence and freedom of the human mind, its full confidence in its own powers. Hinduism is freedom, especially the freedom in thinking about God.”
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888–1975) said by 1975 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For let there be no mistake about it: freedom is not an end in itself—it is only a means to an end. The moment you achieve freedom from something, the question arises: What is this freedom for? It is this question which the Muslim millah is now being called upon to answer.”
Muhammad Asad (1900–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The essence of these tactics is some voluntary but irreversible sacrifice of freedom of choice. They rest on the paradox that the power to constrain an adversary may depend on the power to bind oneself; that, in bargaining, weakness is often strength, freedom may be freedom to capitulate, and to burn bridges behind one may suffice to undo an opponent.”
Thomas Schelling (1921–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Jaja’s defiance seems like Ifeoma’s experimental purple hibiscus: rare, fragrant with the undertones of freedom, a different kind of freedom from the one the crowds waving green leaves chanted at Government Square after the coup. A freedom to be, to do.”
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (born 1977) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Since advancing freedom of the press furthers democracy, spreading freedom of the press promotes world peace. And the reverse logic is also true. Without democracies, there will be war; without freedom of the press, democracies cannot exist.”
Rudolph Rummel (1932–2014) first seen 1989 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Freedom of the press—a way to peace,” ASNE Bulletin (February 1989), p. 27. ASNE stands for the American Association of Newspaper Editors
“Remember, we are not fighting for the freedom of the Negro alone, but for the freedom of the human spirit, a larger freedom that encompasses all mankind.”
Ella Baker (1903–1986) said by 1986 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Women Behind the Men" by Gail Collins in the The New York Times, September 22, 2007
“Personal freedom is a magnificent thing; by it and by it alone can a nation achieve its true freedom. Man must respect and honor his freedom in himself no less than in his neighbor or in the people at large.”
Alexander Herzen (1812–1870) first seen 1700 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter from Paris to His Friend in Moscow (March 1st, 1849), Imperial Russia, A Sourcebook 1700-1917
“In Saudi Arabia, there is peace but no freedom. In Pakistan, there is freedom but there is no peace. In India, Muslims enjoy both peace and freedom.”
Wahiduddin Khan (1925–2021) first seen 1996 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, quoted by P.V. Rao, The thinking theologist, Indian Express, 7.1.1996, quoted from Elst, Koenraad (2001). Decolonizing the Hindu mind: Ideological development of Hindu revivalism. New Delhi: Rup…
“Barbara Walters asked Ronald Reagan, what do you think about the Soviet Union and how much of a threat they are to us and to our freedom. And he said, ‘They’re a threat, but the biggest threat to our freedom is our own governments.’ And I agree with him. It’s governments at every level in the United States right now and in most of the world that are assaulting freedom daily.”
David R. Henderson (born 1950) first seen 2014 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: An Economist’s Case for a Non-Interventionist Foreign Policy” Antiwar.com (April 28, 2014)
“Freedom of speech, freedom of association, and freedom of movement are some of the fundamental human rights granted to Nigerian citizens by the 1999 Constitution as amended... We, therefore, condemn the shooting of Sowore as barbaric and an infringement of his rights under the law.”
Joe Okei-Odumakin (born 1966) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In the past, there was no freedom, so we struggled to get freedom. In the past, we were oppressed by the political system, so we opposed the system. But today's Taiwan is a democratic nation. Besides seeking freedom, we must also consolidate the rule of law, accept the responsibilities associated with that, and work together to sustain our system of democratic, constitutional government.”
Chen Shui-bian (born 1950) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: President Chen Shui-bian's National Day speech" in Taiwan Today (16 October 2006)
“Every man is born with an inherent impulse toward freedom and toward the search for truth which should lead, ultimately, to love, but to achieve true freedom, it is necessary to remove all obstacles such as prejudice, distorted views, hate, anger, greed, which leads to corruption. This means that reconciliation with others is a prerequisite to attain true freedom.”
Paul Tan Chee Ing (born 1940) first seen 2012 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Church: yes to a Commission for truth and reconciliation (26 June 2012)
“Human autonomy has become the greatest value, progress has replaced providence and the role of God, in large measure, has disappeared from consciences. God will never deprive man of his freedom. Acting with a purpose that is contrary to the good of his human nature is not true freedom, as freedom orders him toward the good.”
Julián Barrio Barrio (born 1946) first seen 2011 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Spanish archbishop calls for conversion to overcome crisis (26 July 2011) Catholic News Agency
“For me, it is freedom; freedom to be yourself in every area of your life. When you have that freedom, you can change the world because you are yourself. Why does another person’s opinion matter so much to your happiness and life?”
Teni (born 1993) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Let freedom be for an idea, Let freedom be for an action, Still, let freedom be for a motive!”
Ōsugi Sakae (1885–1923) first seen 1918 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: I Like a Spirit. Originally published in 1918. English translation was done by Le Libertaire Group in 1979 (“A Short History of The Anarchist Movement in Japan,” The Idea Publishing House; Tokyo, Japan, p.132).