Quotes, thoughts, and philosophy — a treasury of extraordinary ideas.

A collection for those who don’t just read words, but seek to truly understand them.

yoice.net is a growing treasury of quotes, ideas, and reflections — for people who want to explore, question, and be inspired.

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"And a liberal state respects bodily integrity absolutely, in the sense that medical treatments may not be carried out against the will of the person concerned. A state that sets out to control the bodies and minds of its citizens is overreaching and acts in a totalitarian manner." Kai Möller
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"I have spent many years loathing journalism and the intellectual corruption that emanates from it with all the strength of my soul." Karl Kraus
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"We don't decide anything. It's decided for us: by the 'markets' and, following their lead, by governments. One has to be careful with language, not to talk oneself into a responsibility one doesn't actually have or that's being taken away from one. 'We' don't need to consider what we'd prefer, because it doesn't matter anyway. Questions of economic order and the distribution of economic benefits are currently decided by summits and central bankers under pressure from large corporations, especially the financial sector. 'We' will only have a say when we understand that, fundamentally, we have no say at all." Wolfgang Streeck
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"The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse." Edmund Burke
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"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." Marcus Aurelius
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"Give me control over a nation’s currency, and I care not who makes its laws." Amschel Mayer Rothschild
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"The world cannot be improved if everyone blindly follows the majority. It needs people who have the courage to question the seemingly irrefutable, who dare to question authority and use their own minds." Mahatma Gandhi
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"The shackles of mental control, perceptual filtering and cultural conditioning are harder to throw off today than ever before. We are the most conditioned, programmed beings the world has ever seen. Not only are our thoughts and attitudes continually being shaped and molded; our entire consciousness seems to be subtly and relentlessly erased. The doors of our perception are carefully and precisely controlled. It is an exhaustive and endless task to constantly explain to people how most things of their everyday wisdom are scientifically planted in the public consciousness via a thousand media clips." Dr. Tim O’Shea
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"Nothing is more disgusting than the majority: because it consists of a few powerful predecessors, of rogues who adapt themselves, of weak who assimilate themselves, and the masses who imitate without knowing at all what they want." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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"The religious belief in authority aims at the enslavement of the mind. It teaches people that it is moral and good to hand over their time, energy, property, freedom, and self-determination to a ruling class. The enslavement of the mind makes the enslavement of the body unnecessary. In truth, the belief in "government" is a religion, made up of a set of dogmatic teachings, irrational doctrines which fly in the face of both evidence and logic, and which are methodically memorized and repeated by the faithful. Like other religions, the gospel of "government" describes a superhuman, supernatural entity, above mere mortals, which issues commandments to the peasantry, for whom unquestioning obedience is a moral imperative." Larken Rose
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"Under no circumstances do I want to be merely a ′common′ man. I have the right to be exceptional – if I can. I want opportunities, not security. I do not want to be a citizen who is humiliated and dulled by government support. I want to encounter risk, have desires and fulfill them, suffer disaster and enjoy success. I refuse to sell my own determination for a pittance. I would prefer to face life’s difficulties rather than lead a secure existence. I prefer the exciting tension of my own success to the dull calm of Utopia. I want neither to sacrifice my freedom for benefits nor my human dignity for charity. I have learned to think and act for myself, to look the world squarely in the face and to recognize that this is my achievement. This is what is meant when we say: I am a free man!" Albert Schweitzer