George Orwell: Not Victims But Accomplices

George Orwell Money Quote saying voters determine when corruptible politicians are elected and cannot blame anyone but themselves for bad actors ruling a democracy. George Orwell said:
 

 

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves and traitors are not victims … but accomplices” — George Orwell

This George Orwell quote is criticizing voters who elect politicians that are corrupt, dishonest, or betray the public trust. Orwell is saying that if a population votes for leaders who are “imposters, thieves and traitors,” then the people sharing some responsibility or complicity for the actions of those leaders once elected.

By choosing corrupt officials, the voters are essentially accomplices because they empowered those officials to govern, even if the officials’ behavior turns out to be self-serving or harmful to the people. Overall, the quote suggests that citizens should be thoughtful in their selection of politicians and not view themselves purely as victims if bad leaders gain power through democratic elections.

Birthday: June 25, 1903 – Death: January 25, 1950

Vanya Cohen: Robbery & Taxation Thieves

Vanya Cohen Money Quotation saying the entire federal government constitutes a frightening hoard standing at the ready to collect from all income. Vanya Cohen said:
 

 

“When there’s a single thief, it’s robbery. When there are a thousand thieves, it’s taxation” — Vanya Cohen

Vanya Cohen seems to be drawing a distinction between individual criminal acts versus widespread, institutionalized confiscation of wealth by the state.

The quote suggests that a single bad actor stealing (“a single thief”) is rightly called “robbery,” while a large group in positions of power doing the same thing through legislation and enforcement (“a thousand thieves”) is euphemistically termed “taxation.”

Cohen appears to be implying that the end result – taking money and property from citizens against their will – is similar regardless of scale or legality.

So in essence, the message seems to be that what constitutes “theft” may depend more on who is doing the taking rather than the nature of the act itself.

Aristotle: Spending Other’s Money

Aristotle Money Quotation saying that kids, criminals and congress members spend money that is not their own and each need overseeing of their use of that cash.
 

 

“Three groups spend other people’s money: children, thieves, politicians. All three need supervision” — Aristotle

Aristotle seems to be making the point that children, thieves, and politicians are similar in that they all tend to spend funds that do not actually belong to them. For children, he may mean they spend parents’ money without fully understanding financial responsibilities.

For thieves, of course, they illegally take what is not theirs. And for politicians, Aristotle could be arguing they have a tendency to overspend public funds or tax dollars without sufficient oversight.

His overall message appears to be that when people make use of other people’s resources, whether rightfully or not, supervision is important to prevent waste or abuse. Reasonable people may disagree on how closely different groups require monitoring according to their circumstances.

Birthday: January 6, 384 BC – Death: March 7, 322 BC