James Q. Wilson Quotes

Four innate sentiments dispose people to a universal moral sense. These are sympathy, fairness, self-control and duty.

One unrepaired broken window is a signal that no one cares, and so breaking more windows costs nothing.

Public order is a fragile thing, and if you don't fix the first broken window, soon all the windows will be broken.

I believe that the high rates of property crime (and some of the increase in violent crime) are part of the price you pay for freedom.

But no one has yet succeeded in reducing the size or scope of the federal government

In terms of other functions, we are making a mistake about insisting on a public school monopoly.

A government without the power of defense! It is a solecism.

Crime is the price society pays for abandoning character.

What most needs explanation is not why some people are criminals, but why most people are not.

Character is not the enemy of self-expression and personal freedom, it is their necessary precondition.

There aren't any liberals left in New York. They've all been mugged by now.

I will have an administrative system where there is no way to extricate red tape.

I believe we ought to subsidize some health care for the poor, but Medicare subsidizes everyone's health care

Boys are more likely to develop a masculine personality and acquire strong moral standards when they have a loving and nurturant rather than a threatening or fear-inspiring father.

There is no way the American public will sit still for the banning of or putting any significant restrictions on the kinds of guns they want.

In the long run, the public interest depends on private virtue.

There are no more liberals Theyve all been mugged.

But no one has yet succeeded in reducing the size or scope of the federal government.