The worth of a civilization or a culture is not valued in the terms of its material wealth or military power, but by the quality and achievements of its representative individuals – its philosophers, its poets and its artists. – Herbert Read
The characteristic political attitude of today is not one of positive belief, but of despair. – Herbert Read
The farther a society progresses, the more clearly the individual becomes the antithesis of the group. – Herbert Read
To realize that new world we must prefer the values of freedom and equality above all other values – above personal wealth, technical power and nationalism. – Herbert Read
Americans, unhappily, have the most remarkable ability to alchemize all bitter truths into an innocuous but piquant confection and to transform their moral contradictions, or public discussion of such contradictions, into a proud decoration, such as are given for heroism on the battle field. – James Baldwin