Brandeis was a militant crusader for social justice whoever his opponent might be. He was dangerous not only because of his brilliance, his arithmetic, his courage. He was dangerous because he was incorruptible . . . and the fears of the Establishment were greater because Brandeis was the first Jew to be named to the Court.
– William O. Douglas
Louis Brandeis’s words still resonate with us today:
“We must make our choice. We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.”
“The most important political office is that of the private citizen.”
“America has believed that in differentiation, not in uniformity, lies the path of progress. It acted on this belief; it has advanced human happiness, and it has prospered.”
“Fear of serious injury alone cannot justify oppression of free speech and assembly. Men feared witches and burnt women. It is the function of speech to free men from the bondage of irrational fears.”
“I abhor averages. I like the individual case. A man may have six meals one day and none the next, making an average of three meals per day, but that is not a good way to live.”
“Our government … teaches the whole people by its example. If the government becomes the lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy.”
“Experience teaches us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government’s purposes are beneficent.”
“The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in the insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning but without understanding.”
“The world presents enough problems if you believe it to be a world of law and order; do not add to them by believing it to be a world of miracles.”
“Behind every argument is someone’s ignorance.”
“If we desire respect for the law, we must first make the law respectable.”
“Publicity is justly commended as a remedy for social and industrial diseases. Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman.”