| The Columbia World of Quotations. 1996. |
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| NUMBER: | 64726 |
| QUOTATION: | Conservatives believe government’s principal functions are the preservation of freedom and removal of restraints on the individual. Liberalism’s ascent in the first two-thirds of this century reflected the new belief that government should also confer capacities on individuals. Liberalism’s decline in the final third of this century has reflected doubts about whether government can be good at that, or whether government that is good at that is good for the nation’s character. |
| ATTRIBUTION: | George F. Will (b. 1941), U.S. political columnist. “Conservative—With Conviction,” The Washington Post (November 12, 1994). |
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| | | The Columbia World of Quotations. Copyright © 1996 Columbia University Press. |
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