“Perhaps, if we could have such an incredible level of abundance that relative levels of scarcity between people were negligible, maybe that would be sufficient to resolve the corruption problem. If that were true, maybe we wouldn’t have to struggle with the incredibly difficult challenge of becoming men that choose goodness. But that’s not the world we live in, at least right now. That level of abundance is not yet real. We are not off the hook.”

“I hope you are persuaded that our freedom, from the ever growing reach of rules and institutions, is inextricably linked to goodness.”

“I’ve come to believe that that if you eliminate artificial, impractical, purely academic distinctions, mortal men are driven by two things that often come into tension with each other: the desire for power and the desire for goodness.”

“This book is dedicated to you, your mother, and your grandparents. You, in particular are the inspiration for this book. But it's not for you. It's for me.”