The modern conservative is engaged in one of man’s oldest exercises in moral philosophy, that is the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. It is an exercise which always involves a certain number of internal contradictions and even a few absurdities. The conspicuously wealthy turn up urging the character-building value of privation for the poor.
John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006) Canadian-American economist, diplomat, author
“Stop the Madness,” Interview with Rupert Cornwell, Toronto Globe and Mail (6 Jul 2002)

The above citation is no longer online. A number of books cite this as a 2002 utterance, but the quote can be found in Peter Lawrence, Peter's Quotations(1993).
In Max Perultz, I Wish I’d Made You Angry Earlier (1998), he quotes a variant:  "The modern conservative is in fact, not especially modern. He is engaged, on the contrary, in one of man’s oldest pursuits, best financed and most applauded and, on the whole least successful exercises in moral philosophy. This is the search for a truly superior moral justification for selfishness."
Added on 19-May-09 | Last updated 26-Oct-11

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Alan: Here's one of today's additions to WIST:
"We feel safe, huddled within human institutions — churches, banks, madrigal groups — but these concoctions melt away at the basic moment. The self’s responsibility, then, is to achieve rapport if not rapture with the giant, cosmic other: to appreciate, let’s say, the walk back from the mailbox."
John Updike (1932-2009) American writer
Self-Consciousness: Memoirs, closing words (1989)
Added on 22-Oct-13 | Last updated 22-Oct-13
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