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A permissive government is a government that leaves control to other sources.

B. F. Skinner

That’s all teaching is; arranging contingencies which bring changes in behavior.
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Behavior Change Teaching Transformation
Going out of style isn’t a natural process, but a manipulated change which destroys the beauty of last year’s dress in order to make it worthless.
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Change Destroy Fashion Process Style Worth
When we say that a man controls himself, we must specify who is controlling whom.
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Control Himself Men
Except when physically restrained, a person is least free or dignified when he is under threat of punishment, and unfortunately most people often are.
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Dignity Freedom People Punishment
We have not yet seen what man can make of man.
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Change Men Science See Transformation
A child who has been severely punished for sex play is not necessarily less inclined to continue; and a man who has been imprisoned for violent assault is not necessarily less inclined toward violence.
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Children Men Necessary Play Punishment Sex Violence
Some of us learn control, more or less by accident. The rest of us go all our lives not even understanding how it is possible, and blaming our failure on being born the wrong way.
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Blame Born Education Failure Live Ourselves Understand Way Wrong
We do not choose survival as a value, it chooses us.
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Choice Survive Value
Chaos breeds geniuses. It offers a man something to be a genius about.
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Deep Destruction Genius Mad Men
The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do.
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Problem Reality Science Technology
Behavior is determined by its consequences.
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Attitude Determination
But restraint is the only one sort of control, and absence of restraint isn’t freedom. It’s not control that’s lacking when one feels ‘free’, but the objectionable control of force.
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Absence Control Feeling Force Freedom
Somehow people get the idea I think we should be given gumdrops whenever we do anything of value.
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Ideas Myself People Thinking Value
Let men be happy, informed, skillful, well behaved, and productive.
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Happiness Man Production Skill
I did not direct my life. I didn’t design it. I never made decisions. Things always came up and made them for me. That’s what life is.
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Decision Design Direction Education Life Myself Reality
In a world of complete economic equality, you get and keep the affections you deserve. You can’t buy love with gifts or favors, you can’t hold love by raising an inadequate child, and you can’t be secure in love by serving as a good scrub woman or a good provider.
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Children Deserve Economic Gift Goodness Love Quality Serve Woman World

A permissive government is a government that leaves control to other sources.

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A permissive government is a government that leaves control to other sources.

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