It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. Let a man avoid evil deeds as a man who loves life avoids poison.
There are three principal means of acquiring knowledge... Observation of nature, reflection, and experimentation. Observation collects facts reflection combines them experimentation verifies the result of that combination.
When political and business leaders tell the public - any public - 'We don't trust you to make the right decision' - they prejudice that electorate against the very proposals they want it to accept and undermine public confidence in themselves.