“We are, if territory and population be looked at together, one of the great countries of the world — a monster country, one might say”

—  George F. Kennan

Around the Cragged Hill : A Personal and Political Philosophy (1994), p. 143
Context: We are, if territory and population be looked at together, one of the great countries of the world — a monster country, one might say, along with others such as China, India, the recent Soviet Union, and Brazil. And there is a real question as to whether "bigness" in a body politic is not an evil in itself, quite aside from the policies pursued in its name.

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George F. Kennan photo
George F. Kennan 46
American advisor, diplomat, political scientist and histori… 1904–2005

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