“War is an absolute failure of imagination, scientific and political. That a war can be represented as helping a people to 'feel good' about themselves, or their country, is a measure of that failure.”

Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "War is an absolute failure of imagination, scientific and political. That a war can be represented as helping a people …" by Adrienne Rich?
Adrienne Rich photo
Adrienne Rich 51
American poet, essayist and feminist 1929–2012

Related quotes

Tony Benn photo

“All war represents a failure of diplomacy.”

Tony Benn (1925–2014) British Labour Party politician

Speech http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1991/feb/28/the-gulf in the House of Commons (28 February 1991)
1990s

Robert Fisk photo

“War is primarily not about victory or defeat but about death and the infliction of death. It represents the total failure of the human spirit.”

Robert Fisk (1946) English writer and journalist

Preface (page XIX)
The Great War for Civilization (2005)

Janeane Garofalo photo

“War is failure! When you are at war, you have failed! When you have gone to a war of choice and lied about it, you're a double-triple, triple-quadruple failure!”

Janeane Garofalo (1964) comedian, actress, political activist, writer

Majority Report, July 22, 2005 broadcast
Majority Report
Context: You know George W. Bush is a war-time president, he says - proudly. Guess what. War is failure! When you are at war, you have failed! When you have gone to a war of choice and lied about it, you're a double-triple, triple-quadruple failure! Or a warlord. It's called a warlord in other countries. A war time president here. One man's ceiling I guess is another man's floor. George Bush is a warlord. He's a failure!

Douglas MacArthur photo

“The history of failure in war can almost be summed up in two words: 'Too late.'”

Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964) U.S. Army general of the army, field marshal of the Army of the Philippines

Too late in comprehending the deadly purpose of a potential enemy; too late in realizing the mortal danger; too late in preparedness; too late in uniting all possible forces for resistance, too late in standing with one's friends. Victory in war results from no mysterious alchemy or wizardry but depends entirely upon the concentration of superior force at the critical points of combat.

Statement MacArthur made in 1940, as quoted by James B. Reston in Prelude to Victory (1942), p. 64
1940s

Agatha Christie photo
Jacque Fresco photo

“War represents the supreme failure of nations to resolve their differences. From a strictly pragmatic standpoint, it is the most inefficient waste of lives and resources ever conceived.”

Jacque Fresco (1916–2017) American futurist and self-described social engineer

Source: The Best That Money Can't Buy: Beyond Politics, Poverty, & War (2002), p. 31.

John Steinbeck photo
Bill Hicks photo
Andrew Sullivan photo

“Any president can start a war, and use the chaos of disorder that such a war creates as an indefinite argument for prolonging it. It's a war that keeps on giving. Failure means it's even more necessary to keep failing.”

Andrew Sullivan (1963) Journalist, writer, blogger

"Of Their Choosing" http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2007/09/of-their-choosi.html, The Daily Dish (20 September 2007)

Jesse Ventura photo

“War isn't civilized. War is failure. It's the ultimate result of a breakdown in public policy, and soldiers are the machines that handle that breakdown.”

Jesse Ventura (1951) American politician and former professional wrestler

I Ain't Got Time To Bleed (1999)
Context: War isn't civilized. War is failure. It's the ultimate result of a breakdown in public policy, and soldiers are the machines that handle that breakdown. In warfare, you're taught to do whatever you have to, to stay alive.

Related topics