Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) American clergyman, activist, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement
As quoted in The Civil Sphere (2006) by Jeffrey C. Alexander, p. 388
1960s
Napoleon : In His Own Words (1916)
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) American clergyman, activist, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement
As quoted in The Civil Sphere (2006) by Jeffrey C. Alexander, p. 388
1960s
Noam Chomsky (1928) american linguist, philosopher and activist
Quotes 1990s, 1990-1994, Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media, 1992
Context: Modern industrial civilization has developed within a certain system of convenient myths. The driving force of modern industrial civilization has been individual material gain, which is accepted as legitimate, even praiseworthy, on the grounds that private vices yield public benefits, in the classic formulation. Now, it has long been understood, very well, that a society that is based on this principle will destroy itself in time. It can only persist, with whatever suffering and injustice that it entails, as long as it is possible to pretend that the destructive forces that humans create are limited, that the world is an infinite resource, and that the world is an infinite garbage can. At this stage of history either one of two things is possible. Either the general population will take control of its own destiny and will concern itself with community interests, guided by values of solidarity, sympathy and concern for others, or alternatively there will be no destiny for anyone to control. As long as some specialized class is in a position of authority, it is going to set policy in the special interests that it serves. But the conditions of survival, let alone justice, require rational social planning in the interests of the community as a whole, and by now that means the global community. The question is whether privileged elite should dominate mass communication and should use this power as they tell us they must—namely to impose necessary illusions, to manipulate and deceive the stupid majority and remove them from the public arena. The question in brief, is whether democracy and freedom are values to be preserved or threats to be avoided. In this possibly terminal phase of human existence, democracy and freedom are more than values to be treasured; they may well be essential to survival.
David Lynch (1946) American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor
McKenna interview (1992)
Napoleon I of France (1769–1821) French general, First Consul and later Emperor of the French
Napoleon : In His Own Words (1916)
Fidel Castro (1926–2016) former First Secretary of the Communist Party and President of Cuba
Words to Intellectuals (1961)
“By using power, money, fraud, the enemy is interested in gaining control over the world of Islam.”
Mohammad Emami-Kashani (1937) Iranian politician
Friday Sermon at Tehran University by Ayatollah Mohammad Emami-Kashani. http://www.memritv.org/clip_transcript/en/60.htm May 2004.
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (1830–1903) British politician
Source: 'English Politics and Parties', Bentley's Quarterly Review, 1, (1859), p. 23
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel book Lectures on the Philosophy of History
Often abbreviated to: Nothing great in the World has been accomplished without passion.
Variant translation: We may affirm absolutely that nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without enthusiasm.
Lectures on the Philosophy of History (1832), Volume 1
Walter Rodney book How Europe Underdeveloped Africa
Source: How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (1972), p. 76.