Quotes about government
page 70
An essay on the slavery and commerce of the human species, particularly the African, translated from a Latin Dissertation, p. 54 (1788) https://books.google.com/books?id=pBOe7105MhMC&pg=PA54
“History supplies us with examples of almost every possible modification of government.”
p. 16 https://books.google.com/books?id=4VUBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA16
Principles of Government: Or Meditations in Exile (1856), Chapter II. On Centralized and Local Administration
Hong Kong’s angry young millennials: an interview with Joshua Wong https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/hong-kong-angry-young-millennials-interview-with-joshua-wong/ (1 November 2015)
“Share the Profits with Labor” speech (Dec. 2, 1934) p. 52
A Series of Lectures on Social Justice, 1935
As quoted in "Bill Gates slams U.S. on Covid: Most governments listen to their scientists, not attack them" (14 October 2020) https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/14/bill-gates-slams-us-on-covid-most-governments-listen-to-scientists.html
2020s
“Sometimes the government has to answer questions with ambiguous language.”
In an interview with Macleans https://www.macleans.ca/politics/jason-kenney-on-life-after-ottawa-and-uniting-albertas-right/ (28 September 2016)
2010s
“What would you cut out of government expenditures?”
I cannot answer that question. Ask me what I would leave in.
Leonard Read Journals, October 17, 1951 https://history.fee.org/leonard-read-journal/1951/leonard-e-read-journal-october-1951/
Source: Leonard Read Journals, July 1, 1949 https://history.fee.org/leonard-read-journal/1949/leonard-e-read-journal-july-1949/
ovation
At the United Nations (1960)
“There is no longer a single government that colonizes. There is only individual colonization.”
Source: All the King's Men' A search for the colonial ideas of some advisers and "accomplices" of Leopold II (1853-1892). (Hannes Vanhauwaert), 4. Viceroys without colonial aspirations? Jules Van Praet (1806-1887) http://www.ethesis.net/leopold_II/leopold_II.htm#2.%20 The colonization of Santo Tomas in Guatemala marked a turning point in Belgium's young colonial history. The fiasco in Guatemala traumatized Belgian politics and also played a part in the increasing reticence of Van Praet, who passed on to the Duke of Brabant (Leopold II) the liberal criticisms of Minister Frère-Orban against the old-fashioned techniques of colonization with privileged societies or differential systems. JANSSENS, G. STENGERS, J. New light on Leopold I and II. The Goffinet Archive, 253.
Source: Bulletin Officiel de Congo Belge - Années 1908 et 1909, page 174. https://archive.org/details/bulletin-officiel-de-congo-belge-annees-1908-et-1909/page/n373/mode/2up King Leopold II in a speech on 17 december 1865.
Source: Beatrice Mtetwa HRD Zimbabwean Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/profile/beatrice-mtetwa
Source: Jan 2021 https://twitter.com/PChidambaram_IN/status/1350733987640086530
"Rebel with a cause: An interview with China’s most famous political cartoonist" in SAGE Journals https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0306422016657031a (29 June 2016)
Source: Geoffrey Rudolph Elton, Tudor Revolution in Government (1953)
Source: Humanity Comes of Age, A study of Individual and World Fulfillment (1950), Chapter XXXV The Opportunity Today
Source: Humanity Comes of Age, A study of Individual and World Fulfillment (1950), Chapter II Planning a Model World
Source: Humanity Comes of Age, A study of Individual and World Fulfillment (1950), Introduction p. I - XII
Source: Humanity Comes of Age, A study of Individual and World Fulfillment (1950), Chapter IV The Spiritual Cabinet
Source: Humanity Comes of Age, A study of Individual and World Fulfillment (1950), Introduction p. I - XII
Source: News Conference at Key West, March 30, 1950
Source: "China’s Vice President Decries Technological Hegemony" in The Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-vice-president-urges-governments-to-address-their-domestic-problems-11548258999 (23 January 2019)
Source: Sen. Chris Coons and Caitlin Flanagan, Natural Immunity, (2021)
Source: "Mongolia, US Sign Developmental Aid Agreement" in Voice of America https://www.voanews.com/a/a-13-2007-10-23-voa2/405655.html (1 November 2009)
Good Sense, or Natural Ideas vs. Supernatural
Source: Quoted in George W. E. Russell in Prime Ministers and Some Others, 1918, p. 23
Source: Memorandum to Robert T. Hartmann https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0204/1511691.pdf (1976)
Source: Twitter https://twitter.com/CaroRackete/status/1274253317133271043 (20 June 2020)
Source: Essays and Sketches of Life and Character (1820), p. 136
Source: Twitter post https://twitter.com/RoKhanna/status/1080272966250708992 (2 January 2019)
Source: https://guardian.ng/features/how-to-have-more-female-vice-chancellors-in-nigerian-varsities/Prof Grace Alele on allowing qualified people in position regardless of the gender.
“Judiciary ready to help the new government in corruption fight.”
Source: 5 August 2021, Speech after oath taking ceremony in Tehran https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/463741/Raisi-officially-takes-oath-of-office-as-Iran-s-president
Source: "It Didn’t Take Long for Me to Feel Empathy: Nanfu Wang on In the Same Breath" in Roger Ebert https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/it-didnt-take-long-for-me-to-feel-empathy-nanfu-wang-on-in-the-same-breath (17 August 2021)
Source: Alejandro Giammattei (2021) cited in: " Guatemala backs Taipei: president https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2021/12/08/2003769213" in Taipei Times, 8 December 2021.
“Anything said appears to be a confrontation between the government and the Church.”
Source: Buenos Aires bishop says ad limina visit is ‘pastoral and religious’ https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/15368/buenos-aires-bishop-says-ad-limina-visit-is-pastoral-and-religious (15 March 2009)
Source: Anti-Junta Protest in Khon Kaen, Despite Prayuth's Warnings http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1433764390 (8 June 2015)
Source: On how the government would deal with journalists who did not adhere to the government's laws https://web.archive.org/web/20210316002628/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-junta-media-idUSKBN0ML0RV20150325 (25 March 2015)
Source: João Goulart. Discursos Selecionados do Presidente João Goulart, 2010, FUNAG, 978-85-7631-193-5, 85, pt-br http://funag.gov.br/loja/download/641-Discursos_joao_goulart.pdf,
Source: Exclusive — TX AG Ken Paxton on Afghan Refugees: ‘We Don’t Know Whether They’re Vetted’ or ‘Terrorists’ https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/09/09/exclusive-tx-ag-ken-paxton-afghan-refugees-we-dont-know-whether-theyre-vetted-terrorists/ (9 September 2021)
Source: Manaouda Malachie (2021) cited in " Fears, suspicion cloud vaccine takeup in Cameroon https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2021/12/750479/fears-suspicion-cloud-vaccine-takeup-cameroon" on The Straits Times, 1 December 2021.
Source: Robinah Nabbanja (2021) cited in " Uganda: PM Nabbanja Stings "Unreliable" Nup's Nakweede in Kayunga Campaigns https://allafrica.com/stories/202112130435.html" on All Africa, 12 December 2021.
Source: From remarks recorded for the "Back to God" Program http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=10414 of the American Legion, which was broadcast over radio and television from 8:00 – 8:30 PM on 20 February 1955
All for Australia (1984)
Die russische Revolution. Eine kritische Würdigung (1920) p. 109
This contains probably her most famous statement: Freiheit ist immer die Freiheit der Andersdenkenden, translated as "Freedom is always the freedom of dissenters."
Literally: Freedom is always the freedom of those who think differently.
American Constitutional Law (1978), Approaches to Constituitonal Analysis
“My government has no intention to acquire large loans from any country in the near future.”
Source: Taneti Maamau (2021) cited in " Kiribati's president's plans to raise islands in fight against sea-level rise https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/10/kiribatis-presidents-plans-to-raise-islands-in-fight-against-sea-level-rise" on The Guardian, 10 August 2021.
2010s, 2018, The Restless Wave (2018)
Source: Reports of Cases Argued and Adjudged in the Supreme Court of the United States (1804) https://books.google.com/books?id=Wxm9qWvls8YC&pg=PR3
“Nothing is more dangerous to good government than great power in improper hands.”
Source: The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge (1929)
Source: McGeachin talks plans going forward as Idaho’s new Lt. Governor https://www.eastidahonews.com/2018/11/mcgeachin-talks-plans-going-forward-as-idahos-new-lt-governor/ (November 12, 2018)
“Autocratic governments are masters of self-contradiction. They say one thing, do another.”
Source: On the Steel Breeze (2013), Chapter 22 (p. 253)
Source: Bentz discusses wildfires, housing and uniting the country with Chieftain https://www.wallowa.com/news/local/bentz-discusses-wildfires-housing-and-uniting-the-country-with-chieftain/article_16f55588-1889-11eb-9dc1-dfde60328f0c.html (27 October 2020)
Source: "Правила жизни Мустафы Джемилева" https://esquire.ru/rules/5160-mustafa-dzhemilev/
Source: Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling (1992), p. xxxvi
The Exhausted School: Bending The Bars of Traditional Education, Berkeley Hills Books; 2 edition (2002) p. 53
Source: Bishops Write Bush to Back U.S. Efforts https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/21/us/a-nation-challenged-support-from-churches-bishops-write-bush-to-back-us-efforts.html (21 September 2001)
Source: Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (2022) cited in: " Don’t Ignore All Sides of Russian Messaging https://www.thecipherbrief.com/column_article/dont-ignore-all-sides-of-russian-messaging" in The Cipher Brief, 18 January 2022.
Source: "I Quit, I Think" (1991)
Source: Eric Schmidt in dialogue with Julian Assange, June 2011 c.f When Google Met Wikileaks, p. 174
Source: António Costa (2022) cited in: " Portugal election: Socialists win unexpected majority https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-60194375" in BBC News, 31 January 2022.
Source: Philippine prelate warns against volcano eruption 'fake news' https://www.ucanews.com/news/philippine-prelate-warns-against-volcano-eruption-fake-news/86998 (16 January 2020)
Source: Puerto Rican governor resigns amid massive protests https://www.catholicnews.com/update-puerto-rican-governor-resigns-amid-massive-protests/ (July 25, 2019)
“Earth governments in moments of stress are not famous for being reasonable.”
Source: Short fiction, The Early Asimov Book One (1972), History (p. 297)
“Let your desires be governed by reason.”
Appetitus rationi pareat.
Interview with Barbara Walters (7 Dec. 2011) on the military escalation of the Syrian conflict
I covered it here but the above source is the official home of the speech. https://quotesexplained.com/necessity-of-renouncing-their-inalienable-right-andrei-vyshinsky/
Source: https://sites.temple.edu/immerman/vyshinsky-speech-to-u-n-general-assembly-2/
"West has declared ‘total war’ on Russia: Lavrov" https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ukraines-zelensky-accuses-russia-of-genocide-in-donbas-onslaught-174101, Hurriyet Daily news, 27 May 2022
About the Russian invasion of Ukraine 2022
Waldo (p. 134)
Short fiction, The Fantasies of Robert A. Heinlein (1999)
"Ahmed Ben Bella: Revolutionary Internationalist " in CounterCurrents https://countercurrents.org/2020/11/ahmed-ben-bella-revolutionary-internationalist/ (11 March 2020)
1800s, First Inaugural Address (1801)
Konrad Adenauer: Memoirs 1945-1953 (1966)
Congressman Jody Hice: Religious Liberty and Good Business are Benefits of Republican Majority https://merionwest.com/2018/03/29/congressman-jody-hice-religious-liberty-and-good-business-are-benefits-of-republican-majority/ (29 March 2018)
2009
Source: [2020-10-27, Янукович пожалел, что в третий раз не сел в тюрьму - Украина - TCH.ua, https://tsn.ua/ru/ukrayina/yanukovich-pozhalel-chto-v-tretii-raz-ne-sel-v-tyurmu.html, https://web.archive.org/web/20201027065326/https://tsn.ua/ru/ukrayina/yanukovich-pozhalel-chto-v-tretii-raz-ne-sel-v-tyurmu.html, 2020-10-27, 2022-06-12, web.archive.org]
Revolution in Laos: Practice and Prospects (1981) (excerpts)
"One woman’s struggles" https://www.sundaystandard.info/ococaone-womanocos-strugglesoco/ (24 March 2014)
“Fascismo’s Interests for the Working Classes” speech delivered at Prato della Marfisia in Ferrara (4 April 1921) p. 76
1920s, Mussolini as Revealed in his Political Speeches (November 1914—August 1923) (1923)
Source: Blue Mars (1996), Chapter 14, “Phoenix Lake” (p. 750)
Source: Blue Mars (1996), Chapter 14, “Phoenix Lake” (pp. 746-747)
“A change in the form of government, why should that make a difference in the way he lived?”
Source: Blue Mars (1996), Chapter 8, “The Green and the White” (p. 381)
“Money equals power; power makes the law; and law makes government.”
Source: Red Mars (1992), Chapter 6, “Guns Under the Table” (p. 394)
Archbishop Tobji of Aleppo after the presidential election: "Sanctions cause hunger and do not lead to more democracy" http://www.fides.org/en/news/70210-ASIA_SYRIA_Archbishop_Tobji_of_Aleppo_after_the_presidential_election_Sanctions_cause_hunger_and_do_not_lead_to_more_democracy (28 May 2021)
“Self-government is better than good government.”
Widely attributed to Campbell-Bannerman since at least 1910 https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1910/jul/12/parliamentary-franchise-women-bill-1. However it appears unattributed earlier https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=rIFPAAAAYAAJ&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22self-government+is+better%22, and the concept pre-dates https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=lFI3AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA403&lpg=PA403&dq=%22your+public-spirited+advocates+of+good+government,+I+do+find+sneering+upon+the+self-government+of+the+Christian%22 Campbell-Bannerman.
Compare Gandhi: "Good government is no substitute for self-government." Young India (2 September 1920), p. 1
Attributed
Quoted in British Court Trusts US to Protect Assange Even Though CIA Plotted to Kill Him https://truthout.org/articles/british-court-trusts-us-to-protect-assange-even-though-cia-plotted-to-kill-him/, Marjorie Cohn, Truthout (15 December 2021)
Letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate, on the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to the Actions of the Government of Syria https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/05/09/letter-to-the-speaker-of-the-house-of-representatives-and-the-president-of-the-senate-on-the-continuation-of-the-national-emergency-with-respect-to-the-actions-of-the-government-of-syria-2/
2022, May 2022
“No government has yet been able to repeal natural laws, though they keep trying.”
Source: Farnham's Freehold (1964), Chapter 2 (p. 35)
Statement during the civil war, cited in 1938 by Time magazine http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,915079,00.html, also cited in John A. Crittenden, Parties and elections in the United States, Prentice-Hall, 1982, (p.6).
1930s, 1938
Source: Irish Republican Archives