Quotes about politics
page 67

Kim Stanley Robinson photo
Kim Stanley Robinson photo

“Politics in its most common form: complaint. No one wanted to do it but everyone was happy to complain about it.”

Kim Stanley Robinson (1952) American science fiction writer

Source: Blue Mars (1996), Chapter 9, “Natural History” (p. 433)

Kim Stanley Robinson photo

“Could politics ever be anything but politics, practical, cynical, compromised, ugly?”

Kim Stanley Robinson (1952) American science fiction writer

Source: Blue Mars (1996), Chapter 8, “The Green and the White” (p. 363)

Kim Stanley Robinson photo

“You must be very scrupulous not to gather power in to the center just because you can do it. Power corrupts, that’s the basic law of politics. Maybe the only law.”

Kim Stanley Robinson (1952) American science fiction writer

Source: Blue Mars (1996), Chapter 3, “A New Constitution” (p. 156)

Kim Stanley Robinson photo
Kim Stanley Robinson photo
Kim Stanley Robinson photo

“Ridiculous. But lies were what people wanted; that was politics.”

Kim Stanley Robinson (1952) American science fiction writer

Source: Red Mars (1992), Chapter 1, “Festival Night” (p. 7)

“The logic of the sanctions is arguably to starve the people and reduce the political consensus for the authorities and thereby overthrow the government. But as a Pastor, I see that people suffer from poverty and it doesn't seem to me that discussions about democracy are a priority for them.”

Joseph Tobji (1971) archeparch of Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Aleppo

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)

Deng Xiaoping photo

“What is right and what is wrong in regard to political line has been basically clarified, we have mapped out a programme and the measures for carrying it out, and the masses are already on the move.”

Deng Xiaoping (1904–1997) Chinese politician, Paramount leader of China

Speech at the Opening Ceremony of the National Conference on Science (March 1978) (exerpts)

Frank Herbert photo

“More to the point, one cannot understand The Holocaust without understanding the intentions, ideology, and mechanisms that were put in place in 1933. The eugenics movement may have come to a catastrophic crescendo with the Hitler regime, but the political movement, the world-view, the ideology, and the science that aspired to breed humans like prized horses began almost 100 years earlier. More poignantly, the ideology and those legal and governmental mechanisms of a eugenic world-view inevitably lead back to the British and American counterparts that Hitler’s scientists collaborated with. Posterity must gain understanding of the players that made eugenics a respectable scientific and political movement, as Hitler’s regime was able to evade wholesale condemnation in those critical years between 1933 and 1943 precisely because eugenics had gained international acceptance. As this book will evidence, Hitler’s infamous 1933 laws mimicked those already in place in the United States, Britain, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Canada.
So what is this scientific and political movement that for 100 years aspired to breed humans like dogs or horses? Eugenics is quite literally, as defined by its principal proponents, an attempt at “directing evolution” by controlling any aspect of human existence that affects human heredity. From its onset, Francis Galton, the cousin of Charles Darwin and the man credited with the creation of the science of eugenics, knew that the cause of eugenics had to be observed with religious fervor and dedication. As the quote on the opening pages of this book illustrates, a eugenicist must “intrude, intrude, intrude.” A vigilant control over anything and everything that affects the gene pool is essential to eugenics. The policies could not allow for the individual to enjoy self-government or self-determination any more than a horse breeder can allow the animals to determine whom to breed with. One simply cannot breed humans like horses without imbuing the state with the level of control a farmer has over its livestock, not only controlling procreation, but also the diet, access to medical services, and living conditions.”

Source: H.H. LAUGHLIN: American Scientist. American Progressive. Nazi Collaborator.

Prevale photo

“Learning to politely say “no” is not an act of selfishness or rejection towards others, but an important skill to improve the quality of your life.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: Imparare a dire educatamente di "no" non è un atto di egoismo o di rifiuto verso gli altri, ma un'abilità importante per migliorare la qualità della propria vita.
Source: prevale.net

This quote waiting for review.
José Baroja photo

“I have been opposed, from the beginning, to presenting ideological, political, or religious pamphleteering stances that seek to simplify the human experience into functional Manichaeism.”

José Baroja (1983) Chilean author and editor

Source: Interview to José Baroja. https://grupoigneo.com/blog/entrevista-jose-baroja-literatura/

This quote waiting for review.
José Baroja photo