Quotes about politics

Abuse of words, foundation of ideology.

In political institutions, almost everything we call an abuse was once a remedy.

Much advance publicity was made for the address the Master would deliver on The Destruction of the World and a large crowd gathered at the monastery grounds to hear him.

The address was over in less than a minute. All he said was:

"These things will destroy the human race: politics without principle, progress without compassion, wealth without work, learning without silence, religion without fearlessness and worship without awareness."

The triviality of the current scene usually put her off, but now she supposed that the politics of the moment always looked petty and stupid; only later did it take on the look of respectable statecraft, of immutable History.

When she realized what she was doing she snorted in disgust, at herself and at the pervasiveness of politics—how it could infect everything if you let it.

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

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

Some of them defined ideology as an imaginary relationship to a real situation.

It was a mistake to speak one’s mind at any time, unless it perfectly matched your political purpose; and it never did. Best to strip all statements of real content, this was a basic law of diplomacy.

Friendship was just diplomacy by other means, after all.

They were so ignorant! Young men and women, educated very carefully to be apolitical, to be technicians who thought they disliked politics, making them putty in the hands of their rulers, just like always. It was appalling how stupid they were, really, and he could not help lashing into them.

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