Most conduct is guided by norms rather than by laws. Norms are voluntary and are effective because they are enforced by peer pressure.

At the core of all successful societies are procedures for blocking the advancement of bad men

Change in the societies at the very bottom must come predominantly from within; we cannot impose it on them.

Migration has been politicized before it has been analyzed.

Elections determine who is in power, but they do not determine how power is used.

Without an informed electorate, politicians will continue to use the bottom billion merely for photo opportunities, rather than promoting real transformation.

You are a citizen, and citizenship carries responsibilities.

Poverty is not intrinsically a trap, otherwise we would all still be poor.

Politicians would only move beyond gestures once there was a critical mass of informed citizens.

Eddie Robinson is about one word: winning and losing.

Not all developing countries are the same.

...one can never leave home...one carries the shadows, the dreams, the dragons of home under one's skin, at the extreme corners of one's eyes...

But there’s that thing with secrets, too, how they take over your head, feeding on your every thought, growing bigger all the time until the day comes they’re so heavy you can’t walk.

Syria is attracting a lot more Westerners than the Iraq War ever did because it's the perfect Sunni jihad.

And what am I to do on the occasion? -- It seems an hopeless business.

An ugly woman cooks your meals on time, and she'll always treat you kind.

The ethical view of the universe involves us in so many cruel and absurd contradictions that I have come to suspect that the aim of creation cannot be ethical at all.

In religion and politics, people's belief's and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second hand, and without examination

To help someone in need is not charity it is proper etiquette.

Don't be afraid to use all the colors in the crayon box.

Business is a useful tool in politics, but it's not enough. You need much more than to be a good businessman, to be a good politician.