My speculation is that the U.S. does not want to establish the principle that it has to defer to some higher authority before carrying out the use of violence.

Students who acquire large debts putting themselves through school are unlikely to think about changing society. When you trap people in a system of debt, they can't afford the time to think.

The general population doesn't know what's happening, and it doesn't even know that it doesn't know.

That's the standard technique of privatization: defund, make sure things don't work, people get angry, you hand it over to private capital.

Jingoism, racism, fear, religious fundamentalism: these are the ways of appealing to people if you're trying to organize a mass base of support for policies that are really intended to crush them.

There's a good reason why nobody studies history, it just teaches you too much.

The world is a very puzzling place. If you're not willing to be puzzled, you just become a replica of someone else's mind.

Democratic societies can't force people. Therefore they have to control what they think.

Nobody should have any illusions. The United States has essentially a one-party system and the ruling party is the business party.

If you want to control a population... give them a God to worship.

A language is not just words. It's a culture, a tradition, a unification of a community, a whole history that creates what a community is. It's all embodied in a language.

Original art emanates in the mind ... and lessons society's confusion from self indulgence, avarice and greed to trust, hope and love.

The secret of childhood happiness is to succeed to be happy with the simplest things ever possible!

Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.“Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”Ecclesiastes 1:2

One of the things that struck me when I came to the U.S. was discovering American poverty.

Babies are a great way to start people.

I've never been able to feel that there is anything undignified about making your living by the sweat of your brow.

I influence people, hopefully on the positive side.

Fame is a by-product which you have to deal with in a sensible way. To believe that it is anything more significant than that is deeply self-deceptive.

I can't walk in high heels, never mind dance in them.

It is a very great thing to be able to think as you like; but, after all, an important question remains: what you think.