"Just as gunpowder and infantry penetrated and destroyed the medieval castle, so have nuclear missiles and the internet made the nation-state obsolete."

Joseph Nye Science See all quotes by Joseph Nye →

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“Power, like love, is easier to experience than to define or measure.”

“Cooperation is difficult in the absence of communication.”

“The international system consists not only of states. The international political system is the pattern of relationships among the states.”

“Some observers feel it is harder to change public opinion in democracies than it is to change policies in totalitarian countries.”

“Humans sometimes make surprising choices, and human history is full of uncertainties.”

“Any sense of global community is weak.”

Resonant Thoughts

"I wonder how many men and women, kids and dogs, go through life in a state of modest misery; how much communal coldness there is, how much extinguished hope."

— William H. Gass

Literature1924–2017

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"Mohammed Ghori had the Hindu temples of Ajmer demolished and ordered the construction of mosques and Quran schools on their ruins…He plundered Kanauj and Kashi and destroyed their temples... destroyed…"

— Louis Frédéric

Journalism1923–1996

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"For a day, just for one day,Talk about that which disturbs no oneAnd bring some peace into yourBeautiful eyes."

— The Subject Tonight Is Love: 60 Wild and Sweet Poems of Hafiz

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"When Icelanders were worthy of the name, it was considered an accepted duty to avenge with the sword the sort of crime you have committed against my family. It's a bitter thing to be living at a time …"

— Halldór Laxness

Literature1902–1998

#life