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John Ralston Saul

John Ralston Saul Quotes

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“The acceptance of corporatism causes us to deny and undermine the legitimacy of the individual as citizen in a democracy. The result of such a denial is a growing imbalance which leads to our adoration of self-interest and our denial of the public good.”

SelfIndividualCausesInterestResultsDemocracyGrowingAcceptanceCitizensDenyDenialCitizenshipSelf InterestAdorationLegitimacyImbalancePublic GoodCorporatism
Book:The Unconscious Civilization
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“The best defence [for a democracy, for the public good] is aggressiveness, the aggressiveness of the involved citizen. We need to reassert that slow, time-consuming, inefficient, boring process that requires our involvement; it is called 'being a citizen.' The public good is not something that you can see. It is not static. It is a process. It is the process by which democratic civilizations build themselves.”

NeedsProcessDemocracyCitizensInvolvedCivilizationDemocraticBoringInvolvementDefenceConsumingStaticPublic GoodTime ConsumingAggressiveness
Author:John Ralston Saul
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“Our civilization is locked in the grip of an ideology - corporatism. An ideology that denies and undermines the legitimacy of individuals as the citizen in a democracy. The particular imbalance of this ideology leads to a worship of self-interest and a denial of the public good. The practical effects on the individual are passivity and conformism in the areas that matter, and non-conformism in the areas that don't”

SelfMatterIndividualInterestEconomyDemocracyEffectsParticularCitizensCivilizationWorshipAreasDenyPracticalsIdeologyDenialLockedSelf InterestLegitimacyPassivityImbalancePublic GoodCorporatism
Book:The Unconscious Civilization
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“The Age of Reason has turned out to be the Age of Structure; a time when, in the absence of purpose, the drive for power as a value in itself has become the principal indicator of social approval. And the winning of power has become the measure of social merit.”

ReasonAgePurposeValuesWinningSocialPowerStructureAbsenceMeritApprovalPrincipalIndicatorsAge Of Reason
Book:Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West
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“They (the novelists) became the voice of the citizen against the ubiquitous raison d'état, which reappeared endlessly to justify everything from unjust laws and the use of child labour to incompetent generalship and inhuman conditions on warships. The themes they popularized have gradually turned into the laws which, for all their flaws, have improved the state of man.”

MenChildrenStatesUseLawVoiceConditionsCitizensNovelistsThemeLabourJustifyFlawsHuman ConditionUnjustIncompetentInhumanUnjust LawsWarshipsChild Labour
Author:John Ralston Saul
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“All the lessons of psychiatry, psychology, social work, indeed culture, have taught us over the last hundred years that it is the acceptance of differences, not the search for similarities which enables people to relate to each other in their personal or family lives.”

PeopleYearsLastsCultureSocialDifferencesPsychologyAcceptanceTaughtLessonsHundredRelateSocial WorkFamily LifePsychiatrySimilarityTaught Us
Book:Reflections of a Siamese twin: Canada at the end of the twentieth century
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“In general, democracy and individualism have advanced in spite of and often against specific economic interest. Both democracy and individualism have been based upon financial sacrifice, not gain. Even in Athens, a large part of the 7,000 citizens who participated regularly in assemblies were farmers who had to give up several days' work to go into town to talk and listen.”

GivingHas BeensInterestDemocracySacrificeEconomicCitizensGiving UpGainsTownsFinancialSpiteFarmersIndividualismAssemblyAthens
Author:John Ralston Saul
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“Obviously we don't have 300 million people. We haven't got a big army. We don't have Hollywood. We're a medium small-sized country. We have to do what medium small-sized countries do, which-even though we're not smarter than other people-is to make ourselves seem to be smarter. We have to work harder and know more than other people.”

PeopleKnowsCountryBigsSeemsMillionsHavensHard WorkHollywoodHarderArmyMediumsSmarterParliamentPublic LifeWork Harder
Author:John Ralston Saul
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“After a period in which technocrats attempted to become stars and stars to become politicians, the political void has been occupied by the force of mediocrity, which can easily master enough of the star techniques to produce inoffensive personalities and enough of the rational vocabulary to create the sounds of competence.”

Has BeensEnoughPoliticalForceStarsSoundProduceMastersPersonalityPeriodsPoliticianTechniqueRationalMediocrityVoidVocabularyCompetence
Book:Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West
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“Born in elevators and supermarkets, Muzak has spread to restaurants, hotels, airplanes, telephone hold services, and waiting rooms. The public-relations experts believe that human beings fear silence - that is, the absence of constantly imposed direction. It is further believed that if we can be relieved of our fears, we will gain enough self-confidence to buy, eat, vote, fly, or simply go on living.”

IfsBelieveHumansSelfEnoughWaitingBornHuman BeingsRoomsSilenceGoes OnGainsVoteRelationSpreadAbsenceSelf ConfidenceExpertsRestaurantsHotelAirplaneTelephonesRelievedElevatorsPublic RelationsSupermarketsWaiting Rooms
Book:The Doubter's Companion: A Dictionary of Aggressive Common Sense
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“Not only is the Napoleonic dream stronger today in our imaginations than it has ever been, but one can already feel the slow falling away of moral opprobrium from our memory of Hitler. In another fifty years we may well find ourselves weighed down by a second monstrous dream of pure grandeur to match that of the Emperor. Two men who dared. Two men who were adored. Two men who led with brilliance. Two men who administered fairly and efficiently. Two men who were modest in their own needs but surrounded by lesser beings who profited from their situation and came between the Hero and the people.”

PeopleMenNeedsFeelsYearsWellsMayTwoDreamTodayFallImaginationMemoriesSituationMoralHistoryHeroPureStrongerFiftyModestBrillianceEmperorOur MemoriesMonstrousGrandeurNapoleonic
Book:Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West
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