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Quote by Luc Sante

“My ideal city is more like the city (New York and Paris come to mind, but it sort of applies to all) that existed up to and including the 1930s, when different classes lived all together in the same neighborhoods, and most businesses of any sort were mom-and-pop, and people and things had a local identity.”

Quote by Luc Sante

Author

Luc Sante

Luc Sante, born on May 25, 1954, is an American writer whose works span various literary genres, including novels, essays, and poetry. Sante is known for his unique writing style and profound insights into urban culture. more

“The con is a kind of jiu-jitsu that turns the sucker's own greed into its principal weapon. The greedier you are the more likely you are to be conned, and for the greater a sum. Since people regularly dispose of their intelligence in their rush to be swindled, and then turn right around and do it again, humans must want to be duped. Institutionalized wishful thinking - the stock market, religion, advertising - is after all a cornerstone of our system.”

People Thinking Want Humans Kind Turns Greater Weapons Greed Advertising Principal Sucker Wishful Thinking Cornerstones Jiu Jitsu

Author:Luc Sante

“I always give money to a sidewalk con if the story is a good one, even if I don't believe a word of it. Art deserves to get paid.”

Ifs Giving Believe Art Stories Deserve Paid Don't Believe Sidewalk

Author:Luc Sante

“Self-reinvention is an essential trope of the American project, closely linked to another such trope: going on the lam. Both are regularly featured in movies and novels and suchlike. Criminals and persons loitering with and without intent hold a crucial place in the culture. For obvious reasons, the culture cannot endorse this behavior, even as it is in thrall to it.”

Persons Self Reason Culture Novel Essentials Behavior Projects Obvious Criminals Crucial Linked Reinvention Tropes

Author:Luc Sante

“Call yourself "Colonel" and declare that your fortune was left to you by Dutch burghers from the seventeenth century. Now you're a solid citizen, the embodiment of hard work and rugged individualism. You're no criminal. The criminal is the guy who comes up short, who gets caught, who fails to adopt a respectable cover.”