“Personal, inner change without a change in circumstances and structures is an idealist illusion, as though man were only a soul and not a body as well.” MenWellsSoulBodyCircumstancesIllusionStructureIdealist Author:Jürgen Moltmann
“We're stuck in these situations with other people and our stuff and our jobs, and thinking that we can extract ourselves from those seems doomed to me. Instead, how can we live within those systems of constraints? We don't have to enjoy them, exactly, but at least acknowledge that those boundaries are real and that they structure our response to the world. And then once you do that, you allow yourself to say "I did my best given the circumstances."” PeopleThinkingWorldRealSeemsJobsGivenStuffEnjoySituationCircumstancesStructureResponseStuckBoundariesAcknowledgeDoomedConstraints Author:Ian Bogost
“The situation in Georgia is determined by the breakaway regions Abkhazia and South Ossetia. While we must acknowledge the reforms initiated by Mikheil Saakashvili that drastically lowered the level of corruption and authoritarian structures in the Georgian state, under the above-mentioned circumstances, the ruling elite must keep a firm grip on the country.” CountryStatesLevelsSituationCircumstancesStructureSouthCorruptionDeterminedReformFirmAcknowledgeRegionsElitesRulingGeorgiaGeorgiansBreakaway Author:Garry Kasparov
“Worker-owned co-ops, on their own, floating in the market, tend to replicate the behavior of worker-owned capitalists in some circumstances. They sometimes develop positive participatory schemes, sometimes not. We know from the studies of worker-owned plywood companies in the US, they can tend to develop conservative attitudes, not socialist attitudes. So even though I'm an advocate of further democratization of the workplace, we also need to be building larger structures.” KnowsNeedsSometimesAttitudeCompanyStudyBuildingCircumstancesBehaviorStructureWorkersConservativeCapitalistSchemesSocialistWorkplaceFloatingReplicateDemocratization Author:Gar Alperovitz
“You do not become a ''dissident'' just because you decide one day to take up this most unusual career. You are thrown into it by your personal sense of responsibility, combined with a complex set of external circumstances. You are cast out of the existing structures and placed in a position of conflict with them. It begins as an attempt to do your work well, and ends with being branded an enemy of society.” WellsEndsResponsibilityEnemyCareersPositionCircumstancesOne DayConflictStructureComplexesCastsThrownPatriotismUnusualDissentSense Of ResponsibilityDissidentsBranded Author:Vaclav Havel
“The positive emotions that arise in...unpromising circumstances demonstrate that social ties and meaningful work are deeply desired, readily improvised, and intensely rewarding. The very structure of our economy and society prevent these goals from being achieved.” SocialGoalEmotionEconomyCircumstancesStructureMeaningfulAriseTiesMeaningful WorkPositive Emotions Author:Rebecca Solnit