“Elites quite naturally define as the most important and admired qualities for a citizen those on which they themselves have concentrated.” ImportantQualityCitizensElites Book:Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West Source: Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West
“There is a limited elite that understands the secrets of their own techniques, but not necessarily of all techniques. These men are close to the seat of modern governmental power. The state is no longer founded on the 'average citizen', but on the ability and knowledge of this elite. The average man is altogether unable to penetrate technical secrets or governmental organization and consequently can exert no influence at all on the state.” MenStatesAbilitySecretInfluenceModernCitizensOrganizationAverageTechniqueSeatsElitesPenetrateAverage ManMental Power Author:Jacques Ellul
“The people of Central America - and, in a broader sense, the entire developing world - need to know first-hand that freedom and opportunity are not just for the elite, but the birthright of every citizen; that property is not just something enjoyed by a few, but can be owned by any individual who works hard and makes correct decisions.” PeopleKnowsWorldNeedsFirstsHardHandsAmericaOpportunityPoliticsIndividualDecisionEconomyHard WorkCitizensPropertyEnjoyedDevelopingLiberalismElitesBirthrightCentral America Book:Ronald Reagan Source: Ronald Reagan
“The society will be dominated by an elite of persons free from traditional values who will have no doubt in fulfilling their objectives by means of purged techniques with which they will influence the behavior of people and will control and watch the society in all details. It will become possible to exert a practically permanent watch on each citizen of the world.” PeopleWorldMeanPersonsValuesWatchesDoubtInfluenceCitizensBehaviorDetailsTechniqueObjectivesTraditionalPermanentNo DoubtElitesFulfillingNwoTraditional Values Author:Zbigniew Brzezinski
“As even a democracy like the United States has shown, waging war can benefit a leader in several ways: it can rally citizens around the flag, it can distract them from bleak economic times, and it can enrich a country's elites.” WayWarCountryStatesUnitedLeaderUnited StatesDemocracyEconomicCitizensBenefitsFlagsElitesBleakWaging War Author:Samantha Power
“The state and its elites must be subject, in theory and in practice, to the same laws that its poorest citizens are.” StatesLawPracticeSubjectsTheoryCitizensElitesPoorest Author:Mo Ibrahim
“As always with any discussion of elite immunity, it's crucial to note that what makes this development such a particularly warped travesty is that the very same elites who enjoy this immunity have created the world's largest, and the Western world's most oppressive and merciless, penal state for ordinary citizens.” WorldStatesEnjoyDevelopmentCitizensOrdinaryNotesWesternDiscussionCrucialElitesWestern WorldImmunityOrdinary CitizensTravesty Author:Glenn Greenwald
“Whether a country is actually free is determined not by how well-rewarded its convention-affirming media elites are and how ignored its passive citizens are but by how it treats its dissidents, those posing authentic challenges to what the government does.” WellsDoeCountryGovernmentChallengesMediaCitizensTreatsDeterminedConventionsElitesPassiveIgnoredAffirmingPosingDissidents Author:Glenn Greenwald
“Citizens, it is time to take our country back from the political class, from the media, from the liberal elite.” CountryPoliticalClassMediaCitizensOur CountryElites Author:Carly Fiorina
“We have been very effectively pacified by the pernicious ideology of a consumer society that is centered on the cult of the self - an undiluted hedonism and narcissism. That has become a very effective way to divert our attention while the country is reconfigured into a kind of neofeudalism, with a rapacious oligarchic elite and an anemic government that no longer is able to intercede on behalf of citizens but cravenly serves the interests of the oligarchy itself.” WayKindHas BeensSelfCountryGovernmentAbleInterestAttentionCitizensIdeologyConsumersElitesNarcissismCultBehalfPerniciousOligarchyHedonism Author:Chris Hedges
“There are actually two separate issues here. The first is whether (as ancient philosophers and Nietzsche assume) only the privileged elite can live a worthwhile life. The second is whether it's possible to fulfill the roles of both serious artist and upstanding citizen. It seems to me that philosophy can dissect both questions, by delineating clearly the anatomy of the good life and the structural conditions of the roles.” FirstsTwoPhilosophySeemsArtistRolesIssuesConditionsSeriousCitizensAssumingAncientPhilosopherGood LifeWorthwhileElitesPrivilegedAnatomy Author:Philip Kitcher
“The communications revolution has given millions of people both a wider and more detailed understanding of the world. Because of technology, ordinary citizens enjoy access to information that formerly was available only to elites and nation-states. One consequence of this change is that citizens have become acutely conscious of environmental destruction, entrenched poverty, health catastrophes, human rights abuses, failing education systems, and escalating violence. Another consequence is that people possess powerful communication tools to coordinate efforts to attack those problems.” PeopleWorldHumansStatesProblemGivenNationsEnjoyUnderstandingPowerfulEffortEducationPovertyMillionsTechnologyRightsViolenceFailingInformationCommunicationRevolutionCitizensHealthyOrdinaryConsciousConsequenceToolsDestructionAbuseEnvironmentalHuman RightsAvailableAccessElitesCatastropheEducation SystemCoordinatesOrdinary CitizensAccess To InformationEscalatingEnvironmental Destruction Author:David Bornstein