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Oligarchs Quotes

Browse 17 quotes about Oligarchs.

Oligarchs Quotes

“Dictionary of American English (Sonnet) World calls them Terrorists, we call them Forefathers. World calls them Wanted, we call them Billionaires. World calls them Patients, we call them Police. World calls them Traffickers, we call them ICE. World calls them High Schools, we call them Shooting Range. World calls them Inmates, we call them President.”

“...the idea that Smith can somehow be seen as representative of modern capitalism is a stretch. He was a man of his time, in the very particular society of oligarchic, 18th century Scotland. It was a world in which he thrived precisely by not fighting the status quo, but rather by making a proposal for harnessing greed, while keeping merchants in their social place and celebrating the ruling class of the time, and trying to envision a way in which it could play a part in a modernizing economy. In many ways, he got it right. While capitalism flourished in 18th century Scotland, the landed elite remained firmly in place and has managed to do so to this very day. In that aspect, Smith was quite visionary.”

“The Russian oligarchic system is the quintessence of statist depravity, where all industry is controlled by a small number of men ruthless enough to rise to the top of a corrupt patronage system, where government serves the interests of elites, money and privilege flow to the top, the people are exploited through a venomous cocktail of brutality and graft, and truth is the enemy of the state. Russian oligarchy is economic survival of the fittest, the ultimate, balls-out Darwinian experiment in wealth consolidation by the most wicked, immoral and dishonest ― government of the rich, by the rich, for the rich at the expense and misery of everyone else.”

“Well, the truth is I’m in a bit of trouble. After that business on the bridge, I was going to be court martialled. I thought it was so bloody unfair… Well the thing is, I’ve escaped in order to clear my name.’ Oleg roared with laughter and crushed Edward’s ribs with a bear hug. ‘You! Bloody outlaw! Robin bloody Hood! How much price on your head? Maybe I claim bounty, eh?’ Shit, Oleg wasn’t taking this at all seriously. He should never have asked… ‘Of course, I help! Leave to me. One condition, you grow big beard, like oligarch… I have idea. Keep head very down. Will find you in two days. Then we hide you very deep.”

“The Patriots erred in the Boston Tea Party: they seized Oligarch tea & dumped it in the sea but left Oligarch gold untouched. It's that gold that has troubled the nation from that day to this. Next time, go for the gold. Hence these words: "... yes, not British tea but Oligarch gold must down Boston harbour go ...”

“The oligarchs are not philosophers; they pay people to be philosophers for them, and so the regnant ideology of the terminal phase of the American Empire is a mish-mash of Darwin, Nietzsche, and Foucault, as stitched together by Hollywood directors like Guillermo del Toro, (whose name translates into English as “of the bull”) and Bryan Singer for mass consumption. What they share is Nietzsche’s penchant for the transvaluation of all values (die Umwertung aller Werte) which entails role reversal as well.”

“Mikhaïl avait été le chef des Jeunes communistes à la faculté d’ingénierie. N’allez pas imaginer un apparatchik du Parti. Dans la dernière phase, le Komsomol n’attirait que les garçons les plus cyniques et ambitieux, ceux qui étaient prêts à tout et ceux qui voulaient de l’argent. À la fin des années quatre-vingt, le seul type d’entreprise autorisé en Union soviétique était la coopérative d’étudiants et ce fut la business school du capitalisme russe. C’est là que s’est formée la majorité des oligarques.”

“Ksenia était ma déesse, capricieuse et vindicative, je vivais dans la terreur de ses changements d’humeur et je n’aurais jamais imaginé qu’un sac en crocodile et une suite au Crillon puissent être suffisants pour garantir sa bienveillance. Chaque jour, je déposais à ses pieds les perles que j’extrayais de mes douloureuses élucubrations poétiques, sans voir qu’un bracelet de diamants aurait produit des effets bien plus durables. Il est étrange de constater combien notre cerveau fait d’efforts parfois pour nous cacher la vérité. Nous avons sous les yeux tous les indices et pourtant notre esprit se refuse à assembler les pièces.”