Quotes About Power

It is unnatural for a majority to rule, for a majority can seldom be organized and united for specific action, and a minority can.

A power of recall that depended solely on the electorate and was not subject to unnecessary hurdles of Parliamentary procedures would show trust in the good sense and fairness of the British people. In return, they might trust Parliamentarians a little more.

When a system of oppression has become institutionalized it is unnecessary for individuals to be oppressive.

For some people, it is easier to command a nation, to send thousands to their deaths in unnecessary wars, to separate children from their families and inflict terrible suffering, than to process their own trauma and pain.

Watching foreign affairs is sometimes like watching a magician; the eye is drawn to the hand performing the dramatic flourishes, leaving the other hand - the one doing the important job - unnoticed.

In both Israel and America, Jews have experienced unparalleled freedoms, achieved great economic success, and exercised appropriate degrees of political power.

The NRA is a true grass-roots organization, and the collective power of its membership is simply unparalleled.

After 9/11, many of the most important news outlets in America abdicated their role as a check to power - the journalistic responsibility to challenge the excesses of government - for fear of being seen as unpatriotic and punished in the market during a period of heightened nationalism.

Influence is a very unpleasant subject and I deal with it in a maybe irresponsible way, which is to really ignore it. It would be a nightmare if we started to really think about it; it would tie our hands, it would tie everyone else's hands.

If someone says something unpleasant, I can't say it doesn't smart a bit. It always does. Someone can take a really nasty swipe if they want because it kind of feels powerful for a person to write in a paper and get that thing out there.

I wish I was less good-looking and more unpopular. Then I could get into politics and use my pent-up resentment about being ugly and unpopular to systematically destroy the country.

Which European leader today would not relish the wonder-working powers of a Moses? Budget deficit? Unpopular cuts? How about just a little miracle, an overnight increase in gold reserves, a new oil field, or the next world-changing communications technology? Surely that's not too much to ask.

The tax code is becoming steadily more progressive, which shouldn't surprise anyone who understands power politics. It's always easier to force sacrifice on an unpopular minority than it is to ask the majority to pony up.

Since the end of the Cold War, hegemonism has become increasingly unpopular.

I think when the military ousts a sitting president, even if the sitting president is deeply unpopular, that's the definition of a coup.

The monarchy has almost always been unpopular.

Foreign leaders across the world have treated the coronavirus as an opportunity for unprecedented power grabs. China and South Korea track their citizens digitally. Israel suspended some courts. Hungary's executive seized emergency authorities. Elections were delayed.

The United States emerged from the Cold War with unprecedented absolute and relative power. It was truly first among unequals.

The total eclipses of the sun are very special and have been associated with wars, famines, floods, unprecedented climate changes and the death or birth of dictators, rulers, presidents and kings, especially near the area where the total eclipse occurs.

Unprecedented technological capabilities combined with unlimited human creativity have given us tremendous power to take on intractable problems like poverty, unemployment, disease, and environmental degradation. Our challenge is to translate this extraordinary potential into meaningful change.

With police wielding unprecedented powers to invade privacy, tap phones and conduct searches seemingly at random, our civil liberties are in a very precarious condition.

American power confers benefits on most inhabitants of the planet, even on many who dislike it and some who actively oppose it, because the United States plays a major, constructive, and historically unprecedented role in the world.

It is beyond dispute that President Obama and his aides have an extreme, even unprecedented obsession with concealing embarrassing information, controlling the flow of information, and punishing anyone who stands in the way. But, at least theoretically speaking, it is the job of journalists to impede that effort, not to serve and enable it.

Women enjoyed rights in Egypt they would not again enjoy for more than 2,000 years. They owned ships, ran vineyards, filed lawsuits, practiced medicine. Their husbands supported them after divorce. Their power was unprecedented.