Quotes About Conflict

the 1917 Revolution was brought on by a long losing war in which an underequipped and poorly led Russian peasant army suffered an estimated seven million casualties in dead, wounded, and missing.

is generally accepted that the beginnings of Bolshevism as a separate movement within the Russian Social Democracy date from around 1903. But this development, as suggested earlier, is not to be satisfactorily explained by the conflict to which the movement owed its name. What gave Bolshevism its original impetus, indeed what brought it into being, was not the quarrel at the Second Congress; it was the appearance of What Is to Be Done?

Djugashvili had a way of leaving places under a cloud after some ugly incident, brought on in part by his own tendency to become embroiled with others.

Judging by the pervasiveness of this theme in Djugashvili's early writings, and the way he emphasized it, he was strongly attracted to Marxism's vision of past and present society as a great battleground whereon two hostile forces—bourgeoisie and proletariat—are locked in mortal combat.

The capitalist elements, kulaks included, would naturally resist the offensive in all ways open to them.

central to Stalinism, that the class struggle inevitably grows sharper with the country's advance toward socialism.

While operating in the background—as was his habit—and letting others do the open fighting, he was himself a principal protagonist in the conflict.

Political scientists Brendan Nyhan and Jason Reifler coined the term "backfire effect" to describe how some individuals when confronted with evidence that conflicts with their beliefs come to hold their original position even more strongly.

Attacking a person, rather than the person's position or argument, is usually easier as well as psychologically more satisfying to those who divide the world into two classes of people—those who agree with them and are therefore good and right, and those who disagree with them and are therefore evil and wrong.

The most common of all antagonisms arises from a man's taking a seat beside you on the train, a seat to which he is completely entitled.

Violence is the great attractor of human history, Dr. Iverson. A force almost as irresistible as gravity.

Part of waging war is knowing when you're outgunned.

If you need inspiration, find the part of the target that most irritates you and use it as a springboard for some therapeutic conflict. The more real your cruelty, the more effective it is.

Tweere sin to stain fair Venus' courts with blood

Whenever you can, bury the hatchet with an enemy, and make a point of putting him in your service.

Years later, a Japanese visitor tried to apologize to Mao for his country's invasion of China. Mao interrupted, "Should I not thank you instead?" Without a worthy opponent, he explained, a man or group cannot grow stronger.

The problem in trying to prove a point or gain a victory through argument is that in the end you can never be certain how it affects the people you're arguing with: They may appear to agree with you politely, but inside they may resent you.

What you want in warfare is room to maneuver. Tight corners spell death. Having enemies gives you options. You can play them off against each other, make one a friend as a way of attacking the other, on and on.

Crush the enemy" is a key strategic tenet of Sun-tzu, the fourth-century-B.C. author of The Art of War. The idea is simple: Your enemies wish you ill.

Realize this: In your struggle for power you will stir up rivalries and create enemies. There will be people you cannot win over, who will remain your enemies no matter what.

Worship Athena, not Ares.

Your enemies, those you stand sharply against, will help you to forge a support base that will not desert you. Do not crowd into the center, where everyone else is; there is no room to fight in a crowd. Polarize people, drive some of them away, and create a space for battle.

When you are weaker, there is nothing to be gained by fighting a useless fight. No one comes to help the weak—by doing so they would only put themselves in jeopardy. The weak are alone and must submit. Fighting gives you nothing to gain but martyrdom, and in the process a lot of people who do not believe in your cause will die.

What gets us into trouble in the realm of power is often our own overreaction to the moves of our enemies and rivals.