WIST QuotationsJan 12

A quotation from Wendell Berry

Rats and roaches live by competition under the laws of supply and demand; it is the privilege of human beings to live under the laws of justice and mercy.

Wendell Berry (b. 1934) American farmer, educator, poet, conservationist
Essay (1988), “Economy and Pleasure,” What Are People For? (1990)

More about this quote: wist.info/berry-wendell/81315/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #wendellberry #economicsystem #economicjustice #competition #humancondition #justice #living #mercy #supplyanddemand #ruthlessness #laissezfaire

Berry, Wendell - Essay (1988), "Economy and Pleasure," What Are People For? (1990) | WIST Quotations

Rats and roaches live by competition under the laws of supply and demand; it is the privilege of human beings to live under the laws of justice and mercy.

WIST Quotations
Show threadKen M SweeneyDec 27
Hierarchies favour dominance. #Empathy is a liability. #Ruthlessness is rewarded. That’s why psychopathy thrives in positions of power. 3)
#Power #Hierarchy
WIST Quotations Has Moved!Dec 18

A quotation from Eric Hoffer

We ought to beware of people who do not think it necessary to pretend that they are good and decent. Lack of hypocrisy in such things hints at a capacity for a most depraved ruthlessness.

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 200 (1955)

More about this quote: wist.info/hoffer-eric/80863/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #erichoffer #badperson #character #decency #depravity #goodperson #hypocrisy #pretense #ruthlessness #sociability #mask

Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 200 (1955) - Hoffer, Eric | WIST Quotations

We ought to beware of people who do not think it necessary to pretend that they are good and decent. Lack of hypocrisy in such things hints at a capacity for a most depraved ruthlessness.

WIST Quotations
WIST Quotations Has Moved!Oct 24

A quotation from Eric Hoffer

The taint hidden in selflessness is that selflessness is the only moral justification of ruthlessness.

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 142 (1955)

More info about this quote: wist.info/hoffer-eric/79964/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #erichoffer #mercilessness #greatergood #principle #ruthlessness #selflessness

Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 142 (1955) - Hoffer, Eric | WIST Quotations

The taint hidden in selflessness is that selflessness is the only moral justification of ruthlessness.

WIST Quotations
WIST Quotations Has Moved!Sep 18, 2025

A quotation from Eric Hoffer

Compassion is probably the only antitoxin of the soul. Where there is compassion even the most poisonous impulses remain relatively harmless. One would rather see the world run by men who set their hearts on toys but are accessible to pity, than by men animated by lofty ideals whose dedication makes them ruthless. In the chemistry of man’s soul, almost all noble attributes — courage, honor, hope, faith, duty, loyalty, etc. — can be transmuted into ruthlessness. Compassion alone stands apart from the continuous traffic between good and evil proceeding within us.

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 139 (1955)

More info about this quote: wist.info/hoffer-eric/53745/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #erichoffer #compassion #corruption #nobility #pity #ruthlessness #virtue

WIST Quotations Has Moved!Sep 11, 2025

A quotation from Franklin Roosevelt

The experience of the past two years has proven beyond doubt that no nation can appease the Nazis. No man can tame a tiger into a kitten by stroking it. There can be no appeasement with ruthlessness. There can be no reasoning with an incendiary bomb. We know now that a nation can have peace with the Nazis only at the price of total surrender.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman, US President (1933-1945)
Speech (1940-12-29), “Fireside Chat: Arsenal of Democracy” (radio broadcast)

More info about this quote: wist.info/roosevelt-franklin-d…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #franklinroosevelt #franklindroosevelt #fdr #franklindelanoroosevelt #ruthlessness #aggression #appeasement #diplomacy #fascism #Nazis #peace #reasoning #surrender #violence

WIST Quotations Has Moved!Jul 10, 2025

A quotation from Eric Hoffer

The sick in soul insist that it is humanity that is sick, and they are the surgeons to operate on it. They want to turn the world into a sickroom. And once they get humanity strapped to the operating table, they operate on it with an ax.

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 104 (1955)

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/hoffer-eric/16636/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #erichoffer #authoritarian #butchery #ego #evil #humanity #inhumanity #megalomania #ruthlessness #selfrighteousness #superiority #control #sick

WIST Quotations Has Moved!Apr 22, 2025

A quotation from Euripides

HECUBA:          O gods, spare me the sight
   of this thankless breed, these politicians
   who cringe for favors from a screaming mob
   and do not care what harm they do their friends,
   providing they can please a crowd!
 
[ἙΚΆΒΗ: ἀχάριστον ὑμῶν σπέρμ᾿, ὅσοι δημηγόρους
   ζηλοῦτε τιμάς· μηδὲ γιγνώσκοισθέ μοι,
   οἳ τοὺς φίλους βλάπτοντες οὐ φροντίζετε,
   ἢν τοῖσι πολλοῖς πρὸς χάριν λέγητέ τι.]

Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Hecuba [Hekabe; Ἑκάβη], l. 254ff (c. 424 BC) [tr. Arrowsmith (1958)]

Sourcing, notes, alternate translations: wist.info/euripides/76300/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #euripides #hecuba #amorality #crowd #demagogue #mob #politician #ruthlessness #thankfulness

Show threadFélicien Breton 🍉 🔻 🌱Apr 11, 2025

I am driven by my emotions.

"Our opinions generally have emotional rather than intellectual roots, and indeed rationality largely functions as a post hoc justification. Our political opinions, ultimately, are what we feel about the world, not what we think about it. And in turn, our opinions about particular events have a lot to do with how we feel about the world in general. It’s not an exaggeration to say that most people’s views about the kind of things that happen today are extensions of concerns of their own ego. And consequently, invitations to change their minds because new facts emerge, or because old ideas are discredited by new evidence, are in fact a threat to the strength and even survival of that ego."

"But few people, especially those who have received a decent education, want to acknowledge that their views are based on emotion and not reason. They therefore try to argue".

https://aurelien2022.substack.com/p/another-country

@histodons @psychology @socialpsych @ukraine @israel

#disillusionment #disgust #power #leadership #traitors #personalSafety #feelings #emotions #indignation #moralBeauty #beauty #values #principles #morals #debate #rationality #faith #beliefs #USWars #lawAndOrder #ruleOfLaw #internationalLaw #CambridgeSpies #Cambridge #spies #ColdWar #psychology #Stalin #cult #personalityCult #hagiography #history #ruthlessness #proZionism #WeStandWithIsrael #StandWithIsrael #masculinity #longRead #geopolitics #Zelensky #Ukraine

Another Country.

And other peoples' heroes.

Trying to Understand the World
Gerd_BrodowskiOct 13, 2024

#israel #iran #palestine : #war / #gaza / #hamas / #secretdocuments / #warplans / #wartactics / #ruthlessness

„For more than two years, Yahya Sinwar huddled with his top Hamas commanders and plotted what they hoped would be the most devastating and destabilizing attack on Israel in the militant group’s four-decade history.“

https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/secret-documents-show-hamas-tried-to-persuade-iran-to-join-its-oct-7-attack/

Secret documents show Hamas tried to persuade Iran to join its Oct. 7 attack

The documents also show extensive efforts to deceive Israel about its plans as the group laid the groundwork for a bold assault and a regional conflagration.

The Seattle Times