WIST Quotations

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WIST (“Wish I’d Said That!”) is my collection of quotations (wist.info) which I find meaningful, moving, amusing (intended or not), or well-phrased.

Despite the name, this is not just a collection of quotations whose sentiments I agree with (though that’s true for the majority of stuff I collect). In some cases there are ideas that I disagree with, firmly; in those cases, though, I’ve included the quote because I admire the way it’s phrased, or because it’s a classic statement of a particular sentiment, or else I thought it was so absurd that it made me smile just to read it. In short, "Quoting is not (necessarily) endorsing."

One thing I make an effort to do is research and properly cite each quotation I publish. Further sourcing information (and notes and translations) can be found on the WIST website.

This site will serve as a rich-text social media republishing of new and updated quotations from wist.info (since nobody actually goes to blogs any more). I welcome conversation about the quotes I post.

I was previously cross-posting at wist@my-space.social, WISTquote@zirk.us, and wist@diasp.org. More info on the background of my collection here: wist.info/about-wist/

Additional intro material: friendica.world/display/84b6ef…

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https://wist.info ✔

WIST Quotations

4 hours ago

WIST Quotations
4 hours ago

A quotation from Bertrand Russell

There are some among philosophers and statesmen who think that the State can have an excellence of its own, and not merely as a means to the welfare of the citizens. I cannot see any reason to agree with this view. “The State” is an abstraction; it does not feel pleasure or pain, it has no hopes or fears, and what we think of as its purposes are really the purposes of individuals who direct it. When we think concretely, not abstractly, we find, in place of “the State,” certain people who have more power than falls to the share of most men. And so glorification of “the State” turns out to be, in fact, glorification of a governing minority. No democrat can tolerate such a fundamentally unjust theory.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Lecture (1949-01-30), “Individual and Social Ethics,” Reith Lecture, No. 6, BBC Radio

Russell, Bertrand - Lecture (1949-01-30), "Individual and Social Ethics," Reith Lecture, No. 6, BBC Radio | WIST Quotations

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#leadership #government #quote #state #quotes #power #qotd #oligarchy #bertrandrussell #quotation #minority #statepower

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WIST Quotations

WIST Quotations 4 hours ago •

Russell, Bertrand - Lecture (1949-01-30), "Individual and Social Ethics," Reith Lecture, No. 6, BBC Radio | WIST Quotations

WIST Quotations
4 hours ago