D.R. Bell > Quotes

“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.” — Sun-Tzu, The Art of War”
― D.R. Bell, The Great Game

“In 1946, on behalf of the party, Andrei Zhdanov condemned verses of Anna Akhmatova, another great poetess, because they were too “autobiographic, intimate, and emotional.” Imagine that, intimate and emotional poetry!”
― D.R. Bell, The Metronome

“country. Are you living by”
― D.R. Bell, The Metronome

“He smirked. “Communism? Of course not. The Soviet Union fell because communism did not understand human nature. People act in their self-interest. When there is too little self-interest the economy sputters. Now America is failing because it also stopped understanding human nature. When there is too much self-interest, people just start voting themselves money or skimming it off others by any means possible. Deep inside, we are all little Robin Hoods. I think your founders understood this. That’s why democracies flame out: people will vote for those who promise them more for less, and politicians will say and do what they have to in order to get elected and re-elected. That’s how it’s been throughout history. You have to find the right balance between giving people some measure of self-interest, but within the context of a strong state that keeps those Robin Hood-ish tendencies in check. That’s what I believe in: my country with a strong state.”
― D.R. Bell, The Great Game

“The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money.” — Alexis De Tocqueville”
― D.R. Bell, The Great Game

“When an organization reaches a certain size, it generates its own workload thanks to the sheer volume of interactions required between different”
― D.R. Bell, Marshland

“It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.” —Thomas Jefferson”
― D.R. Bell, The Great Game