Aldythtryingtoread

“Free trade. This was always the British line of argument – free trade, free competition, an equal playing field for all. Only it never ended up that way, did it? What ‘free trade’ really meant was British imperial dominance, for what was free about a trade that relied on a massive build-up of naval power to secure maritime access? When mere trading companies could wage war, assess taxes, and administer civil and criminal justice?”
― R.F. Kuang, Babel

“These trade networks were carved in stone. Nothing was pushing this arrangement off its course; there were too many private interests, too much money at stake. They could see where it was going, but the people who had the power to do anything about it had been placed in positions where they would profit, and the people who suffered most had no power at all.”
― R. F. Kuang

“seorang terpelajar harus sudah berbuat adil sejak dalam pikiran apalagi dalam perbuatan”
― Pramoedya Ananta Toer, This Earth of Mankind

“Orang boleh pandai setinggi langit, tapi selama ia tak menulis, ia akan hilang di dalam masyarakat dan dari sejarah.”
― Pramoedya Ananta Toer, House of Glass