“France had a policy, initiated by General de Gaulle, of trying to turn Europe into what was then called a ‘third force,’ independent of the two superpowers, so Europe should pursue an independent course.”

International affairs is very much run like the mafia.

I would appear on Fox News more easily than I would NPR.

Markets are lethal, if only because of ignoring externalities, the impacts of their transactions on the environment.

The United States has even gone so far as to veto Security Council resolutions calling on all states to observe international law. That was in the 1980s under Reagan.

It is also a course of action that strikes a blow against the regime of international order, but which offers the weak at least some protection from predatory states.

The intellectual tradition is one of servility to power, and if I didn’t betray it I’d be ashamed of myself.

There are two problems for our species’ survival – nuclear war and environmental catastrophe – and we’re hurtling towards them. Knowingly.

I would feel no hesitation in saying that it is the responsibility of a decent human being to give assistance to a child who is being attacked by a rabid dog.

It is easier to go to the Internet than to go to the library, undoubtedly. But the shift from no libraries to the existence of libraries was a much greater shift than what we’ve seen with the Internet’s development.

Intellectuals are in a position to expose the lies of governments, to analyze actions according to their causes and motives and often hidden intentions.

It’s dangerous when people are willing to give up their privacy.

It is pretty ironic that the so-called ‘least advanced’ people are the ones taking the lead in trying to protect all of us.

Even the most cynical can hardly be surprised by the antics of Nixon and his accomplices as they are gradually revealed.

You never need an argument against the use of violence, you need an argument for it.

The very design of neoliberal principles is a direct attack on democracy.

It is true that classical libertarian thought is opposed to state intervention in social life, as a consequence of deeper assumptions about the human need for liberty, diversity, and free association.

I’m totally independent. I don’t bear any responsibility to any system.

I was in the most restricted prison in China, the most tough. The design of the prison is modeled for internal crimes of the Communist party, so it’s like a mafia family’s law. It’s independent to the law this nation openly applies.

Maybe [success] is because I’m in China and I’m more open. Maybe it’s my independent behavior, or because I participated in certain projects. I have no idea.

I don’t think my father had a direct influence on me, but I do think, more or less, I was influenced by his independent individualism.

If there’s the right condition, I always want to express the concept or ideas in a very independent way.

The importance of elections, transparency, legal procedures, an independent army, and the judicial system is not regarded as highly in China. These core values are the most important evidence of the health of a society, quality of life, and security.

Now you have the equal opportunity to equip yourself through information and knowledge and express yourself as an independent mind.

I’d like a relationship that was like two tree trunks side by side, strong but independent.