I. F. Stone Men Quotations

A certain moral imbecility marks all ethnocentric movements.

The arms race is based on an optimistic view of technology and a pessimistic view of man. It assumes there is no limit to the ingenuity of science and no limit to the deviltry of human beings.

Every man is his own Pygmalion, and spends his life fashioning himself. And in fashioning himself, for good or ill, he fashions the human race and its future.

You have to take the long view. First, when Moses came down from Mt. Sinai, man has already progressed to the point where a commandment against cannibalism was no longer necessary. And, second, it's like pissing on a boulder. For the first few thousand years, you don't see any effect. But after that, you start to see a definite impact.

If you want to know about governments, all you need to know is two words: Governments lie.

All governments lie, but disaster lies in wait for countries whose officials smoke the same hashish they give out.

Every government is run by liars and nothing they say should be believed.