WIST Quotations

Bierce, Ambrose -- “Incorporation,” “Devil’s Dictionary” column, San Francisco Wasp (1885-10-03)

Dave — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 22:26:19 +0000

INCORPORATION, n. The act of uniting several persons into one fiction called a corporation, in order that they may be no longer responsible for its actions. A, B and C are a corporation. A robs, B steals and C (it is necessary that there be one gentleman in the concern) cheats. It is a plundering, thieving, swindling corporation. But A, B and C, who have jointly determined and severally executed every crime of the corporation, are blameless. It is wrong to mention them by name when censuring their acts as a corporation, but right when praising.

Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914?) American writer and journalist
“Incorporation,” “Devil’s Dictionary” column, San Francisco Wasp (1885-10-03)

Not collected in later books.

Arendt, Hannah -- Interview (1973-10) with Roger Errera, Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (ORTF)

Dave — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 15:59:33 +0000

Look here, tyranny was discovered very early in human history, and identified very early as inimical to political life. Still, it has never in any way prevented any tyrant from becoming a tyrant. It did not prevent Nero, and it did not prevent Caligula. And the cases of Nero and Caligula have not prevented a much nearer example of what the massive intrusion of criminality into political processes means for human life.

Hannah Arendt (1906–1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Interview (1973-10) with Roger Errera, Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (ORTF)

Speaking (most proximately) about the Watergate scandal.

The interview was edited and retranslated in 2013 [tr. Andrew Brown], and collected in Arendt, Thinking without a Bannister: Essays in Understanding, 1953-1975 (2018) [ed. Jerome Kohn]. That is the text quoted.

Parts of this interview were turned into an episode of the French TV series "Un certain regard," directed by Jean-Claude Lubtchansky, first broadcast 1974-07-06. This portion of the interview comes at 49:17, and reads:

You see, tyranny has been discovered very early, and very early really as an enemy. Still, it has never in any way prevented any tyrant from becoming a tyrant. It has not prevented Nero, and has not prevented Caligula. And Nero and Caligula have not prevented a more closer example of what the massive intrusion of criminality can mean for the political process.

Galbraith, John Kenneth -- “The Predator State,” Mother Jones (May/Jun 2006)

Dave — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 21:21:07 +0000

In a predatory economy, the rules imagined by the law and economics crowd don’t apply. There’s no market discipline. Predators compete not by following the rules but by breaking them. They take the business-school view of law: Rules are not designed to guide behavior but laid down to define the limits of unpunished conduct. Once one gets close to the line, stepping over it is easy. A predatory economy is criminogenic: It fosters and rewards criminal behavior.

John Kenneth Galbraith (1908–2006) Canadian-American economist, diplomat, author
“The Predator State,” Mother Jones (May/Jun 2006)