Differences between nations, so long as they do not lead to hostility, are by no means to be deplored. Living for a time in a foreign country makes us aware of merits in which our own country is deficient, and this is true whichever country our own may be. The same thing holds of differences between different regions within one country, and of the differing types produced by different professions. Uniformity of character and uniformity of culture are to be regretted. Biological evolution has depended upon inborn differences between individuals or tribes, and cultural evolution depends upon acquired differences. When these disappear, there is no longer any material for selection. In the modern world, there is a real danger of too great similarity between one region and another in cultural respects. One of the best ways of minimising this evil is an increase in the autonomy of different groups.
Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Lecture (1949-01-23), “Control and Initiative: Their Respective Spheres,” Reith Lecture, “Authority and the Individual” No. 5, BBC Radio
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Quotations about:
nations
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It seems as though nations love perils, and when they have none, they create them.
[Il semble que les peuples aiment les périls, et que lorsqu’ils en manquent, ils s’en créent.]
Joseph Joubert (1754-1824) French moralist, philosopher, essayist, poet
Pensées [Thoughts], ch. 16 “Des Mœurs publiques et privées; du Caractère des Nations [On Morality and the Character of Nations],” ¶ 57 (1850 ed.) [tr. Lyttelton (1899), ch. 15, ¶ 26]
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(Source (French)). Alternate translation:It seems to me that nations love dangers, and when there are none to be found create them to fill the want.
[tr. Collins (1928), ch. 15]
There can be no greater error than to expect or calculate upon real favors from nation to nation. It is an illusion which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard.
George Washington (1732–1799) American military leader, Founding Father, US President (1789–1797)
Farewell Address (17 Sep 1796) [with A. Hamilton]
