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The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam QUOTES

The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam QUOTES

1 " Government was rarely more than a choice between the disastrous and the unpalatable. "

― Barbara W. Tuchman , The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam

2 " The process of gaining power employs means which degrade or brutalize the seeker, who awakes to find that power has been possessed at the cost of virtue or moral purpose lost. "

― Barbara W. Tuchman , The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam

3 " House speaker Thomas read could see the trend, but he could not have changed himself. "

― Barbara W. Tuchman , The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam

4 " Confronted by menace or what is perceived as menace, governments will usually attempt to smash it, rarely to examine it, understand it, and drefine it. "

― Barbara W. Tuchman , The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam

5 " The utility of perseverance in absurdity is more than I could ever discern. Edmund Burke "

― Barbara W. Tuchman , The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam

6 " He was always acting, always enveloping himself in artificiality, perhaps to conceal the volcano within. "

― Barbara W. Tuchman , The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam

7 " A phenomenon noticeable throughout history regardless of place or period is the pursuit by governments of policies contrary to their own interests. Mankind, it seems, makes a poorer performance of government than of almost any other human activity. In this sphere, wisdom, which may be defined as the exercise of judgment acting on experience, common sense and available information, is less operative and more frustrated than it should be. Why do holders of high office so often act contrary to the way reason points and enlightened self-interest suggests? Why does intelligent mental process seem so often not to function? "

― Barbara W. Tuchman , The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam

8 " How much does a man's effort depend upon the age in which his work is cast? Pope Clement VII "

― Barbara W. Tuchman , The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam

9 " No single characteristic ever overtakes an entire society. "

― Barbara W. Tuchman , The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam

10 " Prison does not silence ideas whose time has come. "

― Barbara W. Tuchman , The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam

11 " Strong prejudices in an ill-formed mind are hazardous to government. "

― Barbara W. Tuchman , The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam

12 " Disorder is the least tolerable up sinful conditions. "

― Barbara W. Tuchman , The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam

13 " Why, since folly or perversity is expected of individuals, should we expect anything else from government? "

― Barbara W. Tuchman , The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam

14 " No one is is sure of his premise as the man who knows too little. "

― Barbara W. Tuchman , The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam

15 " Awful momentum makes carrying through easier than calling off folly. "

― Barbara W. Tuchman , The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam

16 " Let us retreat when we can, not when we must. Lord Chatham "

― Barbara W. Tuchman , The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam

17 " Folly is a child of power. "

― Barbara W. Tuchman , The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam

18 " Policy was not reconsidered because the governing group had no habit of purposeful consultation. "

― Barbara W. Tuchman , The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam

19 " Enormity of the stakes became the new self-hypnosis. "

― Barbara W. Tuchman , The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam

20 " That he survived, and indeed returned to government, was one of man's occasional triumphs over medicine. "

― Barbara W. Tuchman , The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam