It is one of history's ironies that Communism, advertised as a classless society, tended to breed a privileged class of feudal proportions.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the contradiction of Communism, which promised equality but resulted in a new privileged class.
Henry A. Kissinger's quote critiques the inherent irony within the ideology of Communism, which was marketed as a system aiming for a classless society. Despite these ideals, in practice, it often led to the emergence of a powerful elite, reminiscent of feudal systems, thus contradicting its foundational promise of equality and classlessness.
In practice
During a political debate discussing the failures of Communism.
Every civilization that has ever existed has ultimately collapsed. History is a tale of efforts that failed, or aspirations that werenβt realized. So, as a historian, one has to live with a sense of the inevitability of tragedy.
Blessed are the people whose leaders can look destiny in the eye without flinching but also without attempting to play God.
It was a Greek tragedy. Nixon was fulfilling his own nature. Once it started it could not end otherwise.
The absence of alternatives clears the mind marvelously.
If peace is equated simply with the absence of war, it can become abject pacifism that turns the world over to the most ruthless.
What political leaders decide, intelligence services tend to seek to justify.
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The politician's promises of yesterday are the taxes of today.
The foulest damage to our political life comes not from the 'secrets' which they hide from us, but from the little bits of half-truth and disinformation which they do tell us. These are already pre-digested, and then are sicked up as little gobbits of authorised spew. The columns of defense correspondents in the establishment sheets serve as the spittoons.
One of the traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism has been by way of medicine....If you don't do this, one of these days you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was like in American when men were free.
Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse.
Everything would be alright if everything was put back in the hands of the people, and we're going to have to put it back in the hands of the people.
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