The test of democracy is freedom of criticism.
David Ben-GurionRead
We do not want to create a situation like that which exists in South Africa, where the whites are the owners and rulers, and the blacks are the workers. If we do not do all kinds of work, easy and hard, skilled and unskilled, if we become merely landlords, then this will not be our homeland
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of equitable labor and ownership among all races in society.
David Ben-Gurion highlights the necessity of shared responsibility and collaboration among different racial groups to ensure a fair and just society. He warns against creating a social structure where one group holds power and another is relegated to servitude, advocating instead for a communal approach to work and ownership that fosters equality and solidarity.
Themes
EqualityJusticeLaborSocietyOwnership
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared at a community meeting focused on racial equality.
More from David Ben-Gurion
All quotes →We offer peace and neighborliness to all the neighboring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Hebrew nation for the common good of all.
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Without moral and intellectual independence, there is no anchor for national independence.
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Anyone who believes you can't change history has never tried to write his memoirs.
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Those who today murdered our people in an ambush not only plotted to murder some Jews but intended to provoke us... The Arabs stand to gain from such a development. They want the country to be in a state of perpetual pogrom.... Any further bloodshed [by the Jews] will only bring political advantage to the Arabs and harm us... Our strength is in the defense... and this strength will give us political victory if England and the world will know that we are defending ourselves rather than attacking.
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After eighty, there are no enemies, only survivors.
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