It is clear that the main element of any United States policy toward the Soviet Union must be that of long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies.
George F. KennanRead
The accords were fig leaves of democratic procedure to hide the nakedness of Stalinist dictatorship.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote criticizes the false appearance of democracy in the face of authoritarianism.
George F. Kennan's quote suggests that the agreements made during a certain period were merely superficial efforts to present a democratic front, masking the underlying reality of a Stalinist dictatorship. It highlights the dissonance between the formalities of democratic processes and the actual repressive nature of the regime, emphasizing that the appearances were deceptive and served to obscure the truth of governance.
Themes
DemocracyAuthoritarianismDeceptionPoliticsStalinDictatorship
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about political transparency, this quote can illustrate how appearances can be misleading.
More from George F. Kennan
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We should cease to talk about vague and unreal objectives such as human rights, the raising of the living standards, and democratization. The day is not far off when we are going to have to deal in straight power concepts. The less we are then hampered by idealistic slogans, the better.
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It is an undeniable privilege of every man to prove himself right in the thesis that the world is his enemy; for if he reiterates it frequently enough and makes it the background of his conduct he is bound eventually to be right.
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Actually, the inability of any society to resist immigration, the inability to find other solutions to the problem of employment at the lower, more physical, and menial levels of the economic process, is a serious weakness, and possibly even a fatal one, in any national society. The fully healthy society would find ways to meet those needs out of its own resources.
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One sometimes feels a guest of one's time and not a member of its household.
George F. KennanRead
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