I began writing when I was still in the British Foreign Service, and it was then understood that even if you wrote about butterfly collecting, you used another name.
John Le CarreRead
In the hands of politicians grand designs achieve nothing but new forms of the old misery.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that political plans often fail to bring real change, only replacing old problems with new ones.
In this quote, John Le Carre critiques the effectiveness of politicians by asserting that their ambitious plans and reforms tend to simply reiterate past failures, leading to new but similar forms of suffering and dissatisfaction. It speaks to the notion that without genuine intention and integrity, political endeavors can be fruitless, merely masking the persistent issues rather than resolving them.
Themes
PoliticiansDesignsMiseryChangePolitics
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on political reform, this quote could highlight the skepticism towards politicians' promises.
More from John Le Carre
All quotes βIn every war zone that I've been in, there has been a reality and then there has been the public perception of why the war was being fought. In every crisis, the issues have been far more complex than the public has been allowed to know.
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The cat sat on the mat is not a story. The cat sat on the other catβs mat is a story.
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The monsters of our childhood do not fade away, neither are they ever wholly monstrous.
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Coming home from very lonely places, all of us go a little mad: whether from great personal success, or just an all-night drive, we are the sole survivors of a world no one else has ever seen.
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If I had to put a name to it, I would wish that all my books were entertainments. I think the first thing you've got to do is grab the reader by the ear, and make him sit down and listen. Make him laugh, make him feel. We all want to be entertained at a very high level.
John Le CarreRead
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