If we assume the best in people, we can radically redesign our democracy and welfare states.
Rutger BregmanRead
History will tell you that borders are not inevitable, they hardly existed at the end of the 19th century.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Borders are human-made constructs that can change over time.
This quote by Rutger Bregman emphasizes that the concept of borders is not a natural or fixed part of human existence, but rather a historical development that has evolved. It suggests that our understanding of borders can change and that they are not as permanent as they might seem, highlighting the fluidity of human societies and their structures throughout time.
Themes
BordersHistoryChangeHumanitySociety
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the changing nature of countries, this quote can illustrate how borders are not fixed.
More from Rutger Bregman
All quotes βSince long workdays lead to more errors, shorter workdays could reduce accidents. Overtime is deadly. Tired surgeons have been found to be more prone to slip'ups, and soldiers who get too little shuteye are more prone to miss targets.
Rutger BregmanRead
My hope is that the corona crisis will help bring us into a new age of cooperation and solidarity and a realization that we're in this together.
Rutger BregmanRead
This is what a crisis does: It makes you question the status quo. That doesn't mean that after a crisis we move into some kind of utopia. But it is an opportunity for political change.
Rutger BregmanRead
While it won't solve all the world's ills - and ideas such as a rent cap and more social housing are necessary in places where housing is scarce - a basic income would work like venture capital for the people.
Rutger BregmanRead
Believing in the good of humanity is a revolutionary act - it means that we don't need all those managers and CEO's, kings and generals. That we can trust people to govern themselves and make their own decisions.
Rutger BregmanRead
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Jewish villages were built in the place of Arab villages. You do not even know the names of these Arab villages, and I do not blame you, because these geography books no longer exist; not only do the books not exist, the Arab villages are not there either. Nahalal arose in the place of Mahalul, Gevat - in the place of Jibta, Sarid - in the place of Haneifs and Kefar Yehoshua - in the place of Tell Shaman. There is no one place built in this country that did not have a former Arab population.
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I mourn for the stake which was lost at Richmond more deeply than I rejoice over that which was saved at Waterloo.
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My argument is that history is made by men and women, just as it can also be unmade and rewritten, always with various silence and elisions, always with shapes imposed and disfigurements tolerated.
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