A liberal society cannot be defended by herbivores. We need carnivores to save us, but we had better make sure the meat-eaters hunt only on our order…

- Michael Ignatieff

Those with a gift for action, for their part, often express contempt for those whose gifts are more reflective. Men of action like to say, Those who …

- Michael Ignatieff

An intellectual may be interested in ideas and policies for their own sake, but a politician's interest is exclusively in the question of whether an …

- Michael Ignatieff

Genocide is not just a murderous madness; it is, more deeply, a politics that promises a utopia beyond politics - one people, one land, one truth, th…

- Michael Ignatieff

Cynics who say power is all that counts in politics forget that power without ideas is just improvisation.

- Michael Ignatieff

The Liberal Party of Canada has no monopoly on public service, we have no monopoly on virtue, and we have no monopoly on wisdom.

- Michael Ignatieff

We must not lose sight of the fundamental issue of policy which is that people who come to the country on visa status must never be abused.

- Michael Ignatieff

The party's got to see itself as being one public service organization in a very competitive field, all of whom are competing for the allegiance and …

- Michael Ignatieff

The wars of the future will be fought by computer technicians and by lawyers and high-altitude specialists, and that may mean war will be increasingl…

- Michael Ignatieff