A neoconservative is a liberal who's been mugged by reality. A neoliberal is a liberal who's been mugged by reality but has refused to press charges.
Irving KristolRead
If you believe that no one was ever corrupted by a book, you have also to believe that no one was ever improved by a book.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Books have the power to both corrupt and improve individuals, depending on the perspective one takes.
The quote by Irving Kristol suggests that books are neutral tools that can influence the reader in various ways. If one is to ignore the potential negative impact of literature, they must also acknowledge its capacity for positive influence, indicating a duality in how literature affects human behavior and society.
Themes
BooksInfluenceCorruptionImprovementLiterature
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the impact of reading on youth development.
More from Irving Kristol
All quotes βNo modern nation has ever constructed a foreign policy that was acceptable to its intellectuals
Irving KristolRead
The really difficult moral issues arise, not from a confrontation of good and evil, but from a collision between two goods
Irving KristolRead
I have observed over the years that the unanticipated consequences of social action are always more important, and usually less agreeable, than the intended consequences.
Irving KristolRead
There are different kinds of truths for different kinds of people. There are truths appropriate for children; truths that are appropriate for students; truths that are appropriate for educated adults; and truths that are appropriate for highly educated adults, and the notion that there should be one set of truths available to everyone is a modern democratic fallacy. It doesn't work.
Irving KristolRead
You have to know one big thing and stick with it. The leaders who had one very big idea and one very big commitment. This permitted them to create something. Those are the ones who leave a legacy.
Irving KristolRead
Similar quotes
Don't try to force anything. Let life be a deep let-go. God opens millions of flowers everyday without forcing their buds
RajneeshRead
You had to take risks, follow some paths and abandon others.
Paulo CoelhoRead
Throughout all history, the great wise men and teachers, philosophers, and prophets have disagreed with one another on many different things. It is only on this one point that they are in complete and unanimous agreement. We become what we think about
Earl NightingaleRead
I made an oath to myself: as long as I live as long as my soul remains in this body I won't deviate from the right way but later I looked to my left and then to my right and I saw our beloved everywhere how could I make a wrong turn?
RumiRead
A true Brahmachari will not even dream of satisfying the fleshly appetite
Mahatma GandhiRead
Old school new school need to learn though I burn baby, burn like Disco Inferno Burn slow like blunts with ya-yo Peel more skins than Idaho potato
The Notorious B.I.G.Read