Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice.
Woodrow WilsonRead
Since trade ignores national boundaries and the manufacturer insists on having the world as a market, the flag of his nation must follow him, and the doors of the nations which are closed against him must be battered down. Concessions obtained by financiers must be safeguarded by ministers of state, even if the sovereignty of unwilling nations be outraged in the process. Colonies must be obtained or planted, in order that no useful corner of the world may be overlooked or left unused.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the global nature of trade and the necessity for nations to engage in it, even at the expense of sovereignty.
Woodrow Wilson articulates the aggressive expansion of trade as a powerful force that transcends national boundaries. He argues that for manufacturers to thrive in a global market, nations must protect their interests, often resorting to force if necessary to ensure that markets are open and free for trade. This perspective reflects a utilitarian view of international relations, where economic benefits are prioritized over national sovereignty, leading to the establishment of colonies and exploitation of resources for the benefit of trade.
Themes
TradeGlobalizationSovereigntyEconomicsColonialism
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about globalization, this quote can be cited to illustrate the tension between trade and national sovereignty.
More from Woodrow Wilson
All quotes →The history of liberty is the history of limitations on the power of government, not the increase of it. When we resist, therefore, the concentration of power, we are resisting the processes of death, because concentration of power is what always precedes the destruction of human liberties.
Woodrow WilsonRead
We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers.
Woodrow WilsonRead
The way to stop financial joyriding is to arrest the chauffeur, not the automobile.
Woodrow WilsonRead
Once lead this people into war, and they'll forget there ever was such a thing as tolerance. To fight, you must be brutal and ruthless, and the spirit of ruthless brutality will enter into the very fiber of our national life, infecting Congress, the courts, the policeman on the beat, the man in the street.
Woodrow WilsonRead
The only use of an obstacle is to be overcome. All that an obstacle does with brave men is, not to frighten them, but to challenge them.
Woodrow WilsonRead
Similar quotes
There are nettles everywhere, but smooth, green grasses are more common still; the blue of heaven is larger than the cloud.
Elizabeth Barrett BrowningRead
That proves you are unusual,' returned the Scarecrow; 'and I am convinced that the only people worthy of consideration in this world are the unusual ones. For the common folks are like the leaves of a tree, and live and die unnoticed.
L. Frank BaumRead
There is only the moment. The now. Only what you are experiencing at this second is real.
Leo BuscagliaRead
I do have a sense of displacement as constant instability — the uninterrupted existence of everything that I love and care about is not guaranteed at all. I wait for catastrophes.
Aleksandar HemonRead
We humans do not understand compassion. In each moment of our lives, we betray it. Aye, we know of its worth, yet in knowing we then attach to it a value, we guard the giving of it, believing it must be earned, T’lan Imass. Compassion is priceless in the truest sense of the wold. It must be given freely. In abundance.
Steven EriksonRead
Several times I asked myself, "Can it be that I have overlooked something, that there is something which I have failed to understand? Is it not possible that this state of despair is common to everyone?" And I searched for an answer to my questions in every area of knowledge acquired by man. For a long time I carried on my painstaking search; I did not search casually, out of mere curiosity, but painfully, persistently, day and night, like a dying man seeking salvation. I found nothing.
Leo TolstoyRead