What if there was a library which held every book? Not every book on sale, or every important book, or even every book in English, but simply every book - a key part of our planet's cultural legacy.
Aaron SwartzRead
Without the ability to talk about government power, there's no way for citizens to make sure this power isn't being misused.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Citizens must discuss government power to prevent its misuse.
This quote by Aaron Swartz emphasizes the importance of open dialogue about the power held by governments. It suggests that without citizens engaging in conversations about governance, there is a significant risk of that power being abused or misused, leading to a lack of accountability in political systems.
Themes
GovernmentPowerCitizensAccountabilityDialogue
In practice
Example use cases
During a town hall meeting focused on local governance.
More from Aaron Swartz
All quotes →Large corporations, of course, are blinded by greed. The laws under which they operate require it - their shareholders would revolt at anything less.
Aaron SwartzRead
We need to download scientific journals and upload them to file-sharing networks.
Aaron SwartzRead
Think deeply about things. Don’t just go along because that’s the way things are or that’s what your friends say. Consider the effects, consider the alternatives, but most importantly, just think.
Aaron SwartzRead
But like all power, there are those who want to keep it for themselves. The world's entire scientific and cultural heritage, published over centuries in books and journals, is increasingly being digitized and locked up by a handful of private corporations. Want to read the papers featuring the most famous results of the sciences? You'll need to send enormous amounts to publishers like Reed Elsevier.
Aaron SwartzRead
Information is power. But like all power, there are those who want to keep it for themselves.
Aaron SwartzRead
Similar quotes
If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal.
Emma GoldmanRead
Look, I worked with American Republican presidents and Democratic presidents, all of them, and each of them has shown a deep and profound friendship to Israel, you know? I can't remember anybody who was in that sense negative as far as Israel is concerned.
Shimon PeresRead
I do not diminish the incredible symbolic importance of a black man getting elected president. But my euphoria was a smart guy getting elected president. Maybe for the first time in my lifetime we had elected one of the thousand smartest Americans president.
Aaron SorkinRead
Our 'neoconservatives' are neither new nor conservative, but old as Bablyon and evil as Hell.
Edward AbbeyRead
Among the numerous advantages promised by a well-constructed Union, none deserves to be more accurately developed than its tendency to break and control the violence of faction.
James MadisonRead
People see America through particular lenses, either their profession, their race or their gender. So the party that speaks to our racial perceptions and offers solutions to the racial difficulties which we face is the party that's going to be rewarded with our votes.
Julian BondRead