Democracy divides people into workers and loafers. It makes no provision for those who have no time to work.
Karl KrausRead
How is the world ruled and led to war? Diplomats lie to journalists and believe these lies when they see them in print.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote critiques the disconnection between truth and communication in political affairs.
Karl Kraus suggests that the mechanisms of power and conflict, particularly in the context of diplomacy and war, are driven by deception. He highlights the way diplomats manipulate information and how journalists, who are supposed to convey truth, often accept these distortions as reality, leading to a cycle of misunderstanding and hostility in the world.
Themes
DiplomacyTruthWarDeceptionJournalism
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a speech about the importance of truth in journalism.
More from Karl Kraus
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War: first, one hopes to win; then one expects the enemy to lose; then, one is satisfied that he too is suffering; in the end, one is surprised that everyone has lost.
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Stupidity is an elemental force for which no earthquake is a match.
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Experiences are savings which a miser puts aside. Wisdom is an inheritance which a wastrel cannot exhaust.
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Sexuality poorly repressed unsettles some families; well repressed, it unsettles the whole world.
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He who learns death unlearns slavery.
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