Wisdom by Issawi
12 pieces of wisdom
“At any given moment, a society contains a certain amount of accumulated and accruing aggressiveness. If more than 21 years elapse without this aggressiveness being directed outward, in a popular war against other countries, it turns inward, in social unrest, civil disturbances, and political disruption.”
“Comitas comitatum, omnia comitas.”
“The less you enjoy serving on committees, the more likely you are to be pressed to do so.”
“The total amount of evil in any system remains constant. Hence, any diminution in one direction -- for instance, a reduction in poverty or unemployment -- is accompanied by an increase in another, e.g., crime or air pollution.”
“Other people's patterns of expenditure and consumption are highly irrational and slightly immoral.”
“Cynics are right nine times out of ten; what undoes them is their belief that they are right ten times out of ten.”
“When we call others dogmatic, what we really object to is their holding dogmas that are different from our own.”
“Experts in advanced countries underestimate by a factor of 2 to 4 the ability of people in underdeveloped countries to do anything technical.”
“One cannot make an omelette without breaking eggs -- but it is amazing how many eggs one can break without making a decent omelette.”
“The Course of Progress: Most things get steadily worse. The Path of Progress: A shortcut is the longest distance between two points. The Dialectics of Progress: Direct action produces direct reaction. The Pace of Progress: Society is a mule, not a car . . . If pressed too hard, it will kick and throw off its rider.”
“By the time a social science theory is formulated in such a way that it can be tested, changing circumstances have already made it obsolete.”
“Each system has its own way of consuming vast amounts of paper: in socialist societies by filling large forms in quadruplicate, in capitalist societies by putting up huge posters and wrapping every article in four layers of cardboard.”