Wit & Wisdom

From Joseph Stalin, David Mamet, Benjamin Franklin

“Political power does not rest with those who cast votes; political power rests with those who count votes.”

Joseph Stalin, quoted in The Nation

“The definition of ambivalence is watching your mother-in-law drive over a cliff in your new Cadillac.”

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

“The desire not to be anything is the desire not to be.”

Ayn Rand, quoted in Forbes.com

“The size of a planet doesn’t strike you until you start looking for something.”

David Sedaris, quoted in The Boston Globe

“If a woman never lets herself go, how will she ever know how far she might have got?”

Germaine Greer, quoted in the Irish Independent

“Action is the antidote to despair.”

Joan Baez, quoted in Refdesk.com

“As we must account for every idle word, so must we account for every idle silence.”

Benjamin Franklin, quoted in the Danville, Ill., Commercial-News