The best defence [for a democracy, for the public good] is aggressiveness, the aggressiveness of the involved citizen. We need to reassert that slow, time-consuming, inefficient, boring process that requires our involvement; it is called 'being a citizen.' The public… — John Ralston Saul Copy Share Image
Democracy is the only system capable of reflecting the humanist premise of equilibrium or balance. The key to its secret is the involvement of the citizen. — John Ralston Saul Copy Share Image
Of course, corporations and governments have a right to something for their money. They pay the wages. But they don't have the ethical right… — John Ralston Saul Copy Share Image
Some people don't like the 'comeback' because that suggests they went somewhere, which they didn't. That isn't what I mean. In my mind, people… — John Ralston Saul Copy Share Image
In the humanist ideal, the mainstream is where interesting debate, the generating of new ideas and creativity take place. In rational society this mainstream… — John Ralston Saul Copy Share Image
There's two ways of dealing with fears of mortality. One of them is to hide, so every day you wear the same suit and… — John Ralston Saul Copy Share Image
A foreigner is an individual who is considered either comic or sinister. When the victim of a disaster - preferably natural but sometimes political… — John Ralston Saul Copy Share Image
Rights are a protection from society. But only by fulfilling their obligations to society can the individual give meaning to that protection. (V -… — John Ralston Saul Copy Share Image
All the lessons of psychiatry, psychology, social work, indeed culture, have taught us over the last hundred years that it is the acceptance of… — John Ralston Saul Copy Share Image
The neo-conservatives, who are closely linked to the neo-corporatists, are rather different. They claim to be conservatives, when everything they stand for is a… — John Ralston Saul Copy Share Image
Armaments; extremely useful for fighting wars, a deadweight in any civil economy. — John Ralston Saul Copy Share Image
In the European tradition, rivers are seen as divisions between peoples. But in the Aboriginal tradition, rivers are seen as the glue, the highway,… — John Ralston Saul Copy Share Image
“Basic technical training is, of course, useful. But to treat it as anything more than that is to lock students into technology that will… — John Ralston Saul Copy Share Image
Bankers - pillars of society who are going to hell if there is a God and He has been accurately quoted. — John Ralston Saul Copy Share Image
If allowed to run free of the social system, capitalism will attempt to corrupt and undermine democracy, which is after all not a natural… — John Ralston Saul Copy Share Image
For about 125 years, give or take, the Canadian government has acted extremely badly - even in a way which should be called evil… — John Ralston Saul Copy Share Image
Ten geographers who think the world is flat will tend to reinforce each other's errors ... Only a sailor can set them straight. — John Ralston Saul Copy Share Image
![“The best defence [for a democracy, for the public good] is aggressiveness, the aggressiveness of the involved citizen. We need to reassert that slow, time-consuming, inefficient, boring process that requires our involvement; it is called 'being a citizen.' The public good is not something that you…” quote by John Ralston Saul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/612/john-ralston-saul-3128_aggressiveness_the-best-defence-for-a-democracy-for-the_1365828.jpg)
