A doctrine is something that pins you down to a given mode of conduct and dozens of situations which you cannot foresee, which is a great mistake in principle. When the word 'containment' was used in my 'X' article, it… — George F. Kennan Copy Share Image
Above all, it behooves us to repress, and if possible to extinguish once and for all, our inveterate tendency to judge others by the extent to which they contrive to be like ourselves. — George F. Kennan Copy Share Image
We should not lose ourselves in vainglorious sohemes for changing human nature all over the planet. Rather, we should learn to view ourselves with… — George F. Kennan Copy Share Image
Forms of government are forged mainly in the fire of practice, not in the vacuum of theory. They respond to national character and to… — George F. Kennan Copy Share Image
“In the face of this situation we would be better off to dispense now with a number of the concepts which have underlined our… — George F. Kennan Copy Share Image
“If you accept a democratic system, this means that you are prepared to put up with those of its workings, legislative or administrative, with… — George F. Kennan Copy Share Image
The jealous and intolerant eye of the Kremlin can distinguish, in the end, only vassals and enemies, and the neighbors of Russia, if they… — George F. Kennan Copy Share Image
Do people ever reflect, one wonders, that the best way to protect against the penetration of one's secrets by others is to have the… — George F. Kennan Copy Share Image
Actually, the inability of any society to resist immigration, the inability to find other solutions to the problem of employment at the lower, more… — George F. Kennan Copy Share Image
There is more respect to be won in the opinion of this world by a resolute and courageous liquidation of unsound positions than by… — George F. Kennan Copy Share Image
The nuclear bomb is the most useless weapon ever invented. It can be employed to no rational purpose. It is not even an effective… — George F. Kennan Copy Share Image
The United States cannot reshape other countries in its own image and that, with a few exceptions, its efforts to police the world are… — George F. Kennan Copy Share Image
