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Each [ideology], in the oppressive air of conformity which ideologies create, will force public figures to conform or be ruined on the scaffold of ridicule. In a society of ideological believers, nothing is more ridiculous than the individual who doubts and does not conform.

— John Ralston Saul The Unconscious Civilization (1995)

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More quotes by John Ralston Saul

It is the considered opinion of most members of our rational élites that, in any given difference of opinion with reality, reality is wrong.

The Doubter's Companion (1994)

In all earlier civilizations, it should be remembered, commerce was treated as a narrow activity and by no means the senior sector in society.

The Doubter's Companion (1994)

It is undoubtedly easier to believe in absolutes, follow blindly, mouth received wisdom. But that is self-betrayal.

The Doubter's Companion (1994)

Which is ideology? Which not? You shall know them by their assertion of truth, their contempt for considered reflection, and their fear of debate.

The Doubter's Companion (1994)

There is something silly about grown men and women striving to reduce their vision of themselves and of civilization to bean counting.

The Doubter's Companion (1994)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: John Ralston Saul (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.