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Politics is ugly. Never doubt what small men will do for great power.

— Paolo Bacigalupi The Windup Girl (2009)

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More quotes by Paolo Bacigalupi

Nothing is certain—that is the first lesson.

The Windup Girl (2009)

Every time he makes plans for his future, he seems to fail. Every time he reaches forward, the world leans against him, pressing him down.

The Windup Girl (2009)

She does not know how little anyone cares to separate wheat from chaff, when all anyone wants to do is burn a field.

The Windup Girl (2009)

Laws are a fine thing on paper, but painful when no bribery can ease their bind.

The Windup Girl (2009)

If you bargain when they squeeze your balls, they will only squeeze again.

The Windup Girl (2009)

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Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it.

Albert Einstein

Every Communist must grasp the truth: Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.

Mao Zedong

Three-fourths of the Italian economy, industrial and agricultural, is in the hands of the state.

Benito Mussolini

Fear and destructiveness are the major emotional sources of fascism, eros belongs mainly to democracy.

Theodor Adorno The Authoritarian Personality (1950)

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