The grand schemes of liberation, however indistinct and amorphous, can quickly be compromised, consumed by petty disputes and local hatreds.

Counter-violence against the colonial regime is liberatory because it is an act, and by acting, the absolute power of colonialism, internalized by the colonized, is shaken.

Violence is the first means and the last resort to pacify a people, and thus is something we need to continue to consider after the gunfire has ended.

Many of the democratization projects are a real threat to real democracy.

Manicheanism is like a vacuum, it is an either or situation that curtails or destroys the development of liberatory thought.

The military defeat of an oppressive regime is important, but it does not answer our problems. It is where our problems begin, since social change cannot be reduced to a military solution.

The revolts themselves open up something very new. One has to be aware, or listen, or open one's mind to what are the new beginnings.

Fifty years is the long time to think about a thinker's relevance or to think of the relevance of their work to a contemporary period.

The Syrian people do not recognize themselves in the elite politics of the Muslim Brotherhood or the left, each of which is looking for an external power rather than the people's own self-activity.

There are no unresourceful people, only those who choose not to care about the results.

It is the sheer ugliness and banality of everyday life which turns my blood to ice and makes me cringe in terror.

In every single one of us lies a mind that's powerful enough to articulate some amazing ideas, which could be turned into a great financial success

The problem is that no ethical system has ever achieved consensus. Ethical systems are completely unlike mathematics or science. This is a source of concern.

The body can do amazing things in a situation when it is really called for.

Do not rely completely on any other human being, however dear. We meet all life's greatest tests alone.

Beauty is much more intimidating than brutality.

If I want to wear a long flowing dress, someone will say I'm pregnant.

Both religions and musicals work best with energetic and committed believers. Cynicism or detachment would have destroyed the magic - something true of religion, too.

There are things that have excited me to no end, and it's the sharing of knowledge that has come about on the network, and I see at an increasing pace this ability to share what we know.