Richard A. Falk famous quotes

The existing order is breaking down at a very rapid rate, and the main uncertainty is whether mankind can exert a positive role in shaping a new world order or is doomed to await collapse in a passive posture. We believe a new orderwill be born no later than early in the next century and that the death throes of the old and the birth pangs of the new will be a testing time for the human species.
-- Richard A. Falk

#Believe #Order #Creepy

When Daniel Gorenstein was chair, he did mathematics from 5am to 12noon, spending the second half of his working day on administration. When I was chair, I also spent half of my time on research: every other minute.
-- Richard A. Falk

#Science #Research #Half

When I told my son that I had to give a talk about my work to non-mathematicians, he warned me that regular people don't think like mathematicians.
-- Richard A. Falk

#Son #Science #Thinking

When I told my mother that I have to give a talk, and was debating what could I possibly say to non-mathematicians, she said: "You got what to wear?".
-- Richard A. Falk

#Mother #Science #Giving

The Method of Bisection is a sophisticated version of a tool used in fifth grade called "Guess and Check".
-- Richard A. Falk

#Science #Tools #Fifth Grade

I once got a call from a bank, asking me to compute a mortgage, since their computers were down. This was a very depressing moment.
-- Richard A. Falk

#Depressing #Science #Asking

I don't like to end my talk with a 700 million dollar loss, even if it shows the importance of Numerical Analysis.
-- Richard A. Falk

#Loss #Science #Analysis

The central task of our time is to evolve a new system of world order based on principles of peace and justice.
-- Richard A. Falk

#Order #Justice #Principles

Hamas retains the right to defend Gaza by the use of the weaponry at its disposal, and is thus not committed to nonviolence, but it does offer the possibility of greater peace and stability for both Israelis and Palestinians if the label of "terrorism" was abandoned and the search for accommodation was commenced in good faith.
-- Richard A. Falk

#Doe #Labels #Use

The main challenge is what to do in the face of double standards. Those who should be rendered accountable under international criminal law, the Kissingers of this world, enjoy de facto impunity, while those who come from countries that have long been targets of hegemonic abuse are used as poster children of accountability.
-- Richard A. Falk

#Country #Children #Law

Historically, international law lent a measure of legality to the colonial system, and allowed the West to set the rules for participation as a sovereign state on a global level. It also protected the interests of foreign investment in countries of the global South even when these were exploitative, and deprived countries of the benefits of resources situated within their territories.
-- Richard A. Falk

#Country #Law #Benefits

As Gandhi famously responded when asked about "Western civilization," "I wish they had one," the same applies to "international community": "I wish there was one."
-- Richard A. Falk

#Civilization #Community #Wish

An aggravating feature of this post-9/11 atmosphere is to cast suspicions on Muslims and on Islam as a religion that is interpreted as either inherently violent or death-oriented, with a particular animus against America and Americans.
-- Richard A. Falk

#America #Atmosphere #Islam

The fact that Universal Jurisdiction exists in relation to serious international crimes does convey two important aspects of the global reality: first, that such individuals would be held accountable if international law was applied without regard to geopolitics, and second, that there is enough ambiguity about the reach of UJ that it inhibits such individuals and conveys an impression of de facto criminality.
-- Richard A. Falk

#Reality #Law #Two

It would seem to be the case that pressure on Iran to acquire nuclear weapons is almost totally driven by their need for a deterrent capability to avoid the fate of Iraq, Libya. The use of American military force in Syria thus sends exactly the opposite message as supposedly desired to the leadership in Tehran - and to others. North Korea has been dealt with diplomatically because it has the bomb and might use it if provoked.
-- Richard A. Falk

#Military #Fate #Iran

We should not rule out the possibility that Trump's diplomacy could deescalate Middle East strife and international tensions, give the US a lower global profile and enable a more balanced world order to emerge, doing most of its damage here at home, through moves to implement his vision of nativist nationalism.
-- Richard A. Falk

#Moving #Home #Order

Looked at objectively, it is clear that the overwhelming majority of civilian deaths resulting from political violence are produced by what should be understood as "state terror." Terrorism also serves as an excuse to avoid diplomacy and the peaceful resolution of conflict.
-- Richard A. Falk

#Political #Peaceful #Majority

America is perhaps best viewed as an 'authoritarian democracy' within its own territory and as 'a global state' of a new kind when considered internationally.
-- Richard A. Falk

#America #Democracy #Territory

Any move by Israel to end the conflict with the Palestinians by unilateral moves - such as annexing the West Bank, delinking Gaza and declaring that there be no further diplomatic process - will lead to strong regional and global reactions, as well as intensify efforts at the UN and in civil society to brand Israel as an outlaw state dangerous to regional and world peace and guilty of criminal behavior.
-- Richard A. Falk

#Strong #Moving #Israel

To be a hegemon is inherently ambiguous, usually implying some mixture of dominance and legitimacy, that is, being seen as contributing global leadership in a generally benevolent manner.
-- Richard A. Falk

#Mixtures #Dominance #Legitimacy

International law in its counter-hegemonic uses is very important in any domain where issues of legitimacy are significant, but is rarely able to have a corresponding behavioural impact.
-- Richard A. Falk

#Issues #Impact #Law

At present, the United States, with over 700 foreign military bases, navies in every ocean, a programme to militarise space, and drone bases planned for all regions of the world, is increasingly perceived in relation to its hard power diplomacy, a threat to political independence and stability for many countries.
-- Richard A. Falk

#Country #Military #Ocean

Since Israel would rather re-experience Masada than renounce the core Zionist objective of establishing a Jewish state, the only one-state "solution" on the horizon of realistic possibilities is an Israeli "one state" that fulfills the messianic nationalist ideal embraced by deep Zionism, likely consisting of completing the expansionist process of recent years by incorporating all or most of the West Bank, casting Gaza adrift, consolidating control over Jerusalem, and transferring as many West Bank Palestinians as possible to Jordan.
-- Richard A. Falk

#Israel #Years #Horizon

Our sense of the free market is variable, shifting from a more welfare-oriented model after the Great Depression to a capital-driven market after the collapse of socialism as a viable alternative.
-- Richard A. Falk

#Alternatives #Variables #Shifting

What both the state and the capitalist economy oppose is an understanding of what might be called "the true nature of things" (using the phrase without metaphysical pretensions), especially injustices and exploitative practices.
-- Richard A. Falk

#Capitalist Economy #Practice #Understanding