Alvaro de Vasconcelos famous quotes

The underlying reason for this is the Europeans' fear that Islamists could gain power. Many still consider authoritarian Arab regimes to be the lesser evil.
-- Alvaro de Vasconcelos

#Evil #Gains #Reason

Political Islam is not a homogeneous bloc.
-- Alvaro de Vasconcelos

#Political #Islam #Homogeneous

It's wrong to focus only on economic cooperation and then to hope that a sufficiently stable system will become democratic more or less by itself. The EU needs to urge its neighbors to pursue both economic stability and political modernization in equal measures.
-- Alvaro de Vasconcelos

#Focus #Political #Needs

When it comes to France, it seems to me the fundamental question is how a former colonial power should interact with its former colony.
-- Alvaro de Vasconcelos

#Fundamentals #France #Should

Of course former colonial powers are always more present and influential. They're the ones who need to defend the EU's values on the frontlines.
-- Alvaro de Vasconcelos

#Needs #Influential #Former

Tunisia is extremely dependent on economic conditions in Europe, which is why it also experienced shockwaves from the euro crisis.
-- Alvaro de Vasconcelos

#Europe #Euro Crisis #Tunisia

The beneficial effect of state intervention, especially in the form of legislation, is direct, immediate, and so to speak, visible, while its evil effects are gradual and indirect and lay out of sight ... Hence the majority of mankind must almost of necessity look with undue favor upon governmental intervention.

Now you see. We are all fugitives. We have always been fugitives from the void. Whatever comfort, whatever power we gain from outside of ourselves diminishes us -- because comfort and power, unless they are won from the void inside of us, are illusions that make us forget the emptyness that carries us. When we forget that, we believe we deserve comfort and power and so are capable of any evil. We deserve nothing but what we make of ourselves. We deserve nothing else. And when we understand that, then nothing is enough.

Every gain made by individuals or society is almost instantly taken for granted.

A man really writes for an audience of about ten persons. Of course if others like it, that is clear gain. But if those ten are satisfied, he is content.

War, once declared, must be waged offensively, aggressively. The enemy must not be fended off; but smitten down. You may then spare him every exaction, relinquish every gain, but „til then he must be struck incessantly and remorselessly.

It’s very easy for me to gain weight. Even though I tried not eating for a week when I was really young, I couldn’t do it any longer because I liked my food too much.

I believe in instinct, not reason. When reason is right, nine times out of ten it is impotent, and when it prevails, nine times out of ten it is wrong.

Religions are many, reason is one, we are all brothers.

The only reason you should be in college is to destroy it.

The reason why you know more funny dudes than funny chicks is that dudes are funnier than chicks.