Mearsheimer Quotes & Sayings

The German air offensives against British cities in World Wars I and II not only failed to coerce the United Kingdom to surrender, but Germany also lost both wars. — John Mearsheimer

Look, bimba - In my country we have a - how you say? - a proverb. Amare, cantare, mangiare. - Loving, singing, eating - these are God's three gifts. You don' need more. — Anya Seton

It seemed clear that wars were not made by generations and their special stupidities, but that wars were made instead by something ignorant in the human heart — John Knowles

The liberal tradition has its roots in the Enlightenment, that period in the eighteenth-century Europe when intellectuals and political leaders had a powerful sense that reason could be employed to make the world a better place. — John Mearsheimer

It's the ancient instinct: In times of great danger, be wary of strangers. Trust no one outside your circle. But there's another instinct, far older, as old as life itself, nearly impossible for the human mind to override: Protect the young at all costs. Preserve the future." - Vosch — Rick Yancey

Important benefits often accrue to states that behave in an unexpected way. — John Mearsheimer

The Soviet Union and its empire disappeared in large part because its smokestack economy could no longer keep up with the technological progress of the world's major economic powers. — John Mearsheimer

In the 1930s, Adolf Hitler believed that his great-power rivals would be easy to exploit and isolate because each had little interest in fighting Germany and instead was determined to get someone else to assume the burden. He guessed right. — John Mearsheimer

A child who has a grandparent has a softened view of life, the feeling that there is more to life than what we see, more than getting and gaining, winning and losing. — Lois Wyse

Offensive realism predicts that the United States will send its army across the Atlantic when there is a potential hegemon in Europe that the local great powers cannot contain by themselves. — John Mearsheimer

Thus began Outrage from liveless things; but Discord first Daughter of Sin, among th' irrational, Death introduc'd through fierce antipathie: Beast now with Beast gan war, & Fowle with Fowle, And Fish with Fish; to graze the Herb all leaving, Devourd each other; nor stood much in awe Of Man, but fled him, or with count'nance grim Glar'd on him passing: these were from without The growing miseries, which ADAM saw Alreadie in part, though hid in gloomiest shade, To sorrow abandond, but worse felt within, And in a troubl'd Sea of passion tost, Thus to disburd'n sought with sad complaint. — John Milton

In the anarchic world of international politics, it is better to be Godzilla than Bambi. — John Mearsheimer

The most dangerous states in the international system are continental powers with large armies. — John Mearsheimer

I'm a bit of a pessimist, oh yeah, and I always think the film I'm about to make is going to be a disaster. — Lenny Abrahamson

Great powers must be forever vigilant and never subordinate survival to any other goal, including prosperity. — John Mearsheimer

We should find ourselves committed to killing a great many people whom we now leave living ... A part of eugenic politics would finally land us in an extensive use of the lethal chamber. A great many people would have to be put out of existence simply because it wastes other people's time to look after them. — George Bernard Shaw

This self-defeating behavior, so the argument goes, must be the result of warped domestic politics. — John Mearsheimer

The war effects me less than it ought. I can do no service to anybody by agitating for news or making dole over the slaughter. — Wilfred Owen

I believe that the existing power structures in Europe and Northeast Asia are not sustainable through 2020. — John Mearsheimer

Decapitation is a fanciful strategy. — John Mearsheimer

The woman who can create her own job is the woman who will win fame and fortune. — Amelia Earhart

States care about relative wealth, because economic might is the foundation of military might. — John Mearsheimer

States have two kinds of power: latent power and military power. — John Mearsheimer

In an ideal world, where there are only good states, power would be largely irrelevant. — John Mearsheimer

Simply put, the most powerful state is the one that prevails in a dispute. — John Mearsheimer

It has been a period where people have been far nicer to one another in every possible way. I'm not saying it's because we're dropping our empathy that we're nicer to each other, just that the drop doesn't seem to be causing any harm. — Paul Bloom

When World War II started on September 1, 1939, the German army contained 3.74 million soldiers and 103 divisions. — John Mearsheimer

The whole thrust in my life right now is spinning my assignments around and making them work in a more personal way ( ... ) I wanted to go back and do the original thing: one camera, one lens, one film. You really have to put yourself in a position of danger to be creative. — David Alan Harvey

Bandwagoning is a strategy for the weak. — John Mearsheimer

The sad fact is that international politics has always been a ruthless and dangerous business, and it is likely to remain that way. — John Mearsheimer

The ideal situation for any state is to experience sharp economic growth while its rivals' economies grow slowly or hardly at all. — John Mearsheimer

A state's potential power is based on the size of its population and the level of its wealth. — John Mearsheimer

China, in short has the potential to be considerably more powerful than even the United States. — John Mearsheimer