"But, in the late twentieth century, it became more important to many leftists to save “Third World” culture, no matter how barbaric, from “neo-colonialism,” than to support equality and democracy. People on the left would defend brutal dictators (Castro, Mao, Pol Pot, Khomeini, et al.) simply because they opposed “Western imperialism.” As a result, all politics that were derived, no matter how loosely, from Marxism, lost credibility, and finally died in 1989. This was naturally a disaster for communists and socialists, but also for social democrats, for they had lost an ideological basis for their idealism. And, without idealism, politics becomes a form of accounting, a management of purely material interests."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
EditorsEducators from the NetherlandsHistorians from the NetherlandsNovelists from the NetherlandsEssayists from the Netherlands
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Ian Buruma What’s Left After 1989?
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ian_Buruma
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Ian Buruma
4 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Ian Buruma →
Related Quotes
"It was, as we know, not so much eradicated as replaced by a Communist orthodoxy after 1949. And when this orthodoxy b…"
"The question, then, for Western companies, as much as for Western governments, is to decide whose side they are on: t…"
"Obama is neither a socialist, nor a mere political accountant. He has some modest ideals, and may yet be an excellent…"
"Education has no boundaries or age limit."
"A keen artist can review a book from anywhere but may view the content from a different point of view."
"“my words can’t express gratitude but the smile of a child is the greatest motivation and is enormously rewarding”"
"Being great is being passionate about what you do and seeing the benefit of that through the eyes of other people."
"Your success is not your own, it is determined by many other influences"
"You need to step back, don’t judge and take a breath"
"You have to reflect very closely on decisions you make as they affect not only you but also others around you."