David Graeber Quotes

If the auto plants in Detroit would just sit around the table and say, 'What do we gotta do to make this thing work?' Instead of, 'I want this and I want that.' They might make it.

I think that people have to reward those individuals who are prepared to work across the political aisle. I don't see any other way; if you don't talk to people with whom you disagree, you're never going to solve problems.

Negotiations can create conditions that can lead to solutions.

If we can’t agree on the facts, how can we agree on the solutions?

By nature, I am a unifier. I am a builder of consensus. I don't believe in sloppy compromise. But I do believe in bringing people together.

You need people that are willing to talk to the other side, or you're never going to get anything done. You need to be willing to expand your ground. There's always usually a place on issues where you can find common ground.

If there are differences of views or divergence of ideas, they can be resolved through discussion and dialogue.

We have to find compromises. That's the way it is in Norway.

My job is to come up with something that you like and you agree with that you would play wholeheartedly. If we disagree, I may not be doing my job correctly.

I sure tried to help deliver compromise, consensus, bipartisanship.

Costa Rica believes in building bridges, in looking for solutions to problems, and not clinging to positions.

There comes a point, in any kind of, whether it's in your family discussions or business or whatever, where you finally have to get over the making of the points and now let's see if we can find common ground.

You can never solve a problem without talking to people with whom you disagree. The United States Senate is predicated and based on consensus building. That was certainly the vision of the founding fathers.

We aren't going to agree on everything and there will be other areas where we will be working together.

I believe any time that both parties are talking, it's a good thing.

We want everybody to act like adults, quit playing games, realize that it's not just my way or the highway.

The main purpose of dialogue is to come to an agreement on how the two parties can work together, realize their mutual interests, and avoid conflict as much as possible

Compromise, compromise and compromise.

It ought not to be beyond the intelligence of even the most hidebound local politician to see the benefits of imaginative compromise.

One of the ways usually that you build a bipartisan agreement is one side gives up a little, and the other side gives up a little.

The best way to promote and protect opportunity is through collaboration, consensus-building, and pragmatic problem-solving. Throughout nearly 30 years in public service, I have approached tough challenges by making room for as many people as possible around the table in search of common ground.

Good governance requires working toward common ground. It isn't easy.

We cannot agree on everything but we must agree on the framework.

My mother's style has always been consensus-generating.

We want to move forward in a bipartisan fashion to solve our problems.