Rory Stewart Quotes

When I was growing up in Iraq, there was an unbroken belief in progress and a great sense of optimism. It was a moment of nation building.

In our State the locomotive has waked up the sleeping energies of a great people, and is transforming wasted fields into blooming gardens, and arousing men and women from the dull and heavy sleep that dwells with satisfaction upon the past, into the bright intelligence that looks to a glorious future ….

For income growth to occur in a society, a large fraction of people must experience changes in the possible lives they imagine for themselves and their children, and these new visions of possible futures must have enough force to lead them to change the way they behave.

Since the war [WWII], the world has been rushing forward at an unprecedented and exhilarating speed … Yet Britain lags behind, lacking the will or the plan which can bring this future within the reach of us all.

It's not about what it is, it's about what it can become.

For time and the world do not stand still. Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future.

There are two things in Indian history - one is the incredible optimism and potential of the place, and the other is the betrayal of that potential - for example, corruption. Those two strands intertwine through the whole of Indian history, and maybe not just Indian history.

I think Europe is going in the right direction and we shouldn't be set back.

The possible is constantly being redefined, and I care deeply about helping humanity move forward.

There are three classes of men; the retrograde, the stationary and the progressive.

It would not be foolish to contemplate the possibility of a far greater progress still.

We have always held to the hope, the belief, the conviction that there is a better life, a better world, beyond the horizon.

For almost a century since 1918, the centralised nation-state has been the world's default political form. Its various experiments in industrialisation, urbanisation, mass literacy and consumerism have brought more people into public life.

Africa is progressing but maybe not in the way you think it is. Even if the overall picture looks good, we must all remain vigilant and not get complacent.

Progress and Poverty was the most closely knit, fascinating, and convincing specimen of argumentation that, I believe, ever sprang from the mind of man.

Growth is a panacea for many ills in society; not entirely, but many.

An interest in ideas is a sign of human life. People are fascinated by what the future is going to be - and the future is going to be an accumulation of ideas.

Today, the future of Venezuela won and, as we said, we repeat to everyone: there is a path, there is a path for progress, for the future, to make Venezuela a greater country.

In one aspect, my works record the history of the development of Chinese society. Concern about the situation of Chinese reality is one important theme of my works. I am trying to ask, 'How does our society develop? What are the problems in our society? Where is our direction leading?'

Each child is an adventure into a better life - an opportunity to change the old pattern and make it new.

I'm optimistic that we are actually seeing the opportunity of a generation being created in this.

Something has to change in the world. Without change, young people will have no future.

Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.

You can't find your way to social reform through the forces that made social reform necessary.

Give us 20 years, and you'll not recognize this country!