Paul Wolfowitz Quotes

My dream of politics all my life has been that it is the common business, that it is something we owe to each other to understand and discuss with absolute frankness.

Without glasnost there is not, and there cannot be, democratism, the political creativity of the masses and their participation in management.

Africa must develop a genuine culture of alternation and opposition, without which democracy in any country, including the West, cannot exist.

I want either less corruption, or more chance to participate in it.

Democracy, disciplined and enlightened, is the finest thing in the world.

The people of Zimbabwe have a responsibility to ensure that the government that they elected behaves properly.

Advocacy groups and voters are not wrong to push candidates to declare their position clearly on policy issues. That is good citizenship. Hard questions should be asked of every candidate, every politician. And those public servants should be prepared to answer, but in their own words.

Democracy is not simply a question of structures. It is a state of mind. It is an activity. And part of that activity is honesty.

One of our most noble political tasks is to open up trust.

In a democracy, dissent is an act of faith.

In a democracy, citizens pass judgment on their government, and if they are kept in the dark about what their government is doing, they cannot be in a position to make well-grounded decisions.

In general people feel more relaxed about participating in politics. They aren't frightened as they used to be.

I think the record shows that as Speaker, I have taken the lead in cleaning up politics.

A full and fair discussion is essential to democracy.

So long as we have enough people in this country willing to fight for their rights, we'll be called a democracy.

Democracy is not just an election, it is our daily life.

Things are better for the country if there is [political] competition. But these people [Haitian politicians] are not used to competition … Each has a monopoly in his own area. I’m trying to change that.

Elections alone will never be enough to ensure good governance.

Free and open communications is the best guarantee of democracy.

Getting involved in politics was a quest for freedom.

What is good for democracy is good for America.

Democracy is much too important to be left to public opinion.

It's a very painful and difficult process of many mistakes when people receive the right to vote, to elect their leaders when they become the subject for mass media for political manipulation. In particular, in a country like Russia, because we had to go through this period very quickly, it has been, I would say, a crash course in democracy

Somehow we must be able to show people that democracy is not about words, but action.

Freedom of economic determination is inseparably linked up with civic rights and with the possibility of influencing and determining the social and political life of the commonwealth.