Abhijit Banerjee Quotes

We can do better, and we must hold the politicians accountable to do better.

I ran for president in order to be able to try to change Washington D.C. from the inside. Our federal government is broken.

There's lots about politics I don't feel comfortable with. To talk about the politics of future ideas is impossible in soundbite form.

I mean those people who are interested in good government will certainly contribute in order to make certain there's some counter-balance to those whose interests in good government is less.

Good public service is good practical politics…. My goal is to strengthen the [Republican] Party by bettering it..

When I was a youngster, I and people like us, who are educated and progressive-minded, did not take interest in politics. But then I realised that half of the parliament is being run by politicians with criminal records.

I want to do something to change the mistrust towards politicians.

I am kind of an idealist but I became a DUP member because I believe politics should have a footing in harsh reality.

If you have reservations about the system and want to change it, the democratic argument goes, do so within the system: put yourself forward as a candidate for political office, subject yourself to the scrutiny and the vote of fellow citizens. Democracy does not allow for politics outside the democratic system. In this sense, democracy is totalitarian.

We will use new technology to hard-wire the kind of [transparency] reform and accountability into the culture of government so that it can’t be undone in the next administration.

It is necessary to have lived in this insulator which is called the national assembly, in order to perceive how the men who are the most completely ignorant of the state of the country are almost always the ones who represent it.

Political parties have a responsibility to create a healthy political situation in the country. If any party tries to move in a direction that is against the national interest, it will not be allowed to continue its activities.

Especially among journalists, politics is not a pursuit that's held in high esteem. We tend to be cynical about it - but I actually believe in democracy.

Republicans need to stop making assumptions, and they need to start talking to younger people, people of color, and ask them - not talk to them - ask them, 'What is it that we can do better? How do we earn your vote? How do we earn the ability for you to see that we can be the party that will make your life better and that of your children?'

I'm an FDR Democrat, and I really believe that the most important thing is the institutions of political parties, and engaging in those institutions, and, where you disagree with them, speaking up and sharing your disagreement.

For me, it all comes down to one issue: if we can get money out of political systems, the whole world will change.

We need to figure out how to merge political progress with actual progress.

When you go to our political system, I feel like it's intentionally kept in the last century. In every other facet of life, we turn to social media for instant response time, complete transparency.

Congress is corrupt, gridlocked, broken, dysfunctional. It's not working and we need it working again. It's not going to get fixed by people who are deeply, in one way or another, inside this really broken system.

We need elected officials who care more about policy than politics.

I believe that politics is a matter of person. Specifically in the Fifth French Republic. In a healthy political system, a political party should resemble its leader.

Pretty much every prime minister since I can remember has made me mad.

I know that we have to get in there and do something if we want to change the system and get a better government. But the whole task is very daunting. If I join either the Congress or the BJP, I will be forced to follow their systems and then I may not be able to do anything significant to change things.

The BJP has decided that politics is for values and ideals, and for this, an age limit has been decided. I think that for democracy and for political parties, this is a good indicator. It will be good if all the political parties adhere to this, thereby strengthening India's democracy.

A lot of people have the expectation that politicians shouldn't just disappear into the woodwork even if they didn't win the election.