Ian Hacking Quotes

Knowledge is power. Information is power. The secreting or hoarding of knowledge or information may be an act of tyranny camouflaged as humility.

Information, knowledge, is power. If you can control information, you can control people.

An expert is someone who is capable of articulating the interests of people with power.

Facts are only tools to gain control over yourself and other people.

The world is ruled by force, not by opinion; but opinion uses force.

Information is control.

Opinion is, as it were, the queen of the world, but force is its tyrant.

Next to enjoying ourselves, the next greatest pleasure consists in preventing others from enjoying themselves, or, more generally, in the acquisition of power.

America is a knowledge-based society, where information counts as much as material resources. Therefore those with the power to define what qualifies as knowledge - to determine what are the accepted facts - wield the greatest social and political power.

The word power has such a generally negative implication in our society. What are people talking about? Are they talking about muscles, or control?

The concept of power we admire is power over someone else.

Real politics are the possession and distribution of power.

Power is not just political. It can be cultural; it can be spiritual.

There are no living beings who exert more power over others, pound for pound, than tiny babies and extremely thin moguls.

The less people know about what is going on, the easier it is to wield power and authority.

Power is being able to affect the hegemony of existing systems.

We lead them to believe that we are in complete control over every aspect of their lives.

To govern men, you must either excel them in their accomplishments, or despise them.

Power resides where men believe power resides.

The effect of dominance is not always the result of an intention to dominate.

It is the nature of government and of technology to establish control.

An expert is someone who articulates the needs of those in power.

Force rules the world-not opinion; but it is opinion that makes use of force.

The hand that controls the supper dish rules the world!

A portion of the multitude must ever be coerced.