Ai Weiwei Quotes

What we have to do is strike a balance between the idea that government shall do everything and the idea that government shall do nothing.

If you look at government policy generally, what government tries to do in all instances is to make sure that we take care of all elements that might relate to a particular issue.

In our current frame of mind, or paradigm, or whatever you want to call it, we like to think that marshalling government policy is the way to get things done.

The challenge has been, we make policy in the world of politics.

Government should steer, not row.

It matters more how governments behave than how big they are.

Government has a legitimate sphere of operation. The problem arises when that sphere continually expands, encompassing areas where government lacks legitimacy.

I believe all universities should at least offer courses in politics and policy implementation.

If you are really interested in making government work, you should have the experience of working in government.

There's nothing to be said for opposition. You can only talk about things and you can lay your plans. You can't actually achieve very much; you have to be in government for that.

Good policy makes good politics and what I've done has been good politics.

Government has much wider dimensions than merely managing an economy.

Those of you who end up in public service will come to appreciate the difficulty of wielding the extraordinary power of the government effectively and fairly. Much of this power is housed in the many departments and agencies that are charged with carrying out specific functions of government. Those who do not have daily interactions with a government agency may not realize just how much influence bureaucracies wield.

The question of our time is rapidly becoming can government get things done?

Politics is the art of stopping people from minding their own business.

I did not love politics. As a matter of fact, I hated politics. I loved governing which is … a different thing.

Government should do a few things, and do them right

Government exists to create and preserve conditions in which people can translate their ideas into practical reality. In the best of times, much is lost in translation. But we try.

Who knows what the hell a government is or what the hell a government does.

In our complex world, there cannot be fruitful initiative without government, but unfortunately there can be government without initiative.

Economic policy and decision making do not function in a political vacuum.

All government is an ugly necessity.

What is the government? Nothing, unless supported by opinion.

Personally, I think government is a tool, like a hammer. You can use a hammer to build or you can use a hammer to destroy; there is nothing intrinsically good or evil about the hammer itself. It is the purposes to which it is put and the skill with which it is used that determine whether the hammer's work is good or bad.

The high-minded definition of politics is: 'the art or science of government; the art or science concerned with guiding or influencing governmental policy.' It is only when you keep reading in Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary that you get closer to the truth: 'political activities characterized by artful and often dishonest practices'.