Dean Acheson Quotes
With a nation, as with a boxer, one of the greatest assurances of safety is to add reach to power.
Acheson, Dean. Power and Diplomacy. Harvard University Press, 1958, p. 27.
It is hard for us to envision that sophisticated and intelligent men like Sherman would actually see Communism as a danger of defeating capitalism. Our intelligence was poor and often exaggerated to justify military buildups and much of the leadership made statements like this and then many began to believe their own propaganda. Ironically, those who knew communism the best were more aware and realistic of the fatal flaws in not only communism in general but in the particular Soviet repressive version of communism. It would take almost 50 years, but the Soviet Union collapsed revealing its weaknesses for all to see.
During her adult life, she was the de facto ruler of China. This quotation is very important because it gives us an important insight into Chinese motives and historical drivers. The first reason is something almost all countries and cultures can identify with, but the second--to avoid being looked down—was just as important. Americans are relatively uncaring what the citizens of other countries think about them, but the Chinese do. So do other nationalities and cultures like the Arabs, the Iranians, many of the South American cultures. Often it takes on a different world like “dignity” or “respect”.
Dean Gooderham Acheson was an American statesman and lawyer. As United States Secretary of State in the administration of President Harry S. Truman from 1949 to 1953, he played a central role in defining American foreign policy during the Cold War. Acheson helped design the Marshall Plan and was a key player in the development of the Truman Doctrine and creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
