Society has to change, but the political powers we have at the moment are not enough to effect this change. The whole democratic system would have to be rethought.

Quote by Jose Saramago

Topics: Jose Saramago Quotes

In effect I am not a novelist, but rather a failed essayist who started to...

In effect I am not a novelist, but rather a failed essayist who started to...

Words were not given to man in order to conceal his thoughts.

Words were not given to man in order to conceal his thoughts.

Look what happened with the employment law in France-the law was withdrawn because the people...

Look what happened with the employment law in France-the law was withdrawn because the people...

The world is governed by institutions that are not democratic - the World Bank, the...

The world is governed by institutions that are not democratic - the World Bank, the...

The world had already changed before September 11. The world has been going through a...

The world had already changed before September 11. The world has been going through a...

I never appreciated 'positive heroes' in literature. They are almost always cliches, copies of copies,...

I never appreciated 'positive heroes' in literature. They are almost always cliches, copies of copies,...

There are plenty of reasons not to put up with the world as it is.

There are plenty of reasons not to put up with the world as it is.

We're not short of movements proclaiming that a different world is possible, but unless we...

We're not short of movements proclaiming that a different world is possible, but unless we...

People live with the illusion that we have a democratic system, but it's only the...

People live with the illusion that we have a democratic system, but it's only the...

There are times when it is best to be content with what one has, so...

There are times when it is best to be content with what one has, so...

Americans have discovered the fragility of life, that ominous fragility that the rest of the...

Americans have discovered the fragility of life, that ominous fragility that the rest of the...

Perhaps it is the language that chooses the writers it needs, making use of them...

Perhaps it is the language that chooses the writers it needs, making use of them...

I can't imagine myself outside any kind of social or political involvement.

I can't imagine myself outside any kind of social or political involvement.

This is how everyone has to begin, men who have never known a woman, women...

This is how everyone has to begin, men who have never known a woman, women...

Abstention means you stayed at home or went to the beach. By casting a blank...

Abstention means you stayed at home or went to the beach. By casting a blank...

Without the faintest possibility of finding a job, I decided to devote myself to literature:...

Without the faintest possibility of finding a job, I decided to devote myself to literature:...

I always ask two questions: How many countries have military bases in the United States?...

I always ask two questions: How many countries have military bases in the United States?...

It is economic power that determines political power, and governments become the political functionaries of...

It is economic power that determines political power, and governments become the political functionaries of...

A human being is a being who is constantly 'under construction,' but also, in a...

A human being is a being who is constantly 'under construction,' but also, in a...

I presume that nobody will deny the positive aspects of the North American cultural world....

I presume that nobody will deny the positive aspects of the North American cultural world....