In government, the forces of risk-aversion and constant conflict serve to stultify and narrow the range of ideas up for debate.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Risk is trying to control something you are powerless over.
Unfortunately, the true force which propels our endless political disputes, our constant struggles for political advantage, is often not our burning concern for democracy, it is often of our dedication to the principle of the rule of law.
I view risk-aversion as crippling America in many ways.
It is impossible to anticipate all of the misdeeds engendered by the universal conflict of human passions. They multiply at a compound rate with the growth in population and the interlacing of particular interests that cannot be directed with geometrical precision towards the public utility.
The risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of indecision.
When the initial effort of political and business leaders to influence public opinion on an issue is to threaten rather than to engage and persuade, they further arouse public opposition rather than win support.
The work of the political activist inevitably involves a certain tension between the requirement that position be taken on current issues as they arise and the desire that one's contributions will somehow survive the ravages of time.
Political risk is hard to manage because so much comes down to the personal choices of policymakers, whether prime ministers or heads of central banks.
A political theory seeks to find from history the limits of the politically possible.
People are used to dealing with risk.