Adam Michnik Quotes & Sayings (Page 2)

“An ethical action, like an unethical action, is usually analyzed by politicians purely in pragmatic terms.”

“Politics and ethics belong to different worlds.”

“The ethics of journalism are one thing. Another thing is the ethics of business.”

“Why am I such a Euro-enthusiast? Because I knew it was an anchor of democracy.”

“Every revolution, bloody or not, has two phases. The first phase is defined by the struggle for freedom, the second by the struggle for power and revenge on the votaries of the ancien regime.”

“The Polish freedom movement of 1968 lost its confrontation with police violence; the Prague Spring was crushed by the armies of five Warsaw Pact members. But in both countries, 1968 gave birth to a new political consciousness.”

“I believe that a man can only be useful to his country when he can look at it clearly.”

“I do know that you have to choose between the logic of reconciliation and the logic of justice. Pure justice leads to new civil war. I prefer the negotiable revolution.”

“France can never accept that it is no longer a dominating power in the world of culture. This is true both of the French right and the French left. They keep thinking that Americans are primitive cowboys or farmers who do not understand anything.”

“For those of us imprisoned in Poland, the Prague Spring was a harbinger of hope.”