October 19, 2025

When a man speaks of the need for realism one may be sure that this is always the prelude to some bloody deed.

Isaiah Berlin (1909–1997), British social and political theorist, quoted in The Times (1981), in The Cynic’s Lexicon, Jonathon Green, ed. (London: 1986), p.23

When was the last time you pleaded for some other bugger to be more realistic? What was the poisoned chalice you were passing his way?

Idealism is a wonderful thing, but if you want to get anything done in the political realm you need votes, and that often drives the process down more than a few notches.