The Water Thief Quotes

“But when I saw the price of water I nearly choked. In the last hour it had gone up tenfold. Buying some more information, I learned that there had been an attack, this time at a water treatment facility in Brookhurst. A corporation from a competing Karitzu paid a mercenary firm to blow it up, and raw sewage was now spilling into the aquifer.
My God! Did this happen before my shower? What about the toilet? Christ, I may have just blown six hundred caps on a single flush!
Hell, for the next few hours I couldn’t even afford to wash my hands.”
― Nicholas Lamar Soutter, The Water Thief

“Sarah Aisling: I can’t defend against these charges because I can’t afford a litigator. But I can’t afford a litigator because I’ve been charged.

Judge: You should have had insurance against contract suits.

Sarah Aisling: I did.

Judge: So what’s the problem?

Sarah Aisling: They canceled my insurance when I filed the claim.

Judge: So sue them!

Sarah Aisling: I can’t, I don’t have a litigator.

Judge: That’s very cute, Mrs. Aisling.”
― Nicholas Lamar Soutter, The Water Thief

“What a good government does, what a republic does, is moderate competition; allow the tug of war, but never let one side walk away with the rope. They also establish rule of law, and a safety net below which people cannot fall. Everybody can vote, everybody can share power, no matter how rich or poor. Everybody has rights, and the republic is strong enough to enforce those rights. Police, health, mail, education, the things that everybody needs are guaranteed. Corporations can compete, but they are kept reasonably honest and not allowed to over leverage and risk people other than themselves. People will abuse the system, some corps will get away with crime, but the distribution of a minimum amount of power and resources to all people hedges the damage. And it forces the wealthy, not to be slaves to the poor, but to have a modicum of concern for them, because they can vote.”
― Nicholas Lamar Soutter, The Water Thief

“Like a person, the corporation only did what was in its own interest, only without the burden of consequences or conscience.”
― Nicholas Lamar Soutter, The Water Thief

“It's always been theoretically possible for a man to destroy himself. We always think it won't happen on our watch, that it will be some other generation that destroys the world. That, in the end, is what makes us blind to the possibility, which is the very thing that makes it possible.”
― Nicholas Lamar Soutter, The Water Thief

“You see what you want to see. The truth is that the glass is both half empty and half full. What you can control is how you choose to see it.”
― Nicholas Lamar Soutter, The Water Thief

“We aren’t going to lose to socialism, to guilt or compassion. We’ve already lost. We’ve defeated ourselves, wearing ourselves to the nub. We aren’t workers; we’re fuel—fuel for a large machine that wants nothing more than to consume us for the lowest possible cost.”
― Nicholas Lamar Soutter, The Water Thief

“All these things exist everywhere; there’s no ‘universal constant’ that describes everything. “You see what you want to see. The truth is that the glass is both half-empty and half full. What you can control is how you choose to see it. If I give a beggar a quarter, you could say I was altruistic, because I helped him. But it’s just as true to say I was selfish, that I gave him that quarter to alleviate my own sense of guilt. Neither view has a monopoly on the truth of it. People never do anything for only one reason. “But”
― Nicholas Lamar Soutter, The Water Thief

“There's no bridge between you and a man who can invent an entire reality.”
― Nicholas Lamar Soutter, The Water Thief

“Like a person, a corporation only did what was in its own interest, only without the burden of consequences or conscience.”
― Nicholas Lamar Soutter, The Water Thief

“No system is perfect. If finding fault with a system is all it takes to throw it out, you're in for a world of disappointment. I don't need perfect, but I can ask for better.”
― Nicholas Lamar Soutter, The Water Thief

“Like Marx before her, Zino had a great theory that hinged on completely unrealistic, even idealistic, assumptions. Capitalists are people, no more or less trustworthy than socialists. People choose the path of least resistance, and for most people that includes cutting corners. No, most CEOs don't read the Bible. But they do love to quote it. It convinces the masses to cede all power over to corporations, and that any failure is simply their own fault. It argues well - seductively - for the virtual elimination of government and any sort of regulation of power. People cling to the 'free hand of the market' as a perfect god. They're so eager for a solution that can be neatly applied to every situation that they're desperate to overlook it's faults.”
― Nicholas Lamar Soutter, The Water Thief

“Have you ever had a colleague who would stand by you even if you couldn't make it worth their while?" "That's socialism." "I see...you know, socialism is a very specific set of theories. Tossing out that word is a great way to kill an honest discussion, but having friends does not a socialist make." "It's unnatural." "Really?" "Everybody is selfish. We all want money, power. People who deny that are just afraid to compete or are just too lazy." "And people who say that are simply trying to justify their participation in a vicious system. You need money, sure, you can't live without it. But happiness is a need too, Charlie, not much point in living without that.”
― Nicholas Lamar Soutter, The Water Thief

“No matter how good things are, people will find things to complain about; they always do.”
― Nicholas Lamar Soutter, The Water Thief