Greed Is Dead Quotes

“Whatever the nature of British failure – in providing local-government services, maintaining standards in education in the devolved nations, or raising hospital effectiveness – the fault is attributed to government unwillingness to provide enough money. Sometimes the claim is justified, sometimes not. But there is no need even to think about that question, or engage in self-examination, because blame always lies somewhere else. And the process is self-reinforcing and self-justifying: agencies which are not given financial autonomy do not acquire the capacity to exercise it responsibly.”
― Paul Collier, Greed Is Dead: Politics After Individualism

“single-issue pressure groups driven by ‘activists’ have replaced pragmatic coalitions, while ‘activism’ has come to mean ‘drawing attention’ – ostensibly to the chosen issue, but in practice, perhaps most especially to oneself: ‘I care about this.”
― Paul Collier, Greed Is Dead: Politics After Individualism

“The rise of individualism has weakened the capacity of society to work together for common purposes. And the two have interacted: leaders thought they knew what to do, but distrusted people as being too selfish to cooperate, so they relied on incentives linked to scrutiny. The combination of individual selfishness and overconfident top-down management has damaged our societies. But you can change it: we have written this book to help you do so. 1 What is Going On Here?”
― Paul Collier, Greed Is Dead: Politics After Individualism