America creates myths by focusing a lot of energy on its history and using it - - not always, but sometimes - for constructive purposes.

Europe needs to develop a sense of collective history - we need to write books from a European perspective, to teach it in schools as well.

There is a true weakness in American thought today: their incapacity to be interested in the intelligence of evil.

I would sooner want a strong partnership with the United States - even with (US President George W.) Bush, who I think is the worst president in a long, long time. I would sooner want a friendship with Bush than with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin.

Europe has certainly lost confidence in itself. This was something that, when I was a young man, we never imagined would happen.

I definitely don't agree with that sort of rhetoric from the United States - this idea that all the major conflicts of our age need to be solved militarily.

People always think that loyalty is laudable. People are always saying that we must remain faithful to tradition, to family, to our class, to our ideas. Of course not! That would be equivalent to zero brain activity. If you really want to think, to seek truth, to advance intellectually, you must turn your back on clichés, on preconceived ideas - even those belonging to your spiritual family. For an intellectual, his true duty is not to fidelity, but to infidelity.