Little countries do not have this luxury of defending themselves. We have to do it before the fact, not after the fact
Charles TaylorWe define our identity always in dialogue with, sometimes in struggle against, the things our significant others want to see in us. Even after we outgrow some of these othersโour parents, for instanceโand they disappear from our lives, the conversation with them continues within us as long as we live.
Charles Taylor[E]ach of our voices has something unique to say. Not only should I not mold my life to the demands of external conformity; I can't even find the model by which to live outside myself. I can only find it within.
Charles TaylorWhat should have died along with communism is the belief that modern societies can be run on a single principle, whether that of planning under the general will or that of free-market allocations.
Charles TaylorTo know who I am is a species of knowing where I stand. My identity is defined by the commitments and identifications which provide the frame or horizon within which I can try to determine from case to case what is good, or valuable, or what ought to be done, or what I endorse or oppose. In other words, it is the horizon within which I am capable of taking a stand.
Charles Taylor