As the capacity to coerce declines, it is natural to turn to control of opinion as the basis for authority and domination - a fundamental principle of government already emphasized by David Hume.

It is the worst atrocity underway [in Rwanda]. But it's barely in the media, and people just don't know about it. And that's quite generally true.

Since November 8, 2017 the United States is literally alone in the world in first of all refusing to join in efforts to do something about climate change, but even worse, dedicated to making the situation worse. Every part of the world is trying to do something. The United States alone is trying to destroy it, and it's not just Trump, it's the whole Republican Party. You just can't find words for it. And it's not reported. It's not discussed.

[Francisco Franco] said they should resort to guerrilla war. Which has a history in Spain.

In fact, there is a very close correlation between human rights violations and US aid, particularly in Latin America.

If anybody thinks they should listen to me because I'm a professor at MIT, that's nonsense. You should decide whether something makes sense by its content, not by the letters after the name of the person who says it.

I have never suggested any principled difference between the natural and social sciences.