Never has our future been more unpredictable, never have we depended so much on political forces that cannot be trusted to follow the rules of common sense and self-interest–forces that look like sheer insanity, if judged by the standards of other centuries. It is as though mankind had divided itself between those who believe in human omnipotence (who think that everything is possible if one knows how to organize masses for it) and those for whom powerlessness has become the major experience of their lives. Hannah Arendt
About This Quote

This quote sounds so nice and it is an optimistic outlook about the future. However, it sounds like he is saying that there are no rules in the world. We don’t know what the future will bring or who will win because everything can change by just one person or by one action. People are power hungry but they don’t realize that their own power only gives them more power over people.

Source: The Origins Of Totalitarianism

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