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All of nationalism can be understood as a kind of collective narcissism.

Geoff Mulgan

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Geoff Mulgan
Age: 63
Born: 1961
Born: January 1
Economist
Writer
Understood
Kind
Narcissism
Nationalism
Collectives
Collective

More quotes by Geoff Mulgan

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Democracy isn't solely about polite conversations in parliaments. It needs to be continually refreshed with raw passions, anger and ideals.
Geoff Mulgan
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Britain is rich in radicalism, and anyone who says that our society has drifted into fatalism and apathy should get out more.
Geoff Mulgan
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I'm not saying [economic] growth is wrong, but throughout the years of growth, many things didn't get better. ... If you look at America, the proportion of Americans with no one to talk to about important things went up from a tenth to a quarter.
Geoff Mulgan
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Economies are complex beasts that need people to do an extraordinary range of tasks.
Geoff Mulgan
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In every capitalist economy there are anti-capitalist movements, activists, and even political parties in a way, that there are no longer anti-democratic movements, activists, and parties.
Geoff Mulgan
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Social innovation thrives on collaboration on doing things with others, rather than just to them or for them: hence the great interest in new ways of using the web to 'crowdsource' ideas, or the many experiments involving users in designing services.
Geoff Mulgan
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Advisers who think that they are very clever while all around them are a bit thick, and that all the problems of the world would be solved if the thick listened to the clever, are liable to be disappointed.
Geoff Mulgan
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One of the lessons of history is that even the deepest crises can be moments of opportunity. They bring ideas from the margins into the mainstream.
Geoff Mulgan
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All over the world, social innovation is tackling some of the most pressing problems facing society today - from fair trade, distance learning, hospices, urban farming and waste reduction to restorative justice and zero-carbon housing. But most of these are growing despite, not because of, help from governments.
Geoff Mulgan
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Young people who were relaxed about posting every detail of their life on Facebook become a lot less relaxed when they realise just how transparent their life has become to future employers.
Geoff Mulgan
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Societies advance through innovation every bit as much as economies do.
Geoff Mulgan
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I didn't much like being in Parliament physically. I found it a bit depressing. It's very dark and heavy. I like being out and about.
Geoff Mulgan
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By international standards, many of the U.K.'s policies for civil society are exemplary. However, there are concerns about constraints on civil liberties - particularly restrictions on free assembly and about the rising tide of everyday regulation has seriously impeded community activity - from organising street parties to helping children.
Geoff Mulgan
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Systems governed by only one set of rules are more vulnerable than those with variety.
Geoff Mulgan
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The longer you commute the less happy you're likely to be.
Geoff Mulgan
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So is civil society prepared for the future? Probably not. Most organisations have to live hand to mouth, juggling short-term funding and perpetual minor crises. Even the bigger ones rarely get much time to stand back and look at the bigger picture. Many are on a treadmill chasing after contracts and new funding.
Geoff Mulgan
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Big business increasingly likes to portray itself as socially concerned, adopting the style of civic action through 'campaigns' of varying degrees of cynicism.
Geoff Mulgan
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L'Oreal's slogan 'because you're worth it' has come to epitomise banal narcissism of early 21st century capitalism easy indulgence and effortless self-love all available at a flick of the credit card.
Geoff Mulgan
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The central position of finance capital is going to come to an end, and it's going to steadily move to the sides, the margins of our society, transformed from being a master into a servant, a servant to the productive economy and of human needs.
Geoff Mulgan
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The wrongful arrest of tens of thousands of British Muslims after the September 11 attacks can be explained by the very poor intelligence the police had, and, just possibly, excused by the fact that a terrorist action in Britain linked to British Muslims would have been hugely damaging.
Geoff Mulgan