I do not believe that
Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, or Singapore could have succeeded… if they had to
work under [American-style] constitution, where gridlock on every major issue
is a way of life.———Chapter 2: The
Future of the United States
To get good
government, you must have good people in charge of government. I have observed
in the last 40 years that even with a poor system of government, but with good
strong people in charge, people get passable government with decent progress.
On the other hand, I have seen many ideal systems of government fail… Nothing
wrong with the constitution, with the institutions and the checks and the
balances. But the societies did not have the leaders who could work those
institutions, nor the people who respected those institutions… The leaders who
inherited these constitutions were not equal to the job, and their countries
failed, and their system collapsed in riots, in coups, and in revolution.———Chapter 2: The Future of the United States
It is the people who
run the system who make it come to life.———Chapter 2: The Future of the United States
Political systems that
yield inferior economic performance will ultimately be discarded for those that
are more productive.———Chapter 2: The
Future of India
Standing still is a
sure way to extinction.———Chapter 6: The
Future of National Economic Growth
While the scholar is
still the greatest factor in economic progress, he will be so only if he uses
his brains – not in studying the great books, classical texts, and poetry, but
in capturing and discovering new knowledge… and the myriad of new subjects that
need to be mastered.———Chapter 6: The
Future of National Economic Growth
A short mountain range
is unlike to have peaks that can equal Mount Everest.———Chapter 6: The Future of National Economic Growth
Unlike workers in the
repetitive, machine-based age, tomorrow’s workers must depend more on their own
knowledge and skills. They have to manage their own control systems, supervise
themselves, and take upon themselves the responsibility to upgrade. They must
be disciplined enough to think on their own and to seek to excel without
someone breathing down their neck. Workers in the new economy cannot be content
with just problem solving and perfecting the known. They must be enterprising
and innovative, always seeking new ways of doing the job, to create the extra
value, the extra edge.———Chapter 6: The
Future of National Economic Growth