Tony Benn
Full Name: Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn
Birthdate: April 3, 1925
Birthplace: Marylebone, London, England, United Kingdom
Date of Death: March 14, 2014
Occupation: Author and Politician
Profile: British Labour Party Member of Parliament (1950–2001).
Website: http://www.tonybenn.com/
Number of Quotes: 60
A faith is something you die for; a doctrine is something you kill for. There is all the difference in the world.
Reflecting on the dangers of ideological dogma.
Age does take it out of you, and I haven't the energy I had before. Sometimes I have breakfast and sit in this chair, and I wake up and it is
lunchtime. In the past, the idea of sleeping through a morning would have horrified me, but you have to accept the limitations that old age imposes on you.
All war represents a failure of diplomacy.
Emphasizing his commitment to peaceful resolution.
An educated, healthy and confident nation is harder to govern.
Highlighting the link between empowerment and challenging authority.
Are you frightened of the future? All I say to people is, if you are, get out of the way of those who aren't.
Encouraging courage and progress.
At the end of my life, I was told to vote for it for pensioners; I' m not in favour of means tests for pensioners or anybody.
Britain is the only colony in the British Empire and it is up to us now to liberate ourselves.
Britain today is suffering from galloping obsolescence.
Broadcasting is really too important to be left to the broadcasters.
But the real danger comes when you get a Prime Minister who doesn't bother with Parliament,
a President who doesn't bother with Congress, dictators who don't bother with the people.
On the erosion of democratic accountability.
Choice depends on the freedom to choose and if you are shackled with debt you don’t have the freedom to choose.
Democracy is not about a few people sitting at the top knowing better than anyone
else. It's about everybody having a bit of the picture and putting it together.
Defining participatory democracy.
Don't accept the language of the powerful. Always ask: What do you mean by that word?
Advice on critical thinking and challenging authority.
Every generation has the right to frame its own laws and choose its own government.
That right is denied when constitutions are written that bind future generations.
Arguing against fixed, unchangeable constitutions.
Having served for nearly half a century in the House of Commons, I now want more time to devote to politics and more freedom to do so.
Hope is the fuel of progress and fear is the prison in which you put yourself.
Contrasting motivating and paralyzing forces.
I am not a reluctant peer but a persistent commoner.
I am not afraid of the future. I was not afraid of the past. And I think my record shows that I never have been.
Asserting his consistent principles.
I am on the right wing of the middle of the road and with a strong radical bias.
I believe the more difficult the circumstances, the more people will be inclined to trust those in charge at the moment.
I can't go to bed if I haven't done my diary. I always record them just as I've always recorded all my interviews and speeches.
I describe myself as a common-wealth socialist. Common
meaning we share
together, wealth
meaning what we produce, and socialist
meaning we use it for social purposes.
Defining his brand of socialism.
I did not enter the Labour Party 47 years ago to have our manifesto written by Dr Mori, Dr Gallup and Mr Harris.
I made every mistake in the book, but making mistakes is how you learn.
I see myself as an old man and an unqualified teacher to the nation. I think being a teacher is probably the most important thing you can be in politics.
I think if you're going to be committed to doing anything, you really have to care about it, and I suppose that is a romantic idea.
I'm not frightened about death. I don't know why, but I just feel that at a certain
moment your switch is switched off, and that's it. And you can't do anything about it.
I've been a member of the Labour Party sixty five years, and I remain in it, but I think it's
all about campaigning for justice and peace, and if you do that, you get a lot of support.
I've got four lovely children, ten lovely grandchildren, and I left parliament to devote more time to politics, and I
think that what is really going on in Britain is a growing sense of alienation. People don't feel anyone listens to them.
I've had a very full life, and I've enjoyed it very much. I've learned a great deal and feel indebted to all the people who have worked so hard.
If I had rescued a child from drowning, the national press would no doubt have headlined the
story Benn grabs child
.
If one meets a powerful person... ask them five questions: What power have you got? Where did you get it from? In whose interests do you exercise it? To
whom are you accountable? And how can we get rid of you?
If you cannot get rid of the people who govern you, you do not live in a democratic system.
His famous Five Essential Questions of Democracy.
If we can find the money to kill people, we can find the money to help people.
If you file your waste basket for 50 years, you have a public library.
In the course of my life I have developed five little democratic questions. If one meets a powerful person... [see quote above].
Introducing his core democratic test.
It's the same each time with progress. First they ignore you, then they say you're mad,
then dangerous, then there's a pause and then you can't find anyone who disagrees with you.
Describing the process of shifting public opinion - often attributed, though similar sentiments exist elsewhere.
Leadership is about two things: about telling the truth and about taking responsibility.
Defining authentic leadership.
Making mistakes is how you learn.
Making mistakes is part of life. The only things I would feel ashamed of would be if
I had said things I hadn't believed in order to get on. Some politicians do do that.
Most things in life are moments of pleasure and a lifetime of embarrassment; photography is a moment of embarrassment and a lifetime of pleasure.
My day rotates around my family. I am very lucky.
My filing system is messy but orderly.
My view is that the House of Lords must be abolished. And I warn the hereditaries: if they don't go voluntarily, they'll be pushed.
On his long-standing campaign for Lords reform.
Never be afraid to reject the conventional wisdom. Never be afraid to think for yourself. And
never accept the pronouncements of those who describe themselves as the great and the good
.
Encouraging independent thought.
Normally, people give up parliament because they want to do more business or spend more time with family. My wife
said why don't you say you're giving up to devote more time to politics?
. And it is what I have done.
Put your head above the parapet. You'll get shot. But it's an honourable position to take.
Advocating courage in taking principled stands.
Someone comes every morning at nine o'clock to see if I am still alive. I do get lonely, yes, but I have
the children who come and see me. I see all my children every week, and there are the grandchildren, too.
The exhaustion of old age is something people who are younger don't fully appreciate.
The House of Lords is the British Outer Mongolia for retired politicians.
His famous quip on the unelected upper chamber.
The Marxist analysis has got nothing to do
with what happened in Stalin's Russia: it's like
blaming Jesus Christ for the Inquisition in Spain.
The uncut diaries are 16 million words. It's very tiring to do your diary every night before you go to bed.
The way the Government runs the economy is like a man who, when told his bath is overflowing,
turns off the taps, breaks the bath with a hammer, and then claims a victory over the water.
Criticizing simplistic or destructive economic policies.
There is no final victory, as there is no final defeat. There is just the same battle to be fought, over and over again. So toughen up, bloody toughen up.
On the perpetual struggle for progress.
There is no moral difference between a Stealth bomber and a suicide bomber. They both kill innocent people for political reasons.
They've [New Labour] accepted the role of managing capitalism rather than changing society.
Criticizing the direction of the Labour Party under Blair.
We are not just here to manage capitalism but to change society and to define its finer values.
Stating the purpose of democratic socialism.
What power have you got? Where did you get it from? In whose interests do you exercise it? To whom are you accountable? And how can we get rid of you?
The core Five Essential Questions of Democracy.
When faced with a difficult problem, ask yourself one question: What would a democrat do?
The answer will usually be clear.
Proposing a simple democratic test for decisions.
You have to try to build support around causes. It is uniting to campaign on a
single issue, and it is never just a single issue; it's always more than that.
You see, democracy is not one single act. It's a process. It's like lighting a fire. You strike a match and it flares
up, then it dies down. You have to strike another match and another. You have to keep the flame of democracy alive.
Metaphor for the constant effort needed to sustain democracy.
Last on Earth
