31 Quotes by Joseph Nye

Plenty of information leads to scarcity of attention. When people are overwhelmed with the volume of information confronting them, it is hard to know what to focus on. Attention rather than information becomes the scarce resource and those who can distinguish valuable information from background clutter gain power.

We appear to be turning to a conservative cycle in the major countries. President Bush's administration will find they have more allies, and this will be a big plus for them.

We live in a world of diverse cultures, and we know very little about social engineering and how to 'build nations.' And when we cannot be sure how to improve the world, hubristic visions pose a grave danger.

She did a good job of explaining what has been a veiled policy, ... She has a vision of democracy in the Middle East as a means of eliminating terrorism, but there is an inadequate roadmap for implementing that strategy. We just didn't hear about it.

She has enormously improved the Wilson School, ... I've said to my successor, you've got to look over your back.

getting people to sit in the back office and connect dots has not been their strong suit. Now they know they have to do it. The question is, Will they?

I think most Americans still hope for a peaceful and beneficial future with China. As (former) President (Bill) Clinton once said, we have more to fear from a poor weak China than from a rich and democratic China.

The government really needs to focus on recruiting people for their first job and first opportunity. Often, most people simply price themselves out of the market.

Transformational leaders are important because they make choices that most other leaders would not.