“On Dec. 1, 1948, after the triumph of the revolution, which insured th...” — Óscar Arias Quote

“On Dec. 1, 1948, after the triumph of the revolution, which insured the final victory of the will of the people expressed through elections, President Jose Figueres abolished the army in my country.”

“The Central American isthmus is a region of great contrasts, but also of heartening unison. Millions of men and women share dreams of freedom and progress.”

“Many developing countries continue to be burdened by high percentages of their population living in poverty. Yet, instead of addressing this root cause of conflict, many states, ironically, increase their military might in order to control increasingly desperate populations.”

“But the European Union does not have a concept of national identity. It was set up to abolish that idea, not to abolish German national identity because that was trying to save itself.”

“After 1960, anyone who wanted to discuss almost any aspect of U.S. public policy - from how to make cars safer to whether to abolish the draft, from how to support the housing market to whether to regulate the financial sector - had to speak economics.”

“No slavery can be abolished without a double emancipation, and the master will benefit by freedom more than the freed-man.”