" A German newspaper commissioned an article from me but then refused to publish it: Ai Weiwei, „Was ich gern früher über Deutschland gewusst hätte“ ':
> A society governed by regulations, yet lacking individual moral judgment, is more dangerous than one with none at all.
> A society that values obedience without questioning authority is destined to become corrupt.
> A society that admits to error but refuses to reflect on its origins possesses a mind as stubborn and dull as granite.
> Here, at a deserted street, people stop dutifully at a red light. Not a car in sight. This, I once thought, is the mark of a highly evolved society.
> At the heart of bureaucracy lies a collective endorsement of power’s legitimacy, and therefore, individuals surrender their moral judgment — or perhaps never developed one. They abandon challenge. They relinquish dispute.
> When conversation becomes avoidance, when topics must not be mentioned, we are already living under the quiet logic of authoritarianism…
Hyperallergic
What I Wish I Had Known About Germany Earlier
A German newspaper commissioned an article from me but then refused to publish it.