I have been a journalist, off and on, since I was 17. I was a copy boy for the 'New York Times,' when it had an edition in Paris, in 1963. I sold the paper in the streets by day and tore wire copy off the tele-printer for the editors making up the edition by night. Michael Ignatieff boycopyday share on social
A good journalist is modest; his only job is simple: to decide what counts as news. Michael Ignatieff countdecidegood Change image and share on social
I am an English-speaking Canadian, but my entire family - Russian exiles and the Canadians they married - is buried in Quebec, and if Quebec were to separate, I would feel I had been cut in two. Michael Ignatieff burycanadiancut Change image and share on social
Both Iraq and Syria are a fissile mixture of ethnicities and religions thrown together after Versailles by departing French and British imperialists and only kept together by Baathist tyranny and violence. Michael Ignatieff baathistbritishdepart share on social
Politics is a tough game. But would I change places with a trauma nurse in an emergency ward on a busy Saturday night? No way. There are lots of jobs in the world that are tougher than politics. And politicians and people who've done it need to remember that. Michael Ignatieff busychangeemergency share on social
An intellectual may be interested in ideas and policies for their own sake, but a politician's interest is exclusively in the question of whether an idea's time has come. Michael Ignatieff exclusivelyideaintellectual Change image and share on social
Intellectuals are good at seeing the big picture. But they are not so good at process. Michael Ignatieff biggoodintellectual Change image and share on social
For every African state, like Ghana, where democratic institutions seem secure, there is a Mali, a Cote d'Ivoire, and a Zimbabwe, where democracy is in trouble. Michael Ignatieff africancotedemocracy Change image and share on social
Patriotism is strong nationalistic feeling for a country whose borders and whose legitimacy and whose ethnic composition is taken for granted. Michael Ignatieff bordercompositioncountry Change image and share on social
America is exceptional in combining standard great-power realism with extravagant idealism about the country's redemptive role in creating international order. Michael Ignatieff americacombinecountry Change image and share on social
