David Rockefeller

"If the disagreement was strong enough, we could end up pretty close to the borderline of incivility."

"Courting Peggy McGrath provided me with a very pleasant diversion and eventually with the most important relationship of my life."

"I dont recall that I have said — and I dont think that I really feel — that we need a world government. We need governments of the world that work together and collaborate. But, I cant imagine that there would be any likelihood — or even that it would be desirable — to have a single government elected by the people of the world."

"There have been people — ever since Ive had any kind of position in the world — who have accused me of being ruler of the world. I have to say that I think for the large part, I would have to decide to describe them as crack pots. It makes no sense whatsoever, and isnt true, and wont be true, and to raise it as a serious issue seems to me to be irresponsible."

"Far from having an attachment to the past and to its codes, David Rockefeller, and really all the Rockefellers, were perpetually falling for everything that was new. They embraced every new educational theory, every new artistic style, every new architectural trend, every new business fad. And so when the 60s came along and seemed to represent yet another bright new future, many of the younger Rockefellers embraced that too, even if it meant the destruction of their place in society, and the older ones had nothing to say. … there never will be another person like David Rockefeller, a person who epitomized the Establishment and attracted conspiracy theories by the score. In the 60s, a new generation came up to destroy his world, and in response, he was willing to come pretty close to the borderline of incivility."

"I think that the best hope for peace and prosperity in the world is greater cooperation among nations, which in turn will be produced if both our governments and the people of our countries travel more and get to know each other better."

"I think without internationalists like you, the international system we have been trying to build, the international system we have today, wouldnt be here."

"Not armies, not nations, have advanced the race; but here and there, in the course of ages, an individual has stood up and cast his shadow over the world."

"The unelected if indisputable chairman of the American Establishment ...one of the most powerful, influential and richest men in America ...[he] sits at the hub of a vast network of financiers, industrialists and politicians whose reach encircles the globe"

"We now live in a world where we are related by economics, politics, the environment, technology and human nature. We can no longer think of the people and problems in other parts of the world as “foreign” to us. David certainly understood this early in the game, and has been a tireless and inspirational advocate in this regard. He wears the badge of "proud internationalist" openly, as do I."

"For David Rockefeller, the Presidency of the United States would be a demotion."

"But this present window of opportunity, during which a truly peaceful and interdependent world order might be built, will not be open for long. Already there are powerful forces at work that threaten to destroy all of our hopes and efforts to erect an enduring structure of global interdependence."