Years ago I visited a friend in his office and found this quotation tacked to his door (I think it was his door). I stumbled across it in my treasure trove of quotations, and it seems to ring worryingly true at the moment.  A reminder that seeking simplicity shouldn’t involve denying complexity. 

‘The essence of tyranny is the denial of complexity.’

Other thoughts on complexity and simplicity, by Churchill on the one hand, and a senior US army officer more recently, on the other.  

Source: Jakob Burckhardt, seen pinned to a friend’s door.  The quote, that is, not Jakob Burckhardt.

Photo credit: Simon Matzinger, unsplash.com