How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Part.Paragraph)
Quote #1
[The cops] helped explain to my other patients that a homicidal maniac had broken into the clinic and killed both Herr Muller and Doctor Silva. They also made sure that none of the staff said anything to contradict that story. (2.4.23)
One of many early examples of corruption in the political system helping the zombies along. Seriously, though, the cops take it all in stride a little too well, right? How often do people eat other people in their district?
Quote #2
The UN is a bureaucratic masterpiece, so many nuggets of valuable data buried in mountains of unread reports. I found incidents all over the world, all of them dismissed with "plausible" explanations. (2.6.10)
That doesn't sound like a masterpiece at all. It actually sounds pretty inept, inefficient, and—ah, we see what you did there, Max Brooks.
Quote #3
All the factional fighting, the violence between our various resistance organizations, I knew that would die down once we unified for the final blow against the Jews. Couldn't my father see this? Couldn't he understand that, in a few years, a few months, we would be returning to our homeland, this time as liberators, not as refugees. [sic] (2.7.10)
Prejudice and politics go together like sauerkraut and rocky road ice cream. Oh? You think those two things don't go together? That doesn't mean some people don't enjoy the combo.
Quote #4
Please, are you serious? Back then the FDA was one of the most underfunded, mismanaged organizations in the country. I think they were still high-fiving over getting Red No. 2 out of M&Ms. Plus, this was one of the most business-friendly administrations in American history. (3.3.8)
Most of the time, World War Z uses zombies as a fictional device to probe the inadequacies of bureaucracy and political organizations. Here, underfunding and mismanagement are given as very realistic and plausible problems. The zombies were just the mob of rotting flesh that broke the dam.
Quote #5
Oh, c'mon. Can you ever "solve" poverty? Can you ever "solve" crime? Can you ever "solve" disease, unemployment, war, or any other societal herpes? Hell no. All you can hope for is to make them manageable enough to allow people to get on with their lives. That's not cynicism, that's maturity. (3.4.11)
Actually, that's cynicism—but it's cynicism with a point. No, a government probably can't solve these issues, but does that mean they shouldn't try? We're guessing no. We'd also like to point out that any zombie crisis can easily be solved, as long as you have enough bullets and people to shoot them.
Quote #6
I don't blame them, the government, the people who were supposed to protect us. […] No, I don't blame them for wanting to divert us, I can forgive that. But the irresponsible way they did it, the lack of vital information that would have helped so many to stay alive… that I can never forgive. (5.4.2)
Yeah, we're thinking that this is important. See, the novel isn't saying that government is a bad thing. Rather, it's critiquing certain irresponsible aspects of today's governments. The novel just happens to find a lot of these irresponsible aspects.
Quote #7
He used methods that were almost Marxist in nature, the kind of collectivization that would make Ayn Rand leap from her grave and join the ranks of the living dead. […] One thing those New Dealers did better than any generation in American history was find and harvest the right tools and talent. (6.1.3)
Things don't turn around in World War Z until the political system adopts a Musketeer's attitude of "All for one; one for all." The Ayn Rand attitude of "Me for me and you for you" doesn't really pan out when the undead come a-knocking. (Well unless you're the guy in the bio-dome.) Let's see Atlas try and shrug off the deadhead army.
Quote #8
Imagine if the world's citizens, or at least those charged with protecting those citizens, had known exactly what they were facing. Ignorance was the real enemy, and cold, hard facts were the weapons. (7.2.2)
Another critique of government is that in trying to maintain a status quo they keep important facts from its citizens. If a zombie swarm were about to bust through your front door, wouldn't you want to know?
Quote #9
No one was sure what the next day would bring, how far the calamity would spread, or who would be its next victim, and yet, no matter whom I spoke to or how terrified they sounded, each conversation would inevitably end with "But I'm sure the authorities will tell us what to do." (7.5.14)
World War Z doesn't let us off: it stresses that part of blame for any government's problems must also be laid at our feet. Sure, it's easy to blame the big, bad government when things turn south—but when you point one finger, you've got three pointing back at yourself.
Quote #10
You can blame the politicians the businessmen, the generals, the "machine," but really, if you're looking to blame someone, blame me. I'm the American system, I'm the machine. (9.5.2)
Mary Jo Miller finally takes responsibility: too caught up in a busy life, she expected others to take care of certain problems for her without her involvement. On the other hand, that's what the taxpayers paid them to do…