Jacques Attali
Jacques Attali
================
Full Name and Common Aliases
--------------------------------
Jacques Attali is a French economist, musician, writer, and former government minister.
Birth and Death Dates
------------------------
Born on October 12, 1943, in Jaffa, Mandatory Palestine (now Israel), to Jewish parents who later moved to France. Still active today at the age of 80.
Nationality and Profession(s)
--------------------------------
French economist, musician, writer, and politician. His work spans multiple fields, from music and academia to government service.
Early Life and Background
-----------------------------
Attali's family moved to France after his birth in Palestine, settling in Paris. His father, a medical doctor, encouraged Attali's early interest in music, particularly classical piano. Attali developed a passion for the arts and social sciences, attending the École Normale Supérieure (ENS) in Paris.
Major Accomplishments
-------------------------
- Minister of Culture: From 1981 to 1983, Attali served as France's Minister of Culture under President François Mitterrand. He implemented policies promoting cultural diversity and accessibility.
- Economist and Academic: As an economist, Attali focused on international trade and development issues. His work has been published in numerous journals and books.
Notable Works or Actions
-----------------------------
Some notable works include:
Noise: The Political Economy of Music (1985), where he explores the relationship between music and society.
Millennium (1991), a three-volume economic history that covers the 20th century.
As Minister of Culture, Attali launched initiatives to boost cultural production and consumption. These efforts included creating more jobs in the arts sector and establishing new museums.
Impact and Legacy
-------------------------
Attali's ideas on culture, music, and economics have had a lasting impact:
His work on noise and music theory challenges traditional views on art and its relationship with society.
As Minister of Culture, he expanded access to cultural institutions and encouraged innovation in the arts sector.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
------------------------------------------
Attali's unique perspective as a musician, economist, and politician has made his ideas influential across multiple fields. His work continues to inspire new generations of thinkers, artists, and policymakers who seek to challenge conventional wisdom and promote positive change.
Quotes by Jacques Attali
The first path a human being ever travels is the path that leads out of the maternal womb. Every human being’s first labyrinth is that of a woman.
In noise can be read the codes of life, the relations among men. Clamour, Melody, Dissonance, Harmony; when it is fashioned by man with specific tools, when it invades man’s time, when it becomes sound, noise is the source of the purpose and power, of the dream – Music.
For twenty-five centuries, Western knowledge has tried to look upon the world. It has failed to understand that the world is not for the beholding. It is for hearing. It is not legible, but audible.
What is called music today is all too often only a disguise for the monologue of power. However, and this is the supreme irony of it all, never before have musicians tried so hard to communicate with their audience, and never before has that communication been so deceiving. Music now seems hardly more than a somewhat clumsy excuse for the self-glorification of musicians and the growth of a new industrial sector.
Today, music heralds... the establishment of a society of repetition in which nothing will happen anymore.