What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child.
George Bernard ShawRead
The art of government is the organisation of idolatry.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Government often revolves around central figures or ideals that are overly revered.
In this quote, George Bernard Shaw suggests that successful governance is akin to creating a system where certain figures or ideas are idolized, often leading to a distortion of reality. It implies that leaders and institutions can become objects of worship, which may cloud judgment and hinder genuine progress, reflecting a critical view of political authority and its influence on society.
Themes
GovernmentIdolatryPoliticsAuthorityLeadership
In practice
Example use cases
Discussing the role of charisma in political campaigns.
More from George Bernard Shaw
All quotes βMarriage is good enough for the lower classes: they have facilities for desertion that are denied to us.
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Forgive him, for he believes that the customs of his tribe are the laws of nature!
George Bernard ShawRead
Those who talk most about the blessings of marriage and the constancy of its vows are the very people who declare that if the chain were broken and the prisoners left free to choose, the whole social fabric would fly asunder. You cannot have the argument both ways. If the prisoner is happy, why lock him in? If he is not, why pretend that he is?
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Treat a friend as a person who may someday become your enemy; an enemy as a person who may someday become your friend.
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The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.
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Similar quotes
Efficiency in an assembly requires a solid mass of steady votes; and these are collected by a deferential attachment to particular men, or by a belief in the principles that those men represent, and they are maintained by fear of those men - by the fear that if you vote against them, you may soon yourself have no vote at all.
Walter BagehotRead
A good constitution is infinitely better than the best despot.
Thomas B. MacaulayRead
Politics is a matter of day-to-day improvisation, and it often seems as though the major parties are guided only by the desire to stay in office and not by any philosophy that might justify their doing so.
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I didn't have any personal goals when I came, but after being in politics - after seeing people, their difficulties, their wants - I think our goal has to be to eliminate poverty from India.
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This is a country for, of, and by the people not for, of, and by the government. If we turn it over to them we cannot complain about what they're doing because this is a natural course of men and we have to hold their feet to the fire.
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The most important political office is that of the private citizen.
Louis D. BrandeisRead