The bad man desires arbitrary power. What moves the evil man is the love of injustice.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that bad individuals seek power for its own sake, driven by a desire for injustice.
John Rawls emphasizes the motivations behind negative human behavior in this quote. He suggests that those who are considered 'bad' not only seek power arbitrarily but are also fueled by a deep-seated admiration for injustice, indicating a moral failing that transcends mere ambition. This serves as a reflection on the darker aspects of human nature and the ethical implications of power dynamics in society.
In practice
This quote can be used in discussions about political corruption and ethics in leadership.
The perspective of eternity is not a perspective from a certain place beyond the world, nor the point of view of a transcendent being; rather it is a certain form of thought and feeling that rational persons can adopt within the world ... Purity of heart, if one could attain it, would be to see clearly and to act with grace and self-command from this point of view.
Justice is the first virtue of social institutions.
The principles of justice are chosen behind a veil of ignorance.
The naturally advantaged are not to gain merely because they are more gifted, but only to cover the costs of training and education and for using their endowments in ways that help the less fortunate as well.
The natural distribution is neither just nor unjust; nor is it unjust that persons are born into society at some particular position. These are simply natural facts. What is just and unjust is the way that institutions deal with these facts.
Many of our most serious conflicts are conflicts within ourselves. Those who suppose their judgements are always consistent are unreflective or dogmatic.
We do not place especial value on the possession of a virtue until we notice its total absence in our opponent.
The cause of my life has been to oppose superstition. It's a battle you can't hope to win - it's a battle that's going to go on forever. It's part of the human condition.
I have always knocked at the door of that wonderful and terrible enigma which is life.
You never hear about a pit bull doing anything good in the media. And they have a stigma to them... and, in many ways, pit bulls are like young African-American males. Whenever you see us in the news, it's for getting shot and killed or shooting and killing somebody - for being a stereotype.
The great powers of the world may have done wonders in giving the world an industrial look, but the great gift still has to come from Africa - giving the world a more human face.
If we say that we have no sin, We deceive ourselves, and there's no truth in us. Why then belike we must sin, And so consequently die. Ay, we must die an everlasting death.
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