No bloody or unbloody change of society can eradicate the evil in man: as long as there will be men, there will be malice, envy and hatred, and hence there cannot be a society which does not have to employ coercive restraint.
Leo StraussRead
A conservative, I take it, is a man who despises vulgarity; but the argument which is concerned exclusively with calculations of success, and is based on blindness to the nobility of the effort, is vulgar.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote critiques a narrow view of success that disregards the intrinsic value of effort.
Leo Strauss expresses a distinction between a conservative perspective that values the nobility of effort and a vulgar understanding of success that solely focuses on quantifiable outcomes. He implies that true worth lies not just in achieving results but also in recognizing the dignity of the struggle involved in striving for those results, suggesting that a purely results-driven mindset is superficial and lacking depth.
Themes
SuccessEffortNobilityVulgarityPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can serve as a discussion starter at a philosophical seminar on the nature of success.
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The Jewish people and their fate are the living witness for the absence of redemption. This, one could say, is the meaning of the chosen people; the Jews are chosen to prove the absence of redemption.
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