It is a socialist idea that making profits is a vice; I consider the real vice is making losses.
Winston ChurchillRead
Ethics evolve naturally, and we trample upon them with laws created by reason and experience.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Ethics are intrinsic to human nature, but laws can sometimes overshadow them.
This quote by Winston Churchill suggests that ethical principles develop organically within society, shaped by human experiences and interactions. However, as societies evolve, man-made laws can sometimes dominate or undermine these ethical foundations, indicating a potential conflict between natural moral understanding and constructed legal frameworks.
Themes
EthicsLawsHuman NatureMoral UnderstandingSociety
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech on ethical behavior in business, one might quote Churchill to highlight the balance between ethical principles and regulatory compliance.
More from Winston Churchill
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Politics is almost as exciting as war, and quite as dangerous. In war you can only be killed once, but in politics many times.
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I will not pretend that if I had to choose between communism and Nazism I would choose communism.
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Mountaintops inspire leaders but valleys mature them.
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True genius resides in the capacity for evaluation of uncertain, hazardous, and conflicting information.
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I hope that I will be the last victim in China's long record of treating words as crimes.
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