QuoteProject
If we remain grotesquely unequal, we shall lose all sense of fraternity: and fraternity, for all its fatuity as a political objective, turns out to be the necessary condition of politics itself.
Tony Judt
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

True fraternity among people is essential for effective political discourse and harmony.

Tony Judt's quote emphasizes the importance of equality in fostering a sense of brotherhood among individuals, which he argues is essential for the functioning of politics. If society allows grotesque inequalities to persist, it undermines the foundation of fraternity, which, despite being frequently dismissed as an unrealistic political goal, is crucial for a cohesive and effective political landscape.

Themes

EqualityFraternityPoliticsSocietyBrotherhood

In practice

Example use cases

During a political rally, this quote can emphasize the need for equality in society.

More from Tony Judt

Love consists in leaving the loved one space to be themselves while providing the security within which that self may flourish.
Tony JudtRead
If active or concerned citizens forfeit politics, they thereby abandon their society to its most mediocre and venal public servants
Tony JudtRead
Obviously a primary liberal conviction is that we should be tolerant of other peoples' convictions. But if we believe in something, we had better find ways to say so convincingly.
Tony JudtRead
Social democracy does not represent an ideal future; it does not even represent the ideal past.
Tony JudtRead
What I am against is false optimism: the notion either that things have to go well, or else that they tend to, or else that the default condition of historical trajectories is characteristically beneficial in the long-run.
Tony JudtRead
I'm not sure I've learned anything new about life; but I've had to think harder about death and what comes after for other people.
Tony JudtRead

Similar quotes

Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.
H. G. WellsRead
Leisure is not synonymous with time. Nor is it a noun. Leisure is a verb. I leisure. You leisure.
Mortimer AdlerRead
We are not accusing you of being illegal, we are accusing you of being immoral.
Margaret HodgeRead
He who does not realize to what extent shifting fortune and necessity hold in subjection every human spirit, cannot regard as fellow-creatures nor love as he loves himself those whom chance separated from him by an abyss. The variety of constraints pressing upon man give rise to the illusion of several distinct species that cannot communicate. Only he who has measured the dominion of force, and knows how not to respect it, is capable of love and justice.
Simone WeilRead
Stars, too, were time travelers. How many of these ancient points of light were the last echoes of suns now dead? How many had been born but their light not yet come this far? If all the suns but ours collapsed tonight, how many lifetimes would it take us to realize that we were alone? I had always known the sky was full of mysteries - but not until now had I realized how full of them the earth was.
Ransom RiggsRead
There comes a moment when the things one has written, even a traveler's memories, stand up and demand a justification. They require an explanation. They query, 'Who am I? What is my name? Why am I here?
Anne Morrow LindberghRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.