Resentment seems to have been given us by nature for a defense, and for a defense only! It is the safeguard of justice and the security of innocence.
Adam SmithRead
I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that genuine good is rarely achieved by those who claim to act purely for the public's benefit.
Adam Smith's quote critiques individuals or groups who profess to have altruistic intentions while actually pursuing their self-interest. It highlights the skepticism towards those in power or influence who prioritize their image of beneficence over authentic actions that contribute to the actual welfare of the public.
Themes
Public GoodSelf-InterestAltruismCritiqueSkepticism
In practice
Example use cases
During a charity event, this quote could be used to remind attendees of the importance of genuine contributions over performative actions.
More from Adam Smith
All quotes βIt is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.
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Wherever there is great property, there is great inequality.
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This is one of those cases in which the imagination is baffled by the facts.
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The real and effectual discipline which is exercised over a workman is that of his customers. It is the fear of losing their employment which restrains his frauds and corrects his negligence.
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Defense is superior to opulence.
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Similar quotes
I see that I've become a really bad correspondent. It's not that I don't think of you. You come into my thoughts often. But when you do it appears to me that I owe you a particularly grand letter. And so you end in the "warehouse of good intentions": "Can't do it now." "Then put it on hold." This is one's strategy for coping with old age, and with death--because one can't die with so many obligations in storage. Our clever species, so fertile and resourceful in denying its weaknesses.
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The real cost of the State is the prosperity we do not see, the jobs that donβt exist, the technologies to which we do not have access, the businesses that do not come into existence, and the bright future that is stolen from us. The State has looted us just as surely as a robber who enters our home at night and steals all that we love.
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By all that is sacred in our hope for the human race, I conjure those who love happiness and truth to give a fair trial to the vegetable system!
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Closure is a neurotic and infantile demand to make upon reality, other people, or language.
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States organized for war will make war as surely as hens will lay eggs.
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The secret of the demagogue is to make himself as stupid as his audience so they believe they are clever as he.
Karl KrausRead