QuoteProject
There is nothing so bad but it can masquerade as moral.
Walter Lippmann
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote suggests that even the worst of actions can be justified under the guise of morality.

Walter Lippmann's quote points out the tendency of individuals and societies to rationalize unethical or harmful behavior by presenting it as morally justified. This reflects a critical view on human nature and the complexities of moral reasoning, suggesting that people may disguise their true intentions or actions with a veneer of morality to avoid criticism or to maintain a positive self-image.

Themes

MoralityJustificationBehaviorHuman NatureEthics

In practice

Example use cases

This quote could be used in a debate about ethical dilemmas in political decision-making.

More from Walter Lippmann

Football strategy does not originate in a scrimmage: it is useless to expect solutions in a political campaign.
Walter LippmannRead
The simple opposition between the people and big business has disappeared because the people themselves have become so deeply involved in big business.
Walter LippmannRead
The news and the truth are not the same thing.
Walter LippmannRead
The tendency of the casual mind is to pick out or stumble upon a sample which supports or defies its prejudices, and then to make it the representative of a whole class.
Walter LippmannRead
The private citizen, beset by partisan appeals for the loan of his Public Opinion, will soon see, perhaps, that these appeals are not a compliment to his intelligence, but an imposition on his good nature and an insult to his sense of evidence.
Walter LippmannRead
To create a minimum standard of life below which no human being can fall is the most elementary duty of the democratic state.
Walter LippmannRead

Similar quotes

Certainly, in taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy, but in passing it over, he is superior; for it is a prince's part to pardon.
Francis BaconRead
I am not myself in any degree ashamed of having changed my opinions.
Bertrand RussellRead
It is not possible to eat me without insisting that I sing praises of my devourer?
Fyodor DostoevskyRead
I sat in the sun on a bench; the animal within me licking the chops of memory; the spiritual side a little drowsed, promising subsequent penitence, but not yet moved to begin.
Robert Louis StevensonRead
Everyone says you've got to do a foundation and legal structure to finance social change. What nonsense!
Bill DraytonRead
Some international law specialists compare the invasion of Iraq to the 'crimes against the peace' for which Nazi leaders were indicted at Nuremberg.
Noam ChomskyRead

A little wisdom, now and then

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