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The penalty that good men pay for not being interested in politics is to be governed by men worse than themselves.
Plato
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Good people who ignore politics end up being ruled by worse individuals.

This quote by Plato suggests that when virtuous individuals turn a blind eye to political affairs, they inadvertently allow less scrupulous individuals to seize power and govern. It serves as a warning that engagement in politics is essential for ensuring that those in leadership positions uphold moral and ethical standards.

Themes

PoliticsMoralityGovernanceEngagementLeadership

In practice

Example use cases

In a civic engagement workshop, one might use this quote to emphasize the importance of participating in local politics.

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Quote by Plato | QuoteProject