“To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.”

— G. K. Chesterton

A Short History of England (1917)

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Do you have more details about the quote "To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it." by G. K. Chesterton?

G. K. Chesterton 229

English mystery novelist and Christian apologist 1874–1936

Steve Maraboli (1975)

Source: Life, the Truth, and Being Free (2010), p. 61

“We must progress to the stage of doing all the right things for all the right reasons instead of doing all the right things for all the wrong reasons.”

Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983) American architect, systems theorist, author, designer, inventor and futurist

From 1980s onwards, Cosmography (1992)

“There have been times throughout American history where what is right is not the same as what is legal. Sometimes to do the right thing you have to break the law.”

Edward Snowden (1983) American whistleblower and former National Security Agency contractor

Snowden's first U.S. television interview, to NBC's Brian Williams; Snowden: "Sometimes To Do The Right Thing You Have to Break a Law", Gawker (29 May 2014) http://gawker.com/snowden-sometimes-to-do-the-right-thing-you-have-to-b-1583145785

“You don't have to think about doing the right thing. If you're for the right thing, then you do it without thinking.”

Maya Angelou (1928–2014) American author and poet

Quoting her mother's statement after her son's birth, in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969)

“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”

Peter F. Drucker book The Essential Drucker

Misattributed
Variant: Efficiency is doing the thing right. Effectiveness is doing the right thing.
Source: The Essential Drucker

“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”

Warren Bennis (1925–2014) American leadership expert

Peter Drucker, and Warren Bennis, as quoted in Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (1989) by Stephen R. Covey, p. 101
1980s

“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”

Stephen R. Covey book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

Peter Drucker, and Warren Bennis, as quoted by Covey, in The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People (1989), this has sometimes become misattributed to him.
Misattributed

“In the coming era, doing the exactly right next thing is far more fruitful than doing the same thing twice.”

Kevin Kelly (1952) American author and editor

Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems and the Economic World (1995), New Rules for the New Economy: 10 Radical Strategies for a Connected World (1999)

“Just because you have a right to do something in America does not mean it is the right thing to do.”

John Boehner (1949) Former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

"World Weighs In to Condemn Terry Jones' Planned Quran-Burning" http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/world-weighs-in-condemn-terry-jones-planned-quran-burning, "Sunshine Times", 2010-8-09
2010s, 2010

“It’s all right to need help. All of us have things we can’t do alone.”

N. K. Jemisin book The Broken Kingdoms

Source: The Broken Kingdoms (2011), p. 1; repeated twice more in the book

“To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.”

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G. K. Chesterton 229

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