“A man who doesn’t detest a bad government is a fool. And if there were such a thing as a good government on earth, it would be a great joy to serve it.”

Source: Hainish Cycle, The Left Hand of Darkness (1969), Chapter 15 “To the Ice” (p. 213)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "A man who doesn’t detest a bad government is a fool. And if there were such a thing as a good government on earth, it w…" by Ursula K. Le Guin?
Ursula K. Le Guin photo
Ursula K. Le Guin 292
American writer 1929–2018

Related quotes

Charles Bukowski photo

“Are there good governments and bad governments? No, there are only bad governments and worse governments.”

Charles Bukowski (1920–1994) American writer

Source: The Most Beautiful Woman in Town & Other Stories

Robert LeFevre photo

“If men were basically good, we would not require government; if men were basically evil, we could not afford to grant any man the power of government.”

Robert LeFevre (1911–1986) American libertarian businessman

Rampart Institute, p. 431
The Fundamental of Liberty (1988)

David Lloyd George photo

“The Government were on the look-out for a good, strong business man, with some push and go in him, who will be able to put the thing through.”

David Lloyd George (1863–1945) Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Speech in the House of Commons (9 March 1915) on the Defence of the Realm (Amendment) Bill, quoted in The Times (10 March 1915), p. 14
Chancellor of the Exchequer

Robert LeFevre photo

“If you have a government of good laws and bad men, you will have a bad government. For bad men will not be bound by good laws.”

Robert LeFevre (1911–1986) American libertarian businessman

Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph, “Unlimited Government” (Dec. 29, 1961).

William Faulkner photo
Gillian Flynn photo
David Lipscomb photo

“Every one who honors and serves the human government and relies upon it, for good, more than he does upon the Divine government, worships and serves the creature more than he does the Creator.”

David Lipscomb (1831–1917) Leader, American Restoration Movement

Source: Civil Government : Its Origin, Mission, and Destiny (1889), p. 49

William Penn photo

“Wherefore governments rather depend upon men, than men upon governments. Let men be good, and the government cannot be bad; if it be ill, they will cure it. But, if men be bad, let the government be never so good, they will endeavor to warp and spoil it to their turn.”

William Penn (1644–1718) English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, early Quaker and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania

Frame of Government (1682)
Context: Governments, like clocks, go from the motion men give them; and as governments are made and moved by men, so by them they are ruined too. Wherefore governments rather depend upon men, than men upon governments. Let men be good, and the government cannot be bad; if it be ill, they will cure it. But, if men be bad, let the government be never so good, they will endeavor to warp and spoil it to their turn.

Adlai Stevenson photo

“The really basic thing in government is policy. Bad administration, to be sure, can destroy good policy, but good administration can never save bad policy.”

Adlai Stevenson (1900–1965) mid-20th-century Governor of Illinois and Ambassador to the UN

Speech to the Los Angeles Town Club, Los Angeles, California (11 September 1952); Speeches of Adlai Stevenson (1952), p. 36
Context: In the tragic days of Mussolini, the trains in Italy ran on time as never before and I am told in their way, their horrible way, that the Nazi concentration-camp system in Germany was a model of horrible efficiency. The really basic thing in government is policy. Bad administration, to be sure, can destroy good policy, but good administration can never save bad policy.

Jesse Ventura photo

“There are a lot of good causes out there, but they can't possibly all be served by government.”

Jesse Ventura (1951) American politician and former professional wrestler

I Ain't Got Time To Bleed (1999)
Context: There are a lot of good causes out there, but they can't possibly all be served by government. The Constitution guarantees us our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That's all. It doesn't guarantee our rights to charity.
The government is not a parent. We can't expect the government to always be there, ready to bail us out. When we make decisions in life, we have to be willing to live with the consequences. We can't expect the government to help us get back on our feet every time we make a bad decision.

Related topics