As soon as fear, hatred, jealousy and power worship are…
““As soon as fear, hatred, jealousy and power worship are involved, the sense of reality becomes unhinged. And ... the sense of right and wrong becomes unhinged also. There is no crime, absolutely none, that cannot be condoned when ‘our’ side commits it. Even if one does not deny that the crime has happened, even if one knows that it is exactly the same crime as one has condemned in some other case, even if one admits in an intellectual sense that it is unjustified – still one cannot feel that it is wrong. Loyalty is involved, and so pity ceases to function. ... Although endlessly brooding on power, victory, defeat, revenge, the nationalist is often somewhat uninterested in what happens in the real world. What he wants is to feel that his own unit is getting the better of some other unit, and he can more easily do this by scoring off an adversary than by examining the facts to see whether they support him.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
When fear, hatred, jealousy, and power dominate, moral judgment collapses; loyalty blinds us to injustice, and we rationalize wrongdoing.
In simple terms: Strong emotions and loyalty distort our sense of right and wrong.
Key Takeaway
Question loyalty, uphold justice.
Themes
morality
politics
psychology
Mood
critical
analytical
Type
philosophical
political
When to use this quote
- political discourse
- personal ethics
Key Concepts
bias
nationalism
ethical relativism
Questions to Reflect On
- Can loyalty ever justify injustice?
- How do emotions cloud moral judgment?
A Different Perspective
political bias