[...] suppose you had done that, suppose it were true…
![“[...] suppose you had done that, suppose it were true — [...] would you kill a man, an innocent man—’ ‘Mundt’s a killer himself.’ ‘Suppose he wasn’t. Suppose it were me they wanted to kill: would London do it?’ ‘It depends … it depends on the need …’ ‘Ah,’ said Fiedler contentedly, ‘it depends on…” quote by John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/2b9/john-le-carre-651_quote_suppose-you-had-done-that-suppose-it-wer_342638.jpg)
““[...] suppose you had done that, suppose it were true — [...] would you kill a man, an innocent man—’ ‘Mundt’s a killer himself.’ ‘Suppose he wasn’t. Suppose it were me they wanted to kill: would London do it?’ ‘It depends … it depends on the need …’ ‘Ah,’ said Fiedler contentedly, ‘it depends on the need. Like Stalin, in fact. The traffic accident and the statistics. That is a great relief.’ ‘Why?’ ‘[...] We’re all the same, you know, that’s the joke.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
Moral decisions hinge on personal needs and context, revealing the absurdity of absolute judgments about right and wrong.
In simple terms: Ethics depend on circumstance.
Key Takeaway
Consider context before judging actions.
Themes
ethics
war
human nature
relativism
Mood
tense
thought‑provoking
Type
literary
philosophical
When to use this quote
- military decision‑making
- legal judgments
- personal dilemmas
- conflict resolution
Key Concepts
moral ambiguity
necessity
psychological realism
Questions to Reflect On
- What personal need justifies a harmful act?
- How do we balance empathy with accountability?
A Different Perspective
May oversimplify complex moral landscapes.