---
title: "6 Ethical Quotes By Michael Lerner"
description: "6 Ethical quotes by Michael Lerner. Plus more from Michael Lerner and more Ethical sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/michael-lerner-34328_acknowledge_we-need-to-build-millions-of-little-mome_291632.png"
---

> [We need to build millions of little moments of caring on an individual level. Indeed, as talk of a politics of meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lerner/we-need-to-build-millions-of-little-moments-of-caring-on-an/)

[Michael Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lerner/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/michael-lerner-34328_acknowledge_we-need-to-build-millions-of-little-mome_291632.png)

> [Instead of a bottom-line based on money and power, we need a new bottom-line that defines productivity and creativity as where corporations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lerner/instead-of-a-bottom-line-based-on-money-and-power-we-need-a-new/)

[Michael Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lerner/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b5/michael-lerner-34328_awe_instead-of-a-bottom-line-based-on-money_421126.jpg)

> [Reality is much more complex than any judgment of right and wrong encourages you to believe. When you really understand the ethical,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lerner/reality-is-much-more-complex-than-any-judgment-of-right-and-wrong/)

[Michael Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lerner/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/michael-lerner-34328_accord_reality-is-much-more-complex-than-any-ju_906202.jpg)

> [Ultimately, one of the best ways to take care of our souls is to build a society that supports rather than undermines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lerner/ultimately-one-of-the-best-ways-to-take-care-of-our-souls-is-to-build/)

[Michael Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lerner/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d26/michael-lerner-34328_best-way_ultimately-one-of-the-best-ways-to-take_928455.jpg)

> [Many Americans hunger for a different kind of society - one based on principles of caring, ethical and spiritual sensitivity, and communal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lerner/many-americans-hunger-for-a-different-kind-of-society-one-based-on/)

[Michael Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lerner/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c2/michael-lerner-34328_caring_many-americans-hunger-for-a-different-ki_929287.png)

> [This focus on money and power may do wonders in the marketplace, but it creates a tremendous crisis in our society. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lerner/this-focus-on-money-and-power-may-do-wonders-in-the-marketplace-but/)

[Michael Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lerner/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/334/michael-lerner-34328_caring_this-focus-on-money-and-power-may-do-won_1257858.jpg)

## Other authors on Ethical

## More by Michael Lerner

> [We need to build millions of little moments of caring on an individual level. Indeed, as talk of a politics of meaning becomes more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lerner/we-need-to-build-millions-of-little-moments-of-caring-on-an/)

[Michael Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lerner/)

> [Nothing is more contagious than genuine love and genuine care. Nothing is more exhilarating than authentic awe and wonder. Nothing is more exciting than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lerner/nothing-is-more-contagious-than-genuine-love-and-genuine-care-nothing/)

[Michael Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lerner/)

> [Instead of a bottom-line based on money and power, we need a new bottom-line that defines productivity and creativity as where corporations, governments, schools,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lerner/instead-of-a-bottom-line-based-on-money-and-power-we-need-a-new/)

[Michael Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lerner/)

> [Energy always flows either toward hope, community, love, generosity, mutual recognition, and spiritual aliveness or it flows toward despair, cynicism, fear that there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lerner/energy-always-flows-either-toward-hope-community-love-generosity/)

[Michael Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lerner/)

> [Reality is much more complex than any judgment of right and wrong encourages you to believe. When you really understand the ethical, spiritual, social,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lerner/reality-is-much-more-complex-than-any-judgment-of-right-and-wrong/)

[Michael Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lerner/)

> [Ultimately, one of the best ways to take care of our souls is to build a society that supports rather than undermines our highest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lerner/ultimately-one-of-the-best-ways-to-take-care-of-our-souls-is-to-build/)

[Michael Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lerner/)

> [Many Americans hunger for a different kind of society - one based on principles of caring, ethical and spiritual sensitivity, and communal solidarity. Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lerner/many-americans-hunger-for-a-different-kind-of-society-one-based-on/)

[Michael Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lerner/)

> [. . . the upsurge of Spirit is the only plausible way to stop the ecological destruction of our planet. Even people who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lerner/the-upsurge-of-spirit-is-the-only-plausible-way-to-stop-the/)

[Michael Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lerner/)

> [...in place of the Old Bottom Line of money and power, a New Bottom Line of Love and Generosity is possible. People of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lerner/in-place-of-the-old-bottom-line-of-money-and-power-a-new-bottom-line/)

[Michael Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lerner/)

> [This focus on money and power may do wonders in the marketplace, but it creates a tremendous crisis in our society. People who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lerner/this-focus-on-money-and-power-may-do-wonders-in-the-marketplace-but/)

[Michael Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lerner/)

> [I seek peace, let me BE peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lerner/i-seek-peace-let-me-be-peace/)

[Michael Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lerner/)

> [Because religious institutions are not afraid to talk about love as a goal, they are likely to be more effective at providing community services.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lerner/because-religious-institutions-are-not-afraid-to-talk-about-love-as-a/)

[Michael Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lerner/)

> [Corporations care very much about maintaining the myth that government is necessarily ineffective, except when it is spending money on the military-industrial complex, building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lerner/corporations-care-very-much-about-maintaining-the-myth-that/)

[Michael Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lerner/)

> [A spiritual sensibility encourages us to see ourselves as part of the fundamental unity of all being. If the thrust of the market ethos…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lerner/a-spiritual-sensibility-encourages-us-to-see-ourselves-as-part-of-the/)

[Michael Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lerner/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethical/michael-lerner/#itemlist",
            "name": "6 Ethical Quotes By Michael Lerner",
            "numberOfItems": 6,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "We need to build millions of little moments of caring on an individual level. Indeed, as talk of a politics of meaning becomes more widespread, many people will feel it easier to publicly acknowledge their own spiritual and ethical aspirations and will allow themselves to give more space to their highest vision in their personal interactions with others. A politics of meaning is as much about these millions of small acts as it is about any larger change. The two necessarily go hand in hand.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Michael Lerner"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lerner/we-need-to-build-millions-of-little-moments-of-caring-on-an/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/michael-lerner-34328_acknowledge_we-need-to-build-millions-of-little-mome_291632.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/michael-lerner-34328_acknowledge_we-need-to-build-millions-of-little-mome_291632.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/michael-lerner-34328_acknowledge_we-need-to-build-millions-of-little-mome_291632.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“We need to build millions of little moments of caring on an individual level. Indeed, as talk of a politics…” — Michael Lerner",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Instead of a bottom-line based on money and power, we need a new bottom-line that defines productivity and creativity as where corporations, governments, schools, public institutions, and social practices are judged as efficient, rational and productive not only to the extent they maximize money and power, but to the extent they maximize love and caring, ethical and ecological sensitivity, and our capacities to respond with awe and wonder at the grandeur of creation.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Michael Lerner"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lerner/instead-of-a-bottom-line-based-on-money-and-power-we-need-a-new/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b5/michael-lerner-34328_awe_instead-of-a-bottom-line-based-on-money_421126.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b5/michael-lerner-34328_awe_instead-of-a-bottom-line-based-on-money_421126.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b5/michael-lerner-34328_awe_instead-of-a-bottom-line-based-on-money_421126.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Instead of a bottom-line based on money and power, we need a new bottom-line that defines productivity and…” — Michael Lerner",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Reality is much more complex than any judgment of right and wrong encourages you to believe. When you really understand the ethical, spiritual, social, economic, and psychological forces that shape individuals, you will see that people's choices are not based on a desire to hurt. Instead, they are in accord with what they know and what world views are available to them. Most are doing the best they can, given what information they've received and what problems they are facing.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Michael Lerner"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lerner/reality-is-much-more-complex-than-any-judgment-of-right-and-wrong/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/michael-lerner-34328_accord_reality-is-much-more-complex-than-any-ju_906202.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/michael-lerner-34328_accord_reality-is-much-more-complex-than-any-ju_906202.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/michael-lerner-34328_accord_reality-is-much-more-complex-than-any-ju_906202.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Reality is much more complex than any judgment of right and wrong encourages you to believe. When you really…” — Michael Lerner",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Ultimately, one of the best ways to take care of our souls is to build a society that supports rather than undermines our highest moral and spiritual intuitions and inclinations. Yet, building that society can never be divided from the daily practices through which we live out our ethical and spiritual lives, both in the way we treat others around us, and in the way we nourish the God within us.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Michael Lerner"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lerner/ultimately-one-of-the-best-ways-to-take-care-of-our-souls-is-to-build/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d26/michael-lerner-34328_best-way_ultimately-one-of-the-best-ways-to-take_928455.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d26/michael-lerner-34328_best-way_ultimately-one-of-the-best-ways-to-take_928455.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d26/michael-lerner-34328_best-way_ultimately-one-of-the-best-ways-to-take_928455.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Ultimately, one of the best ways to take care of our souls is to build a society that supports rather than…” — Michael Lerner",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Many Americans hunger for a different kind of society - one based on principles of caring, ethical and spiritual sensitivity, and communal solidarity. Their need for meaning is just as intense as their need for economic security.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Michael Lerner"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lerner/many-americans-hunger-for-a-different-kind-of-society-one-based-on/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c2/michael-lerner-34328_caring_many-americans-hunger-for-a-different-ki_929287.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c2/michael-lerner-34328_caring_many-americans-hunger-for-a-different-ki_929287.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c2/michael-lerner-34328_caring_many-americans-hunger-for-a-different-ki_929287.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Many Americans hunger for a different kind of society - one based on principles of caring, ethical and…” — Michael Lerner",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 6,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "This focus on money and power may do wonders in the marketplace, but it creates a tremendous crisis in our society. People who have spent all day learning how to sell themselves and to manipulate others are in no position to form lasting friendships or intimate relationships... Many Americans hunger for a different kind of society - one based on principles of caring, ethical and spiritual sensitivity, and communal solidarity. Their need for meaning is just as intense as their need for economic security.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Michael Lerner"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lerner/this-focus-on-money-and-power-may-do-wonders-in-the-marketplace-but/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/334/michael-lerner-34328_caring_this-focus-on-money-and-power-may-do-won_1257858.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/334/michael-lerner-34328_caring_this-focus-on-money-and-power-may-do-won_1257858.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/334/michael-lerner-34328_caring_this-focus-on-money-and-power-may-do-won_1257858.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“This focus on money and power may do wonders in the marketplace, but it creates a tremendous crisis in our…” — Michael Lerner",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethical/michael-lerner/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethical/michael-lerner/",
            "name": "Ethical Quotes by Michael Lerner",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethical/michael-lerner/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/michael-lerner-34328_acknowledge_we-need-to-build-millions-of-little-mome_291632.png"
            },
            "description": "6 Ethical quotes by Michael Lerner. Plus more from Michael Lerner and more Ethical sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethical/michael-lerner/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethical/michael-lerner/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Ethical",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethical/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "Michael Lerner",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethical/michael-lerner/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
