--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Moral power is probably best when it is…" description: "\"Moral power is probably best when it is not used. The less you use it the more you have.\" — Andrew Young" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/115/andrew-young-5409_character_moral-power-is-probably-best-when-it-is_2311556.png" --- # Moral power is probably best when it is not used. The less… ![“Moral power is probably best when it is not used. The less you use it the more you have.” quote by Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/115/andrew-young-5409_character_moral-power-is-probably-best-when-it-is_2311556.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/115/andrew-young-5409_character_moral-power-is-probably-best-when-it-is_2311556.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/115/andrew-young-5409_character_moral-power-is-probably-best-when-it-is_2311556.png) > “Moral power is probably best when it is not used. The less you use it the more you have.” [Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Power is most effective when restrained; restraint preserves influence and moral authority. **In simple terms:** Use power sparingly to keep it strong. Key Takeaway Exercise restraint. Themes power restraint ethics Mood reflective cautious Type political ethical When to use this quote - government - activism - personal negotiations Key Concepts political philosophy leadership Questions to Reflect On - When have you chosen not to use your power? - What are the risks of hoarding power? A Different Perspective Power can be misused even when restrained. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) ## Related quotes > [“Grace has been out of hand for more than two thousand years now. We best get used to it. And”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-held-evans/grace-has-been-out-of-hand-for-more-than-two-thousand-years-now-we/) [Rachel Held Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-held-evans/) > [In most cases, those who want power probably shouldn't have it, those who enjoy it probably do so for the wrong reasons, and those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/in-most-cases-those-who-want-power-probably-shouldn-t-have-it-those/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [If you have to abuse your power, you're probably in the process of losing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sapolsky/if-you-have-to-abuse-your-power-you-re-probably-in-the-process-of/) [Robert Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sapolsky/) > [Coaches often sting me to get the best of me. I am used to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ousmane-dembele/coaches-often-sting-me-to-get-the-best-of-me-i-am-used-to-it/) [Ousmane Dembele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ousmane-dembele/) > [Let us rise in the moral power of womanhood; and give utterance to the voice of outraged mercy, and insulted justice, and eternal truth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-weston-chapman/let-us-rise-in-the-moral-power-of-womanhood-and-give-utterance-to-the/) [Maria Weston Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-weston-chapman/) > [Economic and military power can be developed under the spur of laws and appropriations. But moral power does not derive from any act of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-foster-dulles/economic-and-military-power-can-be-developed-under-the-spur-of-laws/) [John Foster Dulles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-foster-dulles/) > [Since everything in nature answers to a moral power, if any phenomenon remains brute and dark, it is that the corresponding faculty in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/since-everything-in-nature-answers-to-a-moral-power-if-any-phenomenon/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [We ask for nothing that is not ours by right, and herein lies the great moral power of our demand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-robeson/we-ask-for-nothing-that-is-not-ours-by-right-and-herein-lies-the/) [Paul Robeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-robeson/) > [The church is not a political power; it's not a party, but it's a moral power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/the-church-is-not-a-political-power-it-s-not-a-party-but-it-s-a-moral/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [Authority is mainly a moral power; therefore, it must first call upon the conscience, that is, upon the duty that each person has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-xxiii/authority-is-mainly-a-moral-power-therefore-it-must-first-call-upon/) [Pope John XXIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-xxiii/) > [Woman is the companion of man, gifted with equal mental capacity...If by strength is meant moral power, then woman is immeasurably man's superior...If non-violence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/woman-is-the-companion-of-man-gifted-with-equal-mental-capacity-if-by/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Humankind has the science and technology to destroy itself or to provide prosperity for all. But while science offers us these opportunities, science will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-beckett/humankind-has-the-science-and-technology-to-destroy-itself-or-to/) [Margaret Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-beckett/) > [It is not in violence and crime that our greatest danger lies. These evils are so perfectly apparent that they very quickly arouse the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/it-is-not-in-violence-and-crime-that-our-greatest-danger-lies-these/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [Moral power is always more dangerous to an oppressor than political force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/moral-power-is-always-more-dangerous-to-an-oppressor-than-political/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The Declaration has a moral power which is of enormous weight and influence. The statement of the rights represent a goal, or a standard,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-v-evatt/the-declaration-has-a-moral-power-which-is-of-enormous-weight-and/) H. V. Evatt ## More by Andrew Young > [Civil rights leaders are involved in helping poor people. That's what I've been doing all my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/civil-rights-leaders-are-involved-in-helping-poor-people-that-s-what/) [Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) > [I think we've made tremendous progress on racism. We've even made progress on war. We've made almost no progress on poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/i-think-we-ve-made-tremendous-progress-on-racism-we-ve-even-made/) [Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) > [Any racial reconciliation we've had in this country has come not out of confrontation but out of a spirit of reconciliation. If we continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/any-racial-reconciliation-we-ve-had-in-this-country-has-come-not-out/) [Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) > [I wouldn't listen to my parents, but I found out that I absorbed. I never heard what they said - told me - but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/i-wouldn-t-listen-to-my-parents-but-i-found-out-that-i-absorbed-i/) [Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) > [In a world where change is inevitable and continuous, the need to achieve that change without violence is essential for survival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/in-a-world-where-change-is-inevitable-and-continuous-the-need-to/) [Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) > [There's no problem on the planet that can't be solved without violence. 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