--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The man who refuses to judge, who neither…" description: "\"“The man who refuses to judge, who neither agrees nor disagrees, who declares that there are no absolutes and believes that he escapes responsibility, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b0/ayn-rand-59_absolute_the-man-who-refuses-to-judge-who-neither_221907.jpg" --- # The man who refuses to judge, who neither agrees nor… ![“The man who refuses to judge, who neither agrees nor disagrees, who declares that there are no absolutes and believes that he escapes responsibility, is the man responsible for all the blood that is now spilled in the world. Reality is an absolute, existence is an absolute, a speck of dust is an…” quote by Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b0/ayn-rand-59_absolute_the-man-who-refuses-to-judge-who-neither_221907.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b0/ayn-rand-59_absolute_the-man-who-refuses-to-judge-who-neither_221907.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b0/ayn-rand-59_absolute_the-man-who-refuses-to-judge-who-neither_221907.jpg) > ““The man who refuses to judge, who neither agrees nor disagrees, who declares that there are no absolutes and believes that he escapes responsibility, is the man responsible for all the blood that is now spilled in the world. Reality is an absolute, existence is an absolute, a speck of dust is an absolute and so is a human life. Whether you live or die is an absolute. Whether you have a piece of bread or not, is an absolute. Whether you eat your bread or see it vanish into a looter's stomach, is an absolute. There are two sides to every issue: one side is right and the other is wrong, but the middle is always evil. The man who is wrong still retains some respect for truth, if only by accepting the responsibility of choice. But the man in the middle is the knave who blanks out the truth in order to pretend that no choice or values exist, who is willing to sit out the course of any battle, willing to cash in on the blood of the innocent or to crawl on his belly to the guilty, who dispenses justice by condemning both the robber and the robbed to jail, who solves conflicts by ordering the thinker and the fool to meet each other halfway. In any compromise between food and poison, it is only death that can win. In any compromise between good and evil, it is only evil that can profit. In that transfusion of blood which drains the good to feed the evil, the compromise is the transmitting rubber tube.”” [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Absolutism vs relativism; moral responsibility is essential; compromise breeds evil **In simple terms:** Absolutes matter; middle ground is dangerous Key Takeaway Reject moral relativism; uphold absolute values Themes ethics philosophy politics Mood serious critical thought‑provoking Type philosophical controversial When to use this quote - political debate - legal judgments - personal decisions Key Concepts absolute truth responsibility moral absolutism Questions to Reflect On - When is compromise justified? - Can absolute truths coexist with pluralism? A Different Perspective Compromise can be necessary in complex situations ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutes/) [Compromise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compromise/) [Conflict resolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conflict-resolution/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Good and evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-and-evil/) [Human life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-life/) [Indecisiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indecisiveness/) [Judgement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judgement/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Live or die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-or-die/) [Two sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two-sides/) ## Related quotes > [The man who refuses to judge, who neither agrees nor disagrees, who declares that there are no absolutes and believes that he escapes responsibility,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/the-man-who-refuses-to-judge-who-neither-agrees-nor-disagrees-who/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“Reality is an absolute, existence is an absolute, a speck of dust is an absolute and so is a human life. Whether you live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/reality-is-an-absolute-existence-is-an-absolute-a-speck-of-dust-is-an/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Did it ever occur to you, that there is no conflict of interests among men, neither in business nor in trade nor in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/did-it-ever-occur-to-you-that-there-is-no-conflict-of-interests-among-2/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“The self has no inherent, unconditional, absolute existence apart from the network of causes it arises from, in, and as.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-hanson/the-self-has-no-inherent-unconditional-absolute-existence-apart-from/) [Rick Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-hanson/) > [The question between the materialists and me is not, whether things have a real existence out of the mind of this or that person,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/the-question-between-the-materialists-and-me-is-not-whether-things/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) > [When we are unhurried and wise, we perceive that only great and worthy things have any permanent and absolute existence, that petty fears and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-we-are-unhurried-and-wise-we-perceive-that-only-great-and-worthy/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The being which has absolute existence, which has never been and will never be without existence, is not in need of an agent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/the-being-which-has-absolute-existence-which-has-never-been-and-will/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [God is One. There cannot be two or more. For if there were two God's who created them? There must have been someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rama-swami/god-is-one-there-cannot-be-two-or-more-for-if-there-were-two-god-s/) [Rama Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rama-swami/) > [The knowledge that mankind needs is not the way or principle which has an absolute existence, but the particular truths for here and now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hu-shih/the-knowledge-that-mankind-needs-is-not-the-way-or-principle-which/) [Hu Shih](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hu-shih/) > [True faith is belief in the reality of absolute values.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ralph-inge/true-faith-is-belief-in-the-reality-of-absolute-values/) [William Ralph Inge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ralph-inge/) > [What is the Absolute? Something that appears to us in fleeting experiences--say, through the gentle smile of a beautiful woman, or even through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/what-is-the-absolute-something-that-appears-to-us-in-fleeting/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [“In the relative, one is the self and in reality, One is the absolute Self! As long as transactions of temporary things are ongoing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/in-the-relative-one-is-the-self-and-in-reality-one-is-the-absolute/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [There can be no absolute reality, there can be no absolute truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-warwick/there-can-be-no-absolute-reality-there-can-be-no-absolute-truth/) [Kevin Warwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-warwick/) > [“For Hegel, reality is the absolute, which exists in a dialectical evolution that is logical and rational in character. According to his famous statement,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juli-n-mar-as/for-hegel-reality-is-the-absolute-which-exists-in-a-dialectical/) Julián Marías > [In recent years my understanding of God had evolved into increasingly remote abstractions. I'd come to think of God in terms like Divine Reality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/in-recent-years-my-understanding-of-god-had-evolved-into-increasingly/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) ## More by Ayn Rand > [There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-white-lies-there-is-only-the-blackest-of-destruction-and/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [She watched the prairies the rivers, the towns slipping past at an untouchable distance below - and she noted that the sense of detachment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-watched-the-prairies-the-rivers-the-towns-slipping-past-at-an/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“This was reality, she thought, this sense of clear outlines, of purpose, of lightness, of hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-was-reality-she-thought-this-sense-of-clear-outlines-of-purpose/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [A “collective” mind does not exist. It is merely the sum of endless numbers of individual minds. If we have an endless number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/a-collective-mind-does-not-exist-it-is-merely-the-sum-of-endless/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Lobbying' is the activity of attempting to influence legislation by privately influencing the legislators. It is the result and creation of a mixed economy-of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/lobbying-is-the-activity-of-attempting-to-influence-legislation-by/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“She moved her hand and let it rest against his. He did not withdraw his fingers and he did not pretend indifference. She bent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-moved-her-hand-and-let-it-rest-against-his-he-did-not-withdraw/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [This miracle of me is mine to own and keep, and mine to guard, and mine to use, and mine to kneel before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-miracle-of-me-is-mine-to-own-and-keep-and-mine-to-guard-and-mine/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“There was still one response, the greatest, that she had missed. She thought: To find a feeling that would hold, as their sum, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-was-still-one-response-the-greatest-that-she-had-missed-she/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Inflation is not caused by the actions of private citizens, but by the government: by an artificial expansion of the money supply required to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/inflation-is-not-caused-by-the-actions-of-private-citizens-but-by-the/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“We are fornicating in the sight of six billion people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-fornicating-in-the-sight-of-six-billion-people/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“She was fifteen when it occurred to her for the first time that women did not run railroads and that people might object. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-was-fifteen-when-it-occurred-to-her-for-the-first-time-that-women/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Fransisco, you're some kind of very high nobility, aren't you?" He answered, "Not yet. The reason my family has lasted for such a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/fransisco-you-re-some-kind-of-very-high-nobility-aren-t-you-he/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Have you felt it too? Have you seen how your best friends love everything about you- except the things that count? And your most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/have-you-felt-it-too-have-you-seen-how-your-best-friends-love/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Every coercive monopoly was created by government intervention into the economy: by special privileges, such as franchises or subsidies, which closed the entry of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/every-coercive-monopoly-was-created-by-government-intervention-into/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [We are all brothers under the skin - and I, for one, would be willing to skin humanity to prove it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-all-brothers-under-the-skin-and-i-for-one-would-be-willing-to/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) [Explore all 1,777 Ayn Rand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## More Absolute quotes > [“In the worldly life, due to maadakta (intoxication of the ego of ‘I am Chandubhai’), one has completely lost awareness of everything about one’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/in-the-worldly-life-due-to-maadakta-intoxication-of-the-ego-of-i-am/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [Absolute is a game with only one player where Absolute forgets itself so it would have a reason to fulfill the motion while returning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/absolute-is-a-game-with-only-one-player-where-absolute-forgets-itself/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [“The necessity of nothingness does not create anything. The real value and meaning of the Being are not in its necessity but in its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/the-necessity-of-nothingness-does-not-create-anything-the-real-value/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [Anarchy is the stepping stone to absolute power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/anarchy-is-the-stepping-stone-to-absolute-power/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [I can like something. You can like something. It's not an absolute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-i-am/i-can-like-something-you-can-like-something-it-s-not-an-absolute/) [will.i.am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-i-am/) > [Nothing is absolute. Everything changes, everything moves, everything revolves, everything flies and goes away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/nothing-is-absolute-everything-changes-everything-moves-everything/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) > [I - it's simply not for me to evaluate an independent rating agency's processes. But I will say that there was reason to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-carney/i-it-s-simply-not-for-me-to-evaluate-an-independent-rating-agency-s/) [Jay Carney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-carney/) > [Absolute morality is the regulation of conduct in such a way that pain shall not be inflicted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/absolute-morality-is-the-regulation-of-conduct-in-such-a-way-that/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [What is liberty? There is no such thing as absolute liberty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benito-mussolini/what-is-liberty-there-is-no-such-thing-as-absolute-liberty/) [Benito Mussolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benito-mussolini/) > [Doing the right thing at all costs is an absolute, and only a sith deals in absolutes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-filoni/doing-the-right-thing-at-all-costs-is-an-absolute-and-only-a-sith/) [Dave Filoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-filoni/) > [“Energy is the world-born phenomenon, the world that puts itself in motion and flies into space by receiving space into itself. From this point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/energy-is-the-world-born-phenomenon-the-world-that-puts-itself-in/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [“As we see it, space is possible only when the primordial Being swallows emptiness. Space is born when the Being accepts emptiness, the Nonbeing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/as-we-see-it-space-is-possible-only-when-the-primordial-being/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [Absolute faith can blind you to the consequences of the actions you allow. It can tell you it's okay to drop bombs on another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-denton/absolute-faith-can-blind-you-to-the-consequences-of-the-actions-you/) [Andrew Denton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-denton/) > [“Zero is a gateway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/zero-is-a-gateway/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [Absolute perfection is here and now, not in some future, near or far.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/absolute-perfection-is-here-and-now-not-in-some-future-near-or-far/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) Browse all 631 Absolute quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The man who refuses to judge, who neither agrees nor disagrees, who declares that there are no absolutes and believes that he escapes responsibility, is the man responsible for all the blood that is now spilled in the world. Reality is an absolute, existence is an absolute, a speck of dust is an absolute and so is a human life. Whether you live or die is an absolute. Whether you have a piece of bread or not, is an absolute. Whether you eat your bread or see it vanish into a looter's stomach, is an absolute. There are two sides to every issue: one side is right and the other is wrong, but the middle is always evil. The man who is wrong still retains some respect for truth, if only by accepting the responsibility of choice. But the man in the middle is the knave who blanks out the truth in order to pretend that no choice or values exist, who is willing to sit out the course of any battle, willing to cash in on the blood of the innocent or to crawl on his belly to the guilty, who dispenses justice by condemning both the robber and the robbed to jail, who solves conflicts by ordering the thinker and the fool to meet each other halfway. In any compromise between food and poison, it is only death that can win. 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