--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A phenomenon noticeable throughout…" description: "\"“A phenomenon noticeable throughout history regardless of place or period is the pursuit by governments of policies contrary to their own interests. Ma..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbe/barbara-w-tuchman-8258_common-sense_a-phenomenon-noticeable-throughout-histo_2282947.jpg" --- # A phenomenon noticeable throughout history regardless of… ![“A phenomenon noticeable throughout history regardless of place or period is the pursuit by governments of policies contrary to their own interests. Mankind, it seems, makes a poorer performance of government than of almost any other human activity. In this sphere, wisdom, which may be defined as…” quote by Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbe/barbara-w-tuchman-8258_common-sense_a-phenomenon-noticeable-throughout-histo_2282947.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbe/barbara-w-tuchman-8258_common-sense_a-phenomenon-noticeable-throughout-histo_2282947.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbe/barbara-w-tuchman-8258_common-sense_a-phenomenon-noticeable-throughout-histo_2282947.jpg) > ““A phenomenon noticeable throughout history regardless of place or period is the pursuit by governments of policies contrary to their own interests. Mankind, it seems, makes a poorer performance of government than of almost any other human activity. In this sphere, wisdom, which may be defined as the exercise of judgment acting on experience, common sense and available information, is less operative and more frustrated than it should be. Why do holders of high office so often act contrary to the way reason points and enlightened self-interest suggests? Why does intelligent mental process seem so often not to function?”” [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Governments often act against their own interests, showing a gap between wisdom and political action. **In simple terms:** Governments frequently make unwise choices despite knowledge. Key Takeaway Question authority and seek evidence‑based policies. Themes politics wisdom irrationality Mood critical skeptical Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - legislative debates - corporate strategy - international negotiations - public health crises Key Concepts public policy cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - Why do leaders ignore common sense? - How can societies improve collective judgment? A Different Perspective Complex systems and limited information can constrain rational decision‑making. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Common sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-sense/) [Folly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folly/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Wisdom quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom-quotes/) ## Related quotes > [“Government is the human attempt to mandate goodness and ensure fairness. Yet there is only one place where goodness is born, and that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/government-is-the-human-attempt-to-mandate-goodness-and-ensure/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [Government is not a human institution. It is a divine institution that humans are to run on His behalf. 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They are every human being's entitlement by virtue of his humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/human-rights-are-not-a-privilege-conferred-by-government-they-are-2/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [“The government of human beings, he argued, is a matter not of applying cold rules and principles, but of tending to warm sentiments and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-levin/the-government-of-human-beings-he-argued-is-a-matter-not-of-applying/) [Yuval Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-levin/) > [The predominant yardstick of your government is not human rights but national interests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/breyten-breytenbach/the-predominant-yardstick-of-your-government-is-not-human-rights-but/) [Breyten Breytenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/breyten-breytenbach/) > [Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being's entitlement by virtue of his humanity. 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JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) > [“You are what you believe”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/you-are-what-you-believe/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) ## More by Barbara W. Tuchman > [“The world remembers the battle ever since by the taxis. A hundred of them were already in the service of the Military Government of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/the-world-remembers-the-battle-ever-since-by-the-taxis-a-hundred-of/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [“The cutting off of Russia with all its consequences, the vain and sanguinary tragedy of Gallipoli, the diversion of Allied strength in the campaigns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/the-cutting-off-of-russia-with-all-its-consequences-the-vain-and/) [Barbara W. 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Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [“Inevitably, as hatred of monarchy was added to hatred of episcopacy, they were led to republicanism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/inevitably-as-hatred-of-monarchy-was-added-to-hatred-of-episcopacy/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [“This country is indeed in a melancholy situation; sunk in ease, devoted to the pursuits of gain, incumbered with a complicated and perplexed constitution,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/this-country-is-indeed-in-a-melancholy-situation-sunk-in-ease-devoted/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [“Disaster is rarely as pervasive as it seems from recorded accounts. The fact of being on the record makes it appear continuous and ubiquitous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/disaster-is-rarely-as-pervasive-as-it-seems-from-recorded-accounts/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [“Persian poet said, the rose blooms reddest where some buried Caesar bled. The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/persian-poet-said-the-rose-blooms-reddest-where-some-buried-caesar/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [“Cromwell. The door was flung open. In stalked the Protector, disgusted once more with the inability of human weaklings to come to the point,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/cromwell-the-door-was-flung-open-in-stalked-the-protector-disgusted/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [“Not a passing phenomenon nor an external force, the companies had become a way of life, a part of society itself, used and joined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/not-a-passing-phenomenon-nor-an-external-force-the-companies-had/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [“Guides were Franciscan monks, sole custodians of the holy places after 1230, who recited the history and traditions associated with each town or monument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/guides-were-franciscan-monks-sole-custodians-of-the-holy-places-after/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [“Although the defects of the Russian Army were notorious, although the Russian winter, not the Russian Army, had turned Napoleon back from Moscow, although…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/although-the-defects-of-the-russian-army-were-notorious-although-the/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [“Had all the world been a school and Wilson its principal, he would have been the greatest statesman in history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/had-all-the-world-been-a-school-and-wilson-its-principal-he-would/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [“Have we,” he wondered, “conceived a merely human project and then imagined it to be a decree of the Almighty?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/have-we-he-wondered-conceived-a-merely-human-project-and-then/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) [Explore all 82 Barbara W. Tuchman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) ## More Common sense quotes > [When you have a cavity in your tooth and you let it get worse, eventually you have to get a root canal. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-newton-john/when-you-have-a-cavity-in-your-tooth-and-you-let-it-get-worse/) [Olivia Newton-John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-newton-john/) > [Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/common-sense-is-nothing-more-than-a-deposit-of-prejudices-laid-down/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [Common sense is the guy who tells you that you ought to have had your brakes relined last week before you smashed a front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/common-sense-is-the-guy-who-tells-you-that-you-ought-to-have-had-your/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Below the 40th latitude there is no law; below the 50th no god; below the 60th no common sense and below the 70th no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-stanley/below-the-40th-latitude-there-is-no-law-below-the-50th-no-god-below/) [Kim Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-stanley/) > [I have never seen either a drop of piety or a grain of truth or ingenuousness - nay, I have never found common sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/i-have-never-seen-either-a-drop-of-piety-or-a-grain-of-truth-or/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [How is it that labels like 'centrist' and 'moderate,' which common sense tells us should reflect the views of a majority of Americans, have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehdi-hasan/how-is-it-that-labels-like-centrist-and-moderate-which-common-sense/) [Mehdi Hasan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehdi-hasan/) > [“It was true that common sense wasn’t her forte. 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To look beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-cooper/in-raleigh-partisan-battles-power-struggles-and-lawsuits-might-grab/) [Roy Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-cooper/) > [“Listen: Common sense doesn't mean what it used to mean." -Matthias Chalmers, STAIRWAY2 HEAVEN”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-thompson/listen-common-sense-doesn-t-mean-what-it-used-to-mean-matthias/) Chaz Thompson > [“when people’s brains are in defensive mode, it becomes harder to see common sense. Small disagreements can end up holding back progress beyond reason.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-webb/when-people-s-brains-are-in-defensive-mode-it-becomes-harder-to-see/) [Caroline Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-webb/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [ As we have seen after every other \[Donald\] Trump controversy, this one only increased their enthusiasm for him. His supporters thought the idea of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-inskeep/as-we-have-seen-after-every-other-donald-trump-controversy-this-one/) [Steve Inskeep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-inskeep/) > [Using, as an excuse, others' failure of common sense is in itself a failure of common sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/using-as-an-excuse-others-failure-of-common-sense-is-in-itself-a/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) [Browse all 1,942 Common sense quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-sense/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A phenomenon noticeable throughout history regardless of place or period is the pursuit by governments of policies contrary to their own interests. Mankind, it seems, makes a poorer performance of government than of almost any other human activity. 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