--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Above all, do not give up your moral and…" description: "\"Above all, do not give up your moral and political autonomy by accepting in somebody else's terms the illiberal practicality of the bureaucratic ethos ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6b/c-wright-mills-9475_accepting_above-all-do-not-give-up-your-moral-and_2151974.jpg" --- # Above all, do not give up your moral and political… ![“Above all, do not give up your moral and political autonomy by accepting in somebody else's terms the illiberal practicality of the bureaucratic ethos or the liberal practicality of the moral scatter. Know that many personal troubles cannot be solved merely as troubles, but must be understood in…” quote by C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6b/c-wright-mills-9475_accepting_above-all-do-not-give-up-your-moral-and_2151974.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6b/c-wright-mills-9475_accepting_above-all-do-not-give-up-your-moral-and_2151974.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6b/c-wright-mills-9475_accepting_above-all-do-not-give-up-your-moral-and_2151974.jpg) > “Above all, do not give up your moral and political autonomy by accepting in somebody else's terms the illiberal practicality of the bureaucratic ethos or the liberal practicality of the moral scatter. Know that many personal troubles cannot be solved merely as troubles, but must be understood in terms of public issues and in terms of the problems of history making.” [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. One should not surrender personal moral and political independence to bureaucratic or liberal practicalities; personal issues often reflect broader societal and historical contexts. **In simple terms:** Don't lose autonomy to practicality. Key Takeaway Guard your moral and political independence. Themes autonomy politics history society Mood reflective critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career choices - social activism - policy debates - personal crises Key Concepts critical theory public vs private Questions to Reflect On - How do you distinguish personal trouble from public issue? - What historical forces shape your personal challenges? A Different Perspective Balancing personal and public concerns is complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accepting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) [Autonomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autonomy/) [Bureaucratic Ethos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bureaucratic-ethos-4528209/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Do not give up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/do-not-give-up/) [Ethos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethos/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up/) [History making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-making/) [Issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/issues/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Liberal Practicality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberal-practicality-4528208/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Moral Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-political-835115/) [Moral Scatter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-scatter-4528210/) [Not giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/not-giving-up/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Practicality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practicality/) [Practicality Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practicality-moral-4528207/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term/) [Trouble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trouble/) [Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood/) ## Related quotes > [Seldom aware of the intricate connection between the patterns of their own lives and the course of world history, ordinary people do not usually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/seldom-aware-of-the-intricate-connection-between-the-patterns-of/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [If our bodies are sick, we seek to heal them. We do not give up. The same thing should be true of our marriages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallin-h-oaks/if-our-bodies-are-sick-we-seek-to-heal-them-we-do-not-give-up-the/) [Dallin H. Oaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallin-h-oaks/) > [Do not be surprised that you fall every day; do not give up, but stand your ground courageously. And assuredly, the angel who guards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-climacus/do-not-be-surprised-that-you-fall-every-day-do-not-give-up-but-stand/) [John Climacus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-climacus/) > [Our ancestors took this land. They took it and made it and held it. We do not give up what our ancestors gave us.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/our-ancestors-took-this-land-they-took-it-and-made-it-and-held-it-we/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [“Life will hold you close if it finds you worth the trouble.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitta-xinindlu/life-will-hold-you-close-if-it-finds-you-worth-the-trouble/) [Mitta Xinindlu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitta-xinindlu/) > [You are a gift to all who know you, whether or not they realize it. If they don't, they are blind. You have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/you-are-a-gift-to-all-who-know-you-whether-or-not-they-realize-it-if/) [Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/) > [You are mine, Aisling. You are mine today, tomorrow and five hundred years from now. You will always be mine. I do not give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-macalister/you-are-mine-aisling-you-are-mine-today-tomorrow-and-five-hundred/) [Katie MacAlister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-macalister/) > [People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/people-are-always-blaming-their-circumstances-for-what-they-are-i-don/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [When you are going through hell, keep on going. Never never never give up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/when-you-are-going-through-hell-keep-on-going-never-never-never-give/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Anything is possible, but you have to believe and you have to fight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-armstrong/anything-is-possible-but-you-have-to-believe-and-you-have-to-fight/) [Lance Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-armstrong/) > [Never give up on what you really want to do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-jackson-brown-jr/never-give-up-on-what-you-really-want-to-do/) [H. Jackson Brown, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-jackson-brown-jr/) > [“Give your choice a chance; do not give up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/give-your-choice-a-chance-do-not-give-up/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [Go at life every day with passion and enthusiasm... and when challenges arrive, simply do not give up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/go-at-life-every-day-with-passion-and-enthusiasm-and-when-challenges/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We all start with zero. We all start at the beginning. Do not give up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-vujicic/we-all-start-with-zero-we-all-start-at-the-beginning-do-not-give-up/) [Nick Vujicic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-vujicic/) ## More by C. Wright Mills > [As a social and as a personal force, religion has become a dependent variable. It does not originate; it reacts. It does not denounce;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/as-a-social-and-as-a-personal-force-religion-has-become-a-dependent/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [Every revolution has its counterrevolution - that is a sign the revolution is for real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/every-revolution-has-its-counterrevolution-that-is-a-sign-the/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [For the first time in American history, men in authority are talking about an 'emergency' without a foreseeable end... such men as these are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/for-the-first-time-in-american-history-men-in-authority-are-talking/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [Prestige is the shadow of money and power. Where these are, there it is. Like the national market for soap or automobiles and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/prestige-is-the-shadow-of-money-and-power-where-these-are-there-it-is/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [America is a nation with no truly national city, no Paris, no Rome, no London, no city which is at once the social center,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/america-is-a-nation-with-no-truly-national-city-no-paris-no-rome-no/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [What we experience in various and specific milieux, I have noted, is often caused by structural changes. Accordingly, to understand the changes of many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/what-we-experience-in-various-and-specific-milieux-i-have-noted-is/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [The nearest the modern general or admiral comes to a small-arms encounter of any sort is at a duck hunt in the company of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/the-nearest-the-modern-general-or-admiral-comes-to-a-small-arms/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [IBM Plus Reality Plus Humanism = Sociology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/ibm-plus-reality-plus-humanism-sociology/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [You can never really understand an individual unless you also understand the society,historical time period in which they live,personal troubles, and social issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/you-can-never-really-understand-an-individual-unless-you-also/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [Fate has to do with events in history that are the summary and unintended results of innumerable decisions of innumerable men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/fate-has-to-do-with-events-in-history-that-are-the-summary-and/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [Whatever sociology may be, it is the result of constantly asking the question, what is the meaning of this?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/whatever-sociology-may-be-it-is-the-result-of-constantly-asking-the/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [The mass production of distraction is now as much a part of the American way of life as the mass production of automobiles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/the-mass-production-of-distraction-is-now-as-much-a-part-of-the/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [If we accept the Greek's definition of the idiot as an altogether private man, then we must conclude that many American citizens are now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/if-we-accept-the-greek-s-definition-of-the-idiot-as-an-altogether/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [Seldom aware of the intricate connection between the patterns of their own lives and the course of world history, ordinary people do not usually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/seldom-aware-of-the-intricate-connection-between-the-patterns-of/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/neither-the-life-of-an-individual-nor-the-history-of-a-society-can-be/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) [Explore all 70 C. Wright Mills quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) ## More Accepting quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It takes an unusually philosophic mind to accept that all one’s suffering might be to no end, really, in the larger scheme of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-an-unusually-philosophic-mind-to-accept-that-all-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [Losing someone is easy, but accepting it is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-someone-is-easy-but-accepting-it-is-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [As my films are born at the moment when they are reflected into another person's mind and memories, there are no misconceptions. I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) [Browse all 6,788 Accepting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Above all, do not give up your moral and political autonomy by accepting in somebody else's terms the illiberal practicality of the bureaucratic ethos or the liberal practicality of the moral scatter. Know that many personal troubles cannot be solved merely as troubles, but must be understood in terms of public issues and in terms of the problems of history making.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "C. 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