Critics Quote by David Hare
““Now it turns out that a few broadsheet film critics in Britain do indeed belong to a category of people who would have resisted Hitler when he came to power. So the great shame is, clearly film critics should have been running Austria at the time, because Hitler would have represented no problem to them at all. [The Guardian's] Peter Bradshaw would have known exactly what to do, and he would not have been remotely fallible to any Nazi who threatened his life. No, he would have died in heroic acts of individual resistance. So it's a privilege to live among people who enjoy such moral certainty.””
About This Quote
Source Speech: Public Lecture, 2015
The quote satirically suggests that critics should have been political leaders, highlighting absurd expectations of moral certainty and the danger of overconfidence.
In simple terms: Critics aren't suited to political leadership; overconfidence is risky.
Key Takeaway
Avoid assuming moral certainty equates to effective action.
Themes
politics
media criticism
hubris
responsibility
Mood
skeptical
ironic
Type
satire
political commentary
When to use this quote
- election campaigns
- media analysis
- policy debates
- editorial meetings
Key Concepts
ethical leadership
public discourse
Questions to Reflect On
- Do you trust critics to guide policy?
- How does moral certainty affect judgment?
A Different Perspective
Overconfidence can blind one to practical realities and lead to poor decisions.
![“It was thus that in 1940 [Hitler] represented a wave of the future. His greatest reactionary opponent, Churchill, was like King Canute, attempting to withstand and sweep back that wave. And––yes, mirabile dictu—this King Canute succeeded: because of his resolution and—allow me to say this—because…” quote by John Lukacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e73/john-lukacs-34182_churchill_it-was-thus-that-in-1940-hitler-represen_1691887.jpg)
![“Nearly all the writing of our time is likely to disappear in a hundred years. Certainly most readers - and nearly all critics - feel that [Kurt] Vonnegut started to repeat himself, to grow increasingly self-indulgent and meandering, and to sometimes just blather in his later work. But his books up…” quote by Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ed7/michael-dirda-3414_1960s_nearly-all-the-writing-of-our-time-is-li_13506.jpg)