--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...if justice cannot be made to operate…" description: "\"“...if justice cannot be made to operate under the worst possible conditions of social hysteria, what does it matter how it operates at other times?”\" ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2f/e-l-doctorow-2-10582_justice_if-justice-cannot-be-made-to-operate-und_2040002.jpg" --- # ...if justice cannot be made to operate under the worst… ![“...if justice cannot be made to operate under the worst possible conditions of social hysteria, what does it matter how it operates at other times?” quote by E.L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2f/e-l-doctorow-2-10582_justice_if-justice-cannot-be-made-to-operate-und_2040002.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2f/e-l-doctorow-2-10582_justice_if-justice-cannot-be-made-to-operate-und_2040002.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2f/e-l-doctorow-2-10582_justice_if-justice-cannot-be-made-to-operate-und_2040002.jpg) > ““...if justice cannot be made to operate under the worst possible conditions of social hysteria, what does it matter how it operates at other times?”” [E.L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If justice fails under extreme hysteria, its reliability in calmer times is questionable. **In simple terms:** Justice must work even in chaos. Key Takeaway Strengthen legal safeguards for crises. Themes justice social stability law Mood concerned serious reflective Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - pandemic response - political upheaval - natural disasters Key Concepts rule of law civil unrest institutional resilience Questions to Reflect On - How can societies protect justice during panic? - What safeguards are essential for legal integrity? A Different Perspective Even robust systems can be compromised by fear. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Does Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/does-matter/) [Hysteria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hysteria/) [Hysteria Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hysteria-does-3792018/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Justice Operate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice-operate-3792017/) [Social Hysteria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-hysteria-3792016/) ## Related quotes > [Beauty is vanishing from our world because we live as though it does not matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/beauty-is-vanishing-from-our-world-because-we-live-as-though-it-does/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [“If we don't have that, what do we have to live for? Does it matter if it's a lie if it keeps us alive?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-revis/if-we-don-t-have-that-what-do-we-have-to-live-for-does-it-matter-if/) [Beth Revis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-revis/) > [“It does not matter where you are It does matter where you go...!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/surendranath-madduru/it-does-not-matter-where-you-are-it-does-matter-where-you-go/) [Surendranath Madduru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/surendranath-madduru/) > [Perhaps it does not matter so very much what it is one loves in this world. But love something one must.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/perhaps-it-does-not-matter-so-very-much-what-it-is-one-loves-in-this/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [What we say does not matter - only what God says to souls through us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-we-say-does-not-matter-only-what-god-says-to-souls-through-us/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [At the end of the day, if we don't win that game, we're going home, anyway, so what does it matter. I just wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-kershaw/at-the-end-of-the-day-if-we-don-t-win-that-game-we-re-going-home/) [Clayton Kershaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-kershaw/) > [What does it matter where my body happens to be?' he said. 'My mind goes on working all the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/what-does-it-matter-where-my-body-happens-to-be-he-said-my-mind-goes/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [“It does not matter what you write in English nobody has understood it anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santosh-kalwar/it-does-not-matter-what-you-write-in-english-nobody-has-understood-it/) [Santosh Kalwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santosh-kalwar/) > [“If you step in a nest of snakes, does it matter who bites you first?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/if-you-step-in-a-nest-of-snakes-does-it-matter-who-bites-you-first/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [It does not matter if how much I love him, the issue here is... if he feel same way too?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-vine/it-does-not-matter-if-how-much-i-love-him-the-issue-here-is-if-he/) [Grace\_vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-vine/) > [What does it matter that we take different roads so long as we reach the same goal?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/what-does-it-matter-that-we-take-different-roads-so-long-as-we-reach/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“Good work does not matter, because a man is judged by his worst output and another man takes all the credit of his best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/good-work-does-not-matter-because-a-man-is-judged-by-his-worst-output/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [Sir, what does it matter whom I serve, so long as I am right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-corneille/sir-what-does-it-matter-whom-i-serve-so-long-as-i-am-right/) [Pierre Corneille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-corneille/) > [If you are an idealist, it does not matter what you do or what goes on around you because it isn't real anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/if-you-are-an-idealist-it-does-not-matter-what-you-do-or-what-goes-on/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [Box office success definitely matters. I will be lying if say it does not matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-penty/box-office-success-definitely-matters-i-will-be-lying-if-say-it-does/) [Diana Penty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-penty/) ## More by E.L. Doctorow > [“I cite too the ordinary fears of mortality the inspection of a fast-growing mole on the side of the nose blood in the stool…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow-2/i-cite-too-the-ordinary-fears-of-mortality-the-inspection-of-a-fast/) [E.L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow-2/) > [“And what if neutrinos in their uncountable multitudinous dark-matteredness gravitationally directing the universe . . . are the souls of the dead?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow-2/and-what-if-neutrinos-in-their-uncountable-multitudinous-dark/) [E.L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow-2/) > [“It was as if God had decreed this characterless engagement of brainless forces as his answer to the human presumption.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow-2/it-was-as-if-god-had-decreed-this-characterless-engagement-of/) [E.L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow-2/) > [“Treason the only crime defined in the Constitution. Tyranny as under the Stuart and Tudor kings characterized by the elimination of political dissent under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow-2/treason-the-only-crime-defined-in-the-constitution-tyranny-as-under/) [E.L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow-2/) > [“I remember holding her in my arms and absolving God of meaninglessness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow-2/i-remember-holding-her-in-my-arms-and-absolving-god-of-meaninglessness/) [E.L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow-2/) > [“Somehow he had catapulted himself beyond the world's value system. But this very fact lay upon him an awesome responsibility to maintain the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow-2/somehow-he-had-catapulted-himself-beyond-the-world-s-value-system-but/) [E.L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow-2/) > [“Emily supposed the modern world was fortunate in the progress of science. But she could not help but feel at this moment the impropriety…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow-2/emily-supposed-the-modern-world-was-fortunate-in-the-progress-of/) [E.L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow-2/) > [“Father looked at her and she was beautiful in the way she had been as a girl. He did not realize the pleasure he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow-2/father-looked-at-her-and-she-was-beautiful-in-the-way-she-had-been-as/) [E.L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow-2/) > [“Happiness consists of living in the dailiness of life and not knowing how happy you are. True happiness comes of not knowing you're happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow-2/happiness-consists-of-living-in-the-dailiness-of-life-and-not-knowing/) [E.L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow-2/) > [“Grandmamma had been the last connection to our past. I had understood her as some referent moral authority to whom we paid no heed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow-2/grandmamma-had-been-the-last-connection-to-our-past-i-had-understood/) [E.L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow-2/) > [“I asked this question: How can I think about my brain when it’s my brain doing the thinking? So is this brain pretending to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow-2/i-asked-this-question-how-can-i-think-about-my-brain-when-it-s-my/) [E.L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow-2/) > [“She's some kind of Socialist-anarchist-anarcho-syndicalist-Communist. Unless you're one of them you can't tell exactly what any of them are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow-2/she-s-some-kind-of-socialist-anarchist-anarcho-syndicalist-communist/) [E.L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow-2/) > [“I didn’t actually have to write a thing because the act of reading was my writing. I thought of myself as a writer for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow-2/i-didn-t-actually-have-to-write-a-thing-because-the-act-of-reading/) [E.L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow-2/) > [“You're nothing more than a clever prostitute. You accepted the conditions in which you found yourself and you triumphed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow-2/you-re-nothing-more-than-a-clever-prostitute-you-accepted-the/) [E.L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow-2/) > [“Writing teachers invariably tell students, write about what you know. That's, of course, what you have to do, but on the other hand, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow-2/writing-teachers-invariably-tell-students-write-about-what-you-know/) [E.L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow-2/) [Explore all 64 E.L. Doctorow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow-2/) ## More Hysteria quotes > [I wish you a wrestling match with your Creative Muse that will last a lifetime. ... I wish craziness and foolishness and madness upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-wish-you-a-wrestling-match-with-your-creative-muse-that-will-last-a/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I need voices of reason and of hysteria and of empathy. I need to have an Alanis moment. I need advice from Elizabeth Bennett.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/i-need-voices-of-reason-and-of-hysteria-and-of-empathy-i-need-to-have/) [Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/) > [The difference is that we have the hardest and most painful evidence that there was a Holocaust. But, for the global warming scenario that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-difference-is-that-we-have-the-hardest-and-most-painful-evidence/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“It’s my fault!” And then I cross some line into hysteria and there’s a needle in my arm and the world slips away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-my-fault-and-then-i-cross-some-line-into-hysteria-and-there-s-a/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“As mandatory reporting laws and community awareness drove an increase its child protection investigations throughout the 1980s, some children began to disclose premeditated, sadistic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-salter/as-mandatory-reporting-laws-and-community-awareness-drove-an-increase/) [Michael Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-salter/) > [In the nineteeth century, knitting was prescribed to women as a cure for nervousness and hysteria. Many new knitters find this sort of hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-pearl-mcphee/in-the-nineteeth-century-knitting-was-prescribed-to-women-as-a-cure/) [Stephanie Pearl-McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-pearl-mcphee/) > [Hysteria and degeneration have always existed; but they formerly showed themselves sporadically, and had no importance in the life of the whole community. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-nordau/hysteria-and-degeneration-have-always-existed-but-they-formerly/) [Max Nordau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-nordau/) > [The Hollywood atmosphere of crises and continuous anxiety is a kind of hysteria which prevents people from thinking, and is not too different from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-powdermaker/the-hollywood-atmosphere-of-crises-and-continuous-anxiety-is-a-kind/) [Hortense Powdermaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-powdermaker/) > [“But Serena Williams is right, albeit not as funny as she might have been: his statement is not factually based. 700th? Where did that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-guardian/but-serena-williams-is-right-albeit-not-as-funny-as-she-might-have/) [The Guardian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-guardian/) > [One day I shall burst my bud of calm and blossom into hysteria.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-fry/one-day-i-shall-burst-my-bud-of-calm-and-blossom-into-hysteria/) [Christopher Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-fry/) > [I spent months searching for some secret code before I realized that common sense has nothing to do with it. 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