--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is a tendency to judge a race, a…" description: "\"There is a tendency to judge a race, a nation or any distinct group by its leastworthy members.\" — Eric Hoffer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/026/eric-hoffer-343_groups_there-is-a-tendency-to-judge-a-race-a-na_319853.jpg" --- # There is a tendency to judge a race, a nation or any… ![“There is a tendency to judge a race, a nation or any distinct group by its leastworthy members.” quote by Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/026/eric-hoffer-343_groups_there-is-a-tendency-to-judge-a-race-a-na_319853.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/026/eric-hoffer-343_groups_there-is-a-tendency-to-judge-a-race-a-na_319853.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/026/eric-hoffer-343_groups_there-is-a-tendency-to-judge-a-race-a-na_319853.jpg) > “There is a tendency to judge a race, a nation or any distinct group by its leastworthy members.” [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Judging an entire group by its worst members is unfair and misleading. **In simple terms:** Avoid sweeping judgments. Key Takeaway Judge individuals, not groups. Themes fairness stereotyping justice Mood critical thoughtful Type ethical analytical When to use this quote - media analysis - interpersonal relations - policy making Key Concepts social bias critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure fair assessment of groups? - What biases affect your judgments? A Different Perspective Minorities may be over‑represented in negative examples. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Group Leastworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/group-leastworthy-3016163/) [Groups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/groups/) [Judge Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judge-race-2699798/) [Judging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judging/) [Leastworthy Members](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leastworthy-members-3016164/) [Members](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/members/) [Nation Distinct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nation-distinct-3016166/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Tendencies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tendencies/) [Tendency Judge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tendency-judge-3016165/) [Tolerance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tolerance/) ## Related quotes > [So many are quick to judge by race, they forget their own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-many-are-quick-to-judge-by-race-they-forget-their-own/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Above all, it behooves us to repress, and if possible to extinguish once and for all, our inveterate tendency to judge others by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-f-kennan/above-all-it-behooves-us-to-repress-and-if-possible-to-extinguish/) [George F. 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The left has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/american-society-is-now-remarkably-atomized-political-organizations/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Pettiness is the tendency of people without large purposes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/pettiness-is-the-tendency-of-people-without-large-purposes/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [There has been a tendency through the years for reason and moderation to prevail as long as things are going tolerably well or as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/there-has-been-a-tendency-through-the-years-for-reason-and-moderation/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > [A second characteristic of the process which for me is the good life, is that it involves an increasingly tendency to live fully in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/a-second-characteristic-of-the-process-which-for-me-is-the-good-life/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [Trying to find this industry's tendency to celebrate the physical is a waste of time. So I'm happy to play the game. But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-wilde/trying-to-find-this-industry-s-tendency-to-celebrate-the-physical-is/) [Olivia Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-wilde/) > [I take up the standpoint that the tendency to aggression is an innate, independent, instinctual disposition in man, and I come back now to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/i-take-up-the-standpoint-that-the-tendency-to-aggression-is-an-innate/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [I have contrarian tendencies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-t-conway-iii/i-have-contrarian-tendencies/) [George T. Conway III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-t-conway-iii/) > [This tendency to avoid problems and the emotional suffering inherent in them is the primary basis of all human mental illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-swindoll/this-tendency-to-avoid-problems-and-the-emotional-suffering-inherent/) [Charles R. Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-swindoll/) > [Unfortunately, moral beauty in art - like physical beauty in a person - is extremely perishable. It is nowhere so durable as artistic or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/unfortunately-moral-beauty-in-art-like-physical-beauty-in-a-person-is/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [... how much of our inner substance is it good for us to give to public griefs? The whole modern tendency to agonize over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/how-much-of-our-inner-substance-is-it-good-for-us-to-give-to-public/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) ## More by Eric Hoffer > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [“We lie the loudest when we lie to ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/we-lie-the-loudest-when-we-lie-to-ourselves/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Our originality shows itself most strikingly not in what we wholly originate but in what we do with that which we borrow from others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/our-originality-shows-itself-most-strikingly-not-in-what-we-wholly/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [The creative mind is the playful mind. 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Compassion alone stands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/in-the-alchemy-of-man-s-soul-almost-all-noble-attributes-courage/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [The act of self-denial seems to confer on us the right to be harsh and merciless toward others. The impression somehow prevails that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-act-of-self-denial-seems-to-confer-on-us-the-right-to-be-harsh/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [A nation without dregs and malcontents, is orderly, decent, peaceful and pleasant, but perhaps without the seed of things to come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/a-nation-without-dregs-and-malcontents-is-orderly-decent-peaceful-and/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Compassion alone stands apart from the continuous traffic between good and evil proceeding within us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/compassion-alone-stands-apart-from-the-continuous-traffic-between/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [There are many who find a good alibi far more attractive than an achievement. For an achievement does not settle anything permanently. We still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/there-are-many-who-find-a-good-alibi-far-more-attractive-than-an/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [A war is not won if the defeated enemy has not been turned into a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/a-war-is-not-won-if-the-defeated-enemy-has-not-been-turned-into-a/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Man is the only creature that strives to surpass himself, and yearns for the impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/man-is-the-only-creature-that-strives-to-surpass-himself-and-yearns/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [This food-and-shelter theory concerning man's efforts is without insight. 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