--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is necessary for the welfare of…" description: "\"It is necessary for the welfare of society that genius should be privileged to utter sedition, to blaspheme, to outrage good taste, to corrupt the yout..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/george-bernard-shaw-68_genius_it-is-necessary-for-the-welfare-of-socie_1050427.jpg" --- # It is necessary for the welfare of society that genius… ![“It is necessary for the welfare of society that genius should be privileged to utter sedition, to blaspheme, to outrage good taste, to corrupt the youthful mind, and generally to scandalize one's uncles.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/george-bernard-shaw-68_genius_it-is-necessary-for-the-welfare-of-socie_1050427.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/george-bernard-shaw-68_genius_it-is-necessary-for-the-welfare-of-socie_1050427.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/george-bernard-shaw-68_genius_it-is-necessary-for-the-welfare-of-socie_1050427.jpg) > “It is necessary for the welfare of society that genius should be privileged to utter sedition, to blaspheme, to outrage good taste, to corrupt the youthful mind, and generally to scandalize one's uncles.” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society benefits when brilliant minds are allowed to challenge norms, provoke, and disrupt complacency. **In simple terms:** Genius should be free to offend and inspire. Key Takeaway Protect free expression of radical ideas. Themes freedom of speech creativity social critique Mood thoughtful provocative Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - academic debate - artistic performance - political satire Key Concepts Subversion cultural renewal Questions to Reflect On - When should dissent be limited? - What responsibilities accompany genius? A Different Perspective Unrestricted dissent can cause harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Outrage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outrage/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Welfare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/welfare/) ## Related quotes > [A man of genius is privileged only as far as he is genius. His dullness is as insupportable as any other dullness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-of-genius-is-privileged-only-as-far-as-he-is-genius-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [poets are privileged to utter more than they can always quite explain, bringing up from the mind's unplumbed depths tokens of the nature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-lee/poets-are-privileged-to-utter-more-than-they-can-always-quite-explain/) [Vernon Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-lee/) > [“True genius is the one of the heart, not of intellect. Because intellect-less heart, though exploited a lot, still does good, whereas heartless intellect,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/true-genius-is-the-one-of-the-heart-not-of-intellect-because/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [One of the main effects (I will not say purposes) of orthodox traditional economics was ... a plan for explaining to the privileged class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/one-of-the-main-effects-i-will-not-say-purposes-of-orthodox/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [“A SENSELESS SOCIETY CAN NEVER ATTAIN REQUIRED MORAL VALUES NECESSARY TO BECOME A WELFARE SOCIETY.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/usman-hyder/a-senseless-society-can-never-attain-required-moral-values-necessary/) [USMAN HYDER](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/usman-hyder/) > [It is necessary for the welfare of the nation that men's lives be based on the principles of the Bible. No man, educated or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/it-is-necessary-for-the-welfare-of-the-nation-that-men-s-lives-be/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Children and dogs are as necessary to the welfare of the country as Wall Street and the railroads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/children-and-dogs-are-as-necessary-to-the-welfare-of-the-country-as/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [Greatness consists in deciding only what is necessary for the welfare of the country and making straight for the goal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mustafa-kemal-ataturk/greatness-consists-in-deciding-only-what-is-necessary-for-the-welfare/) [Mustafa Kemal Ataturk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mustafa-kemal-ataturk/) > [I think it's sort of an outrage that companies should have to hire firms to teach the college graduates they employ how to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/i-think-it-s-sort-of-an-outrage-that-companies-should-have-to-hire/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [While the principles of our Constitution give just latitude to inquiry, every citizen faithful to it will deem embodied expressions of discontent and open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/while-the-principles-of-our-constitution-give-just-latitude-to/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“I firmly believe that if we can all approach this topic with open minds, the inevitable result will be a level of outrage that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-befumo/i-firmly-believe-that-if-we-can-all-approach-this-topic-with-open/) [Joseph Befumo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-befumo/) > [“A part of a healthy conscience is being able to confront consciencelessness. When you teach your daughter, explicitly or by passive rejection, that she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stout/a-part-of-a-healthy-conscience-is-being-able-to-confront/) [Martha Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stout/) > [Fear is often disguised as moral outrage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blume/fear-is-often-disguised-as-moral-outrage/) [Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/) > [There’s my baby!” I cried, quite carried away. “There’s my Poochiekins!” Ammit ran at me and leaped into my arms, nuzzling me with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/there-s-my-baby-i-cried-quite-carried-away-there-s-my-poochiekins/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [The president we have today is a typical Washington politician that's prone to hyperbole and decisiveness and false outrage. And I think it's very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/the-president-we-have-today-is-a-typical-washington-politician-that-s/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) [Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More Genius quotes > [“If people fully understand you, they will think of you as a normal, if they half understand you, will think of you as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/if-people-fully-understand-you-they-will-think-of-you-as-a-normal-if/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Woman, in short, has an unconscious life, man a conscious life, and the genius the most conscious life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/woman-in-short-has-an-unconscious-life-man-a-conscious-life-and-the/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [The truth is I've just never had any kind of plan at all for my career, which is probably not a very flattering thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ty-burrell/the-truth-is-i-ve-just-never-had-any-kind-of-plan-at-all-for-my/) [Ty Burrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ty-burrell/) > [What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straghtforward men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/what-we-shall-need-is-not-geniuses-or-cynics-or-misanthropes-or/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [I have no physical genius about me. I can't dribble a ball and run at the same time, I can't do lay-ups - I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-have-no-physical-genius-about-me-i-can-t-dribble-a-ball-and-run-at/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [I have known many chess players, but among them there has been only one genius - Capablanca!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-lasker/i-have-known-many-chess-players-but-among-them-there-has-been-only/) [Emanuel Lasker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-lasker/) > [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/) > [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [The beginning of genius is being scared shitless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/the-beginning-of-genius-is-being-scared-shitless/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [Treason implies responsibility for something, control over something, influence upon something, knowledge of something. Treason in our time is a proof of genius. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/treason-implies-responsibility-for-something-control-over-something/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/mediocrity-knows-nothing-higher-than-itself-but-talent-instantly/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [With the proper training, I could've been an evil genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/with-the-proper-training-i-could-ve-been-an-evil-genius/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [Never try to judge any one](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajat-dogra/never-try-to-judge-any-one/) [Rajat Dogra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajat-dogra/) > [“genius is a path that we can all take and derive much benefit, happiness, fulfillment, and success from...not a genetic windfall or divine gift.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-patrick/genius-is-a-path-that-we-can-all-take-and-derive-much-benefit/) [Sean Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-patrick/) [Browse all 5,125 Genius quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is necessary for the welfare of society that genius should be privileged to utter sedition, to blaspheme, to outrage good taste, to corrupt the youthful mind, and generally to scandalize one's uncles.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Bernard Shaw" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/it-is-necessary-for-the-welfare-of-society-that-genius-should-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Genius" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/it-is-necessary-for-the-welfare-of-society-that-genius-should-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/george-bernard-shaw-68_genius_it-is-necessary-for-the-welfare-of-socie_1050427.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/george-bernard-shaw-68_genius_it-is-necessary-for-the-welfare-of-socie_1050427.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/george-bernard-shaw-68_genius_it-is-necessary-for-the-welfare-of-socie_1050427.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is necessary for the welfare of society that genius should be privileged to utter sedition, to blaspheme…” — George Bernard Shaw", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "George Bernard Shaw", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is necessary for the welfare...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/it-is-necessary-for-the-welfare-of-society-that-genius-should-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/it-is-necessary-for-the-welfare-of-society-that-genius-should-be/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```