--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is the eternal war between those…" description: "\"There is the eternal war between those who are in the world for what they can get out of it and those who are in the world to make it a better place fo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/george-bernard-shaw-68_better-place_there-is-the-eternal-war-between-those-w_1332472.png" --- # There is the eternal war between those who are in the… ![“There is the eternal war between those who are in the world for what they can get out of it and those who are in the world to make it a better place for everybody to live in.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/george-bernard-shaw-68_better-place_there-is-the-eternal-war-between-those-w_1332472.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/george-bernard-shaw-68_better-place_there-is-the-eternal-war-between-those-w_1332472.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/george-bernard-shaw-68_better-place_there-is-the-eternal-war-between-those-w_1332472.png) > “There is the eternal war between those who are in the world for what they can get out of it and those who are in the world to make it a better place for everybody to live in.” [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. People either seek personal gain or aim to improve society for all. **In simple terms:** Self‑interest vs. altruism. Key Takeaway Choose to act for the common good. Themes ethics society motivation Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - business leadership - community service - political activism - environmental advocacy Key Concepts altruism selfishness social responsibility Questions to Reflect On - What motivates you to act beyond self‑interest? - How can you balance personal needs with societal good? A Different Perspective Idealism may clash with practical constraints and personal sacrifice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Better place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-place/) [Eternal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“The World will be a better place when everybody's beige.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-white/the-world-will-be-a-better-place-when-everybody-s-beige/) Suzanne White > [He was weary of the uncertainty of the vicious circle of that eternal war that always found him in the same place, but always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/he-was-weary-of-the-uncertainty-of-the-vicious-circle-of-that-eternal/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [I have ever deemed it fundamental for the United States never to take active part in the quarrels of Europe… They are nations of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-have-ever-deemed-it-fundamental-for-the-united-states-never-to-take/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [They are nations of eternal war. All their energies are expended in the destruction of the labor, property, and lives of their people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/they-are-nations-of-eternal-war-all-their-energies-are-expended-in/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I want Dubai to be a place where everybody from all over the world meets each other, don't think of fighting or hate, just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-bin-rashid-al-maktoum/i-want-dubai-to-be-a-place-where-everybody-from-all-over-the-world/) [Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-bin-rashid-al-maktoum/) > [In a place where everybody thinks alike, nobody thinks very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/in-a-place-where-everybody-thinks-alike-nobody-thinks-very-much/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [Vegas is the place to have a show. Everybody wants to be here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-harwell/vegas-is-the-place-to-have-a-show-everybody-wants-to-be-here/) [Steve Harwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-harwell/) > [I try to create a very casual working place, where everybody - down to production assistants - can throw out ideas and not feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-baker/i-try-to-create-a-very-casual-working-place-where-everybody-down-to/) [Sean Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-baker/) > [I am just a tiny person in Africa, but there is a place for me, and for everybody, to sit down on this earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/i-am-just-a-tiny-person-in-africa-but-there-is-a-place-for-me-and-for/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [The Internet's a big enough place for everybody to be happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-huh/the-internet-s-a-big-enough-place-for-everybody-to-be-happy/) [Ben Huh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-huh/) > [Los Angeles was the kind of place where everybody was from somewhere else and nobody really droppped anchor. It was a transient place. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/los-angeles-was-the-kind-of-place-where-everybody-was-from-somewhere/) [Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/) > [ In one sense, I have always felt glad to have had the war \[World War II\] in my childhood, because, as a result, nothing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashleigh-brilliant/in-one-sense-i-have-always-felt-glad-to-have-had-the-war-world-war-ii/) [Ashleigh Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashleigh-brilliant/) > [No one that has ever been in combat ever wants to see war anywhere in the world. It is horrible. It's horrible looking at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-shea/no-one-that-has-ever-been-in-combat-ever-wants-to-see-war-anywhere-in/) [Matt Shea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-shea/) > [“For once, after the great bloodbath of the war, the world really was cleared of unnatural terrors—mass starvation, mass imprisonment, mass torture, mass murder.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut-jr/for-once-after-the-great-bloodbath-of-the-war-the-world-really-was/) [Kurt Vonnegut Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut-jr/) > [I actually love history. I've devoured book after book of stories from World War I and World War II. They're really two sections of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celine-buckens/i-actually-love-history-i-ve-devoured-book-after-book-of-stories-from/) [Celine Buckens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celine-buckens/) ## 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 Better place quotes > [Angela Merkel has been focused on the right things. She has focused on the interests of her citizens - and not just in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-trudeau/angela-merkel-has-been-focused-on-the-right-things-she-has-focused-on/) [Justin Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-trudeau/) > [Business school graduates from the best schools earn large salaries and frequently rise to positions of great power. It would be nice if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-pfeffer/business-school-graduates-from-the-best-schools-earn-large-salaries/) [Jeffrey Pfeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-pfeffer/) > [Rosalind. Well, this is the forest of Arden. Touchstone. Ay, now am I in Arden, the more fool I. When I was at home,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/rosalind-well-this-is-the-forest-of-arden-touchstone-ay-now-am-i-in/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“The gifts and the lessons my father left me will last forever: Never take yourself too seriously, never miss a chance to laugh long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-serling/the-gifts-and-the-lessons-my-father-left-me-will-last-forever-never/) Anne Serling > [It is our job to make a difference and leave the world a better place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karol-g/it-is-our-job-to-make-a-difference-and-leave-the-world-a-better-place/) [Karol G](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karol-g/) > [“The world is indeed a better place when there is love, friendship, acceptance and hope. Powered by these you can indeed overcome anything including…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/preeti-shenoy/the-world-is-indeed-a-better-place-when-there-is-love-friendship/) [Preeti Shenoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/preeti-shenoy/) > [I think I just want to leave my mark in some way. I hope I leave the world a better place than it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-colfer/i-think-i-just-want-to-leave-my-mark-in-some-way-i-hope-i-leave-the/) [Chris Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-colfer/) > [Art is not necessary at all. All that is necessary to make this world a better place to live in is to love -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/art-is-not-necessary-at-all-all-that-is-necessary-to-make-this-world/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [We will strive to make Taiwan a better place and enable our people to live better lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chen-shui-bian/we-will-strive-to-make-taiwan-a-better-place-and-enable-our-people-to/) [Chen Shui-bian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chen-shui-bian/) > [It gives me such hope that each one of us can contribute to make this world a better place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agapi-stassinopoulos/it-gives-me-such-hope-that-each-one-of-us-can-contribute-to-make-this/) [Agapi Stassinopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agapi-stassinopoulos/) > [I want MIT to be the dream of every child who wants to grow up to make the world a better place. We need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hockfield/i-want-mit-to-be-the-dream-of-every-child-who-wants-to-grow-up-to/) [Susan Hockfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hockfield/) > [“Pets make the world a better place to live.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-lyons/pets-make-the-world-a-better-place-to-live/) Susan Lyons > [I've made this conscious decision to tell people on the street when I think they're wearing something great. If more people did that, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-jensen/i-ve-made-this-conscious-decision-to-tell-people-on-the-street-when-i/) [Ashley Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-jensen/) > [From the world wars of Europe to the jungles of the Far East, from the deserts of the Middle East to the African continent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hoeven/from-the-world-wars-of-europe-to-the-jungles-of-the-far-east-from-the/) [John Hoeven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hoeven/) > [Moreover, from reforming the tax code to our immigration system, to commonsense legal reform, President Bush put America on notice that he will continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-sensenbrenner/moreover-from-reforming-the-tax-code-to-our-immigration-system-to/) [Jim Sensenbrenner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-sensenbrenner/) [Browse all 1,302 Better place quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-place/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is the eternal war between those who are in the world for what they can get out of it and those who are in the world to make it a better place for everybody to live in.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Bernard Shaw" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/there-is-the-eternal-war-between-those-who-are-in-the-world-for-what/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Better place" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/there-is-the-eternal-war-between-those-who-are-in-the-world-for-what/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/george-bernard-shaw-68_better-place_there-is-the-eternal-war-between-those-w_1332472.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/george-bernard-shaw-68_better-place_there-is-the-eternal-war-between-those-w_1332472.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/george-bernard-shaw-68_better-place_there-is-the-eternal-war-between-those-w_1332472.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is the eternal war between those who are in the world for what they can get out of it and those who…” — 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": "There is the eternal war between...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/there-is-the-eternal-war-between-those-who-are-in-the-world-for-what/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/there-is-the-eternal-war-between-those-who-are-in-the-world-for-what/#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 } } ] } ```