---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: War does not decide who is right but who…"
description: "\"War does not decide who is right but who is left.\" — George Bernard Shaw"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a4/george-bernard-shaw-68_decide_war-does-not-decide-who-is-right-but-who_2812521.png"
---

#  War does not decide who is right but who is left.

![“War does not decide who is right but who is left.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a4/george-bernard-shaw-68_decide_war-does-not-decide-who-is-right-but-who_2812521.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a4/george-bernard-shaw-68_decide_war-does-not-decide-who-is-right-but-who_2812521.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a4/george-bernard-shaw-68_decide_war-does-not-decide-who-is-right-but-who_2812521.png)

> “War does not decide who is right but who is left.”

[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.

War decides who survives, not who is morally right.

**In simple terms:** War leaves survivors, not winners.

Key Takeaway

Consider war’s human cost.

Themes

war morality survival

Mood

somber thoughtful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- policy debates
- peace negotiations
- historical analysis

Key Concepts

ethical philosophy political critique

Questions to Reflect On

- What defines “right” in conflict?
- How can societies heal after war?

A Different Perspective

War’s outcomes are often unpredictable.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Decide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decide/) [Decide Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decide-right-704799/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Right Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-left/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-does-456604/)

## Related quotes

> [War does not determine who is right - only who is left -Burtrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/call-of-duty/war-does-not-determine-who-is-right-only-who-is-left-burtrand-russell/)

[Call Of Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/call-of-duty/)

> [In war it does not matter who is right, but who is left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/in-war-it-does-not-matter-who-is-right-but-who-is-left/)

[Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/)

> [War does not determine who is right - only who is left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/war-does-not-determine-who-is-right-only-who-is-left/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [In many lines of wok, it isn't how much you do that counts, but how much you do well and how often you decide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-feather/in-many-lines-of-wok-it-isn-t-how-much-you-do-that-counts-but-how/)

[William Feather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-feather/)

> [I am in control of all decisions that have to do with my image, which means that no one will decide what’s right for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-hudson/i-am-in-control-of-all-decisions-that-have-to-do-with-my-image-which/)

[Jennifer Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-hudson/)

> [I can go right, I can go left, I'm amphibious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-shackleford/i-can-go-right-i-can-go-left-i-m-amphibious/)

[Charles Shackleford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-shackleford/)

> [I'll play where the gaffer decides: in the middle, on the right, or on the left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-rodriguez/i-ll-play-where-the-gaffer-decides-in-the-middle-on-the-right-or-on/)

[James Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-rodriguez/)

> [At the age of 16, I ran from my house, did odd jobs till l landed work on television and then in film industry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harshvardhan-rane/at-the-age-of-16-i-ran-from-my-house-did-odd-jobs-till-l-landed-work/)

[Harshvardhan Rane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harshvardhan-rane/)

> [If you dropped me off a space platform onto the ground where a line was drawn, I would fall to the left side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/if-you-dropped-me-off-a-space-platform-onto-the-ground-where-a-line/)

[George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/)

> [“when nothing goes right…go left!hehehe”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-cecilia/when-nothing-goes-right-go-left-hehehe/)

[Martha Cecilia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-cecilia/)

> [Members die in the war also does not know, what was hissin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/members-die-in-the-war-also-does-not-know-what-was-hissin/)

[Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/)

> [“... because one kingdom goes to war with another, it does not mean all citizens of that kingdom agree with it. It is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-hall/because-one-kingdom-goes-to-war-with-another-it-does-not-mean-all/)

[Patrick Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-hall/)

> [Sweet Jesus, war does terrible things to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-broadbent/sweet-jesus-war-does-terrible-things-to-people/)

[Jim Broadbent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-broadbent/)

> [Have you ever asked yourself, do monsters make war, or does war make monsters?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/have-you-ever-asked-yourself-do-monsters-make-war-or-does-war-make/)

[Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/)

> [If it were proved to me that in making war, my ideal had a chance of being realized, I would still say "No" to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-lecoin/if-it-were-proved-to-me-that-in-making-war-my-ideal-had-a-chance-of/)

[Louis Lecoin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-lecoin/)

## 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 Decide quotes

> [“Exactly. So, what can't you take? Decide which of the two options is harder, and do the other. That way, no matter how hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-angelini/exactly-so-what-can-t-you-take-decide-which-of-the-two-options-is/)

[Josephine Angelini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-angelini/)

> [DECIDE, v.i. To succumb to the preponderance of one set of influences over another set.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/decide-v-i-to-succumb-to-the-preponderance-of-one-set-of-influences/)

[Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/)

> [We do not know which irresponsible Israeli prime minister will take office and decide to use nuclear weapons in the struggle against neighboring Arab…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mordechai-vanunu/we-do-not-know-which-irresponsible-israeli-prime-minister-will-take/)

[Mordechai Vanunu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mordechai-vanunu/)

> [In New York, you are constantly faced with this very urgent decision that you have to make, about every twenty minutes...you have to decide,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cross/in-new-york-you-are-constantly-faced-with-this-very-urgent-decision/)

[David Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cross/)

> [Nothing is more private than a woman's body; it is her physical, emotional, and moral citadel. She cannot be free at all if she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/nothing-is-more-private-than-a-woman-s-body-it-is-her-physical/)

[Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/)

> [LOOK before you pick,DECIDE WELL before you choose,because these two things are very important in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oluwatayo-oluwatoyosi/look-before-you-pick-decide-well-before-you-choose-because-these-two/)

[Oluwatayo Oluwatoyosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oluwatayo-oluwatoyosi/)

> [Decisions decide destiny, there is no action without decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/decisions-decide-destiny-there-is-no-action-without-decision/)

[Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/)

> [“Do you keep pace with those around you, or do you decide yourself just how you will live your life? The truth is...only you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodier/do-you-keep-pace-with-those-around-you-or-do-you-decide-yourself-just/)

[Steve Goodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodier/)

> [All the people ought to decide, but now most states are tossed on the scrap heap and ignored](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-anderson/all-the-people-ought-to-decide-but-now-most-states-are-tossed-on-the/)

[John Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-anderson/)

> [Fear is going to be a player in your life, but you get to decide how much!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-carrey/fear-is-going-to-be-a-player-in-your-life-but-you-get-to-decide-how/)

[Jim Carrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-carrey/)

> [We cant choose our lives, but we can decide what to do with the joys or griefs were given.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/we-cant-choose-our-lives-but-we-can-decide-what-to-do-with-the-joys/)

[Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/)

> [It’s as easy as we choose to make it,” he murmured, pressing his forehead to mine. “At least, this decision is. Nothing’s truly easy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/it-s-as-easy-as-we-choose-to-make-it-he-murmured-pressing-his/)

[Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/)

> [What you believe in, is the life you decide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keshia-chante/what-you-believe-in-is-the-life-you-decide/)

[Keshia Chante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keshia-chante/)

> [Heart is decide u want in ur life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raajni/heart-is-decide-u-want-in-ur-life/)

[Raajni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raajni/)

> [I think hopefully we've got enough brain cells left to decide if our music is really worth something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-champion/i-think-hopefully-we-ve-got-enough-brain-cells-left-to-decide-if-our/)

[Will Champion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-champion/)

[Browse all 1,644 Decide quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decide/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "War does not decide who is right but who is left.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "George Bernard Shaw"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/war-does-not-decide-who-is-right-but-who-is-left/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Decide"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/war-does-not-decide-who-is-right-but-who-is-left/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a4/george-bernard-shaw-68_decide_war-does-not-decide-who-is-right-but-who_2812521.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a4/george-bernard-shaw-68_decide_war-does-not-decide-who-is-right-but-who_2812521.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a4/george-bernard-shaw-68_decide_war-does-not-decide-who-is-right-but-who_2812521.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“War does not decide who is right but who is left.” — 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": "War does not decide who is...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/war-does-not-decide-who-is-right-but-who-is-left/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/war-does-not-decide-who-is-right-but-who-is-left/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
