Business Quote by George Mason
“I retired from public Business from a thorough Conviction that it was not in my Power to do any Good, and very much disgusted with Measures, which appeared to me inconsistent with common Policy and Justice.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: Virginia Ratifying Convention, 1776
He believed public business could not produce good and conflicted with justice, so he withdrew.
In simple terms: He left public service because he saw it as ineffective and unjust.
Key Takeaway
Consider the impact of personal ethics on public roles.
Themes
ethics
public service
justice
disillusionment
Mood
reflective
critical
Type
philosophical
political
When to use this quote
- political activism
- government reform
- personal career decisions
Key Concepts
civic duty
moral integrity
Questions to Reflect On
- Can one effect change by staying versus leaving?
- What alternatives exist to outright withdrawal?
A Different Perspective
His view may overlook potential for reform from within.
![“This cold weather has set all the young Folks to providing Bedfellows. I have signed two or three Licences every Day [as a Fairfax Justice of the Peace] since I have been at Home. I wish I knew where to get a good one myself; for I find cold Sheets extreamly disagreeable.” quote by George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b92/george-mason-8435_bedfellows_this-cold-weather-has-set-all-the-young_3953.jpg)
![“I charge [my sons] never to let the motives of private interest or ambition to influence them to betray, nor the terrors of poverty and disgrace, or the fear of danger or of death deter them from asserting the liberty of their country, and endeavoring to transmit to their posterity those sacred…” quote by George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/de1/george-mason-8435_ambition_i-charge-my-sons-never-to-let-the-motive_184620.jpg)
![“[S]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once, for example, when I was just starting out in the food business, I was hired by the caper people to develop a lot of recipes using capers, and it was weeks of…” quote by Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d79/nora-ephron-1217_business_s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-th_980.jpg)
![“If the State does not acquire supremacy over [vast private] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State.” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bad/bertrand-russell-69_acquire_if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy_1379.jpg)