--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The choice before human beings, is not…" description: "\"The choice before human beings, is not, as a rule, between good and evil but between two evils.\" — George Orwell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/547/george-orwell-57_choice_the-choice-before-human-beings-is-not-as_2835053.jpg" --- # The choice before human beings, is not, as a rule, between… ![“The choice before human beings, is not, as a rule, between good and evil but between two evils.” quote by George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/547/george-orwell-57_choice_the-choice-before-human-beings-is-not-as_2835053.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/547/george-orwell-57_choice_the-choice-before-human-beings-is-not-as_2835053.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/547/george-orwell-57_choice_the-choice-before-human-beings-is-not-as_2835053.jpg) > “The choice before human beings, is not, as a rule, between good and evil but between two evils.” [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human choices often involve selecting between two undesirable options rather than clear good versus evil. **In simple terms:** Decisions can be between two evils. Key Takeaway Recognize moral complexity. Themes ethics decision‑making dystopia Mood reflective critical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - political leadership - personal dilemmas - policy formation Key Concepts moral ambiguity choice under oppression Questions to Reflect On - What criteria guide choosing the lesser evil? - Can systemic change reduce such dilemmas? A Different Perspective Sometimes a third, better option exists. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Good and evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-and-evil/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) ## Related quotes > [Trump is literally the epitome of evil, all the evils of this country - be it racism, capitalism, sexism, homophobia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrisse-cullors/trump-is-literally-the-epitome-of-evil-all-the-evils-of-this-country/) [Patrisse Cullors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrisse-cullors/) > [Out of many evils the evil which is least is the least of evils. \[Lat., E malis multis, malum, quod minimum est, id minimum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/out-of-many-evils-the-evil-which-is-least-is-the-least-of-evils-lat-e/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [“What am I? A witch, for the love of God! I am a healer, not a destroyer. I have a choice as all human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/what-am-i-a-witch-for-the-love-of-god-i-am-a-healer-not-a-destroyer-i/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [If you must choose between two evils, pick the one you've never tried before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/if-you-must-choose-between-two-evils-pick-the-one-you-ve-never-tried/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Where there is a choice of two evils, most men take both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-o-malley/where-there-is-a-choice-of-two-evils-most-men-take-both/) [Austin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-o-malley/) > [Of two evils, choose the more interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dewar-1st-baron-dewar/of-two-evils-choose-the-more-interesting/) [Thomas Dewar, 1st Baron Dewar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dewar-1st-baron-dewar/) > [Of two evils choose the least.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiderius-erasmus/of-two-evils-choose-the-least/) [Desiderius Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus/) > [If you always vote for the lesser of two evils, you will always have evil, and you will always have less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/if-you-always-vote-for-the-lesser-of-two-evils-you-will-always-have/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [The lesser of two evils, or the least of the worst, is not good enough for the American people anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/the-lesser-of-two-evils-or-the-least-of-the-worst-is-not-good-enough/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [Of two Evils we take the less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hooker/of-two-evils-we-take-the-less/) [Richard Hooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hooker/) > [Of two evils, I always choose the lesser.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-stratton-porter/of-two-evils-i-always-choose-the-lesser/) [Gene Stratton-Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-stratton-porter/) > [Although war is evil, it is occasionally the lesser of two evils.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mcgeorge-bundy/although-war-is-evil-it-is-occasionally-the-lesser-of-two-evils/) [McGeorge Bundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mcgeorge-bundy/) > [If you are picking the lesser of two evils, you are still picking Evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/if-you-are-picking-the-lesser-of-two-evils-you-are-still-picking-evil/) [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) > [“If it feels like you're choosing between the lesser of two evils, don't. There is always a higher choice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-neill/if-it-feels-like-you-re-choosing-between-the-lesser-of-two-evils-don/) [Michael Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-neill/) > [Abortion is not the lesser of two evils. It is a crime. It is to throw someone out in order to save another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/abortion-is-not-the-lesser-of-two-evils-it-is-a-crime-it-is-to-throw/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) ## More by George Orwell > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-was-given-out-that-the-animals-there-practised-cannibalism/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The actual writing would be easy. All he had to do was to transfer to paper the interminable restless monologue that had been running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-actual-writing-would-be-easy-all-he-had-to-do-was-to-transfer-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [He felt as though he were wandering in the forests of the sea bottom, lost in a monstrous world where he himself was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/he-felt-as-though-he-were-wandering-in-the-forests-of-the-sea-bottom/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“if you took 1 Corinthians, chapter thirteen, and in every verse wrote 'money' instead of 'charity', the chapter had ten times as much meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-took-1-corinthians-chapter-thirteen-and-in-every-verse-wrote/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Happiness can exist only in acceptance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/happiness-can-exist-only-in-acceptance/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-if-all-others-accepted-the-lie-which-the-party-imposed-if-all/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Whitman himself "accepted" a great deal that his contemporaries found unmentionable. For he is not only writing of the prairie, he also wanders through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/whitman-himself-accepted-a-great-deal-that-his-contemporaries-found/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“But I tell you, Winston, that reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Whatever the Party holds to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/but-i-tell-you-winston-that-reality-is-not-external-reality-exists-in/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“And the people under the sky were also very much the same...everywhere, all over the world, hundreds or thousands of millions of people just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-people-under-the-sky-were-also-very-much-the-same-everywhere/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/don-t-you-see-that-the-whole-aim-of-newspeak-is-to-narrow-the-range/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Windmill or no windmill, he said, life would go on as it had always gone on--that is, badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/windmill-or-no-windmill-he-said-life-would-go-on-as-it-had-always/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/man-is-the-only-creature-that-consumes-without-producing-he-does-not/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And the bigger the fall, the bigger the joke. It would be better fun to throw a custard pie at a bishop than at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-bigger-the-fall-the-bigger-the-joke-it-would-be-better-fun-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Any writer or journalist who wants to retain his integrity finds himself thwarted by the general drift of society rather than by active persecution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/any-writer-or-journalist-who-wants-to-retain-his-integrity-finds/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) [Explore all 1,657 George Orwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More Choice quotes > [Making the right decision is hard,telling someone your decision is even harder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/making-the-right-decision-is-hard-telling-someone-your-decision-is/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [“That’s all! Now either leave us alone or join us as a father rather than a receiver of sacrifices. You have the choice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/that-s-all-now-either-leave-us-alone-or-join-us-as-a-father-rather/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“In a world of fixed future, there can be no right or wrong. Right and wrong demand freedom of choice, but if each action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-a-world-of-fixed-future-there-can-be-no-right-or-wrong-right-and/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“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/) > [“too—I realized that my only hope was to give up the life that had been, in order to make room for the life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/too-i-realized-that-my-only-hope-was-to-give-up-the-life-that-had/) [Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/) > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) Pancho Barnes > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [There has always been a feeling with people that they love my singing but not always the choice of material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/there-has-always-been-a-feeling-with-people-that-they-love-my-singing/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [I have too many options when it comes to guitars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-nielsen/i-have-too-many-options-when-it-comes-to-guitars/) [Rick Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-nielsen/) > [“Amazing how a small choice can change your life forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-c-dockens/amazing-how-a-small-choice-can-change-your-life-forever/) Randy C. Dockens > [Change is inevitable but personal growth is a choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/change-is-inevitable-but-personal-growth-is-a-choice/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [If you choose to draw from the inner well of free will, then you can make choices that are outside your current karmic patterns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-you-choose-to-draw-from-the-inner-well-of-free-will-then-you-can/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Since I don't outline my books very much, I feel like sometimes I don't have a choice in what the characters do; they just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-todd/since-i-don-t-outline-my-books-very-much-i-feel-like-sometimes-i-don/) [Anna Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-todd/) > [Act always so as to increase the number of choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinz-von-foerster/act-always-so-as-to-increase-the-number-of-choices/) [Heinz von Foerster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinz-von-foerster/) > [Words can only have an effect on you if you choose to listen to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/words-can-only-have-an-effect-on-you-if-you-choose-to-listen-to-them/) [Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/) [Browse all 8,092 Choice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The choice before human beings, is not, as a rule, between good and evil but between two evils.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Orwell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-choice-before-human-beings-is-not-as-a-rule-between-good-and-evil-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Choice" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-choice-before-human-beings-is-not-as-a-rule-between-good-and-evil-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/547/george-orwell-57_choice_the-choice-before-human-beings-is-not-as_2835053.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/547/george-orwell-57_choice_the-choice-before-human-beings-is-not-as_2835053.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/547/george-orwell-57_choice_the-choice-before-human-beings-is-not-as_2835053.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The choice before human beings, is not, as a rule, between good and evil but between two evils.” — George Orwell", "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 Orwell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The choice before human beings, is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-choice-before-human-beings-is-not-as-a-rule-between-good-and-evil-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-choice-before-human-beings-is-not-as-a-rule-between-good-and-evil-2/#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 } } ] } ```