--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We may suggest that a nation is in effect…" description: "\"“We may suggest that a nation is in effect any assembly, mixture, or confusion of people which is either afflicted by or wishes to be afflicted by a fo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a1/h-g-wells-3-33391_general-welfare_we-may-suggest-that-a-nation-is-in-effec_920519.jpg" --- # We may suggest that a nation is in effect any assembly… ![“We may suggest that a nation is in effect any assembly, mixture, or confusion of people which is either afflicted by or wishes to be afflicted by a foreign office of its own, in order that it should behave collectively as if its needs, desires, and vanities were beyond comparison more important…” quote by H G Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a1/h-g-wells-3-33391_general-welfare_we-may-suggest-that-a-nation-is-in-effec_920519.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a1/h-g-wells-3-33391_general-welfare_we-may-suggest-that-a-nation-is-in-effec_920519.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a1/h-g-wells-3-33391_general-welfare_we-may-suggest-that-a-nation-is-in-effec_920519.jpg) > ““We may suggest that a nation is in effect any assembly, mixture, or confusion of people which is either afflicted by or wishes to be afflicted by a foreign office of its own, in order that it should behave collectively as if its needs, desires, and vanities were beyond comparison more important than the general welfare of humanity.”” [H G Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells-3/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A nation can be defined by its collective identity, often shaped by external influences that may override common humanity. **In simple terms:** National identity can be shaped by foreign forces. Key Takeaway Critically assess external influences on policy. Themes identity nationhood influence Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political debates - immigration policy - media narratives Key Concepts cultural hegemony collective will Questions to Reflect On - What defines a nation beyond external labels? - How do internal values resist foreign pressures? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on external forces can ignore internal agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [General welfare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/general-welfare/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) ## Related quotes > [“A caste society,” wrote U.S. Commissioner of Education Francis Keppel 25 years ago, “violates the style of American democracy.… The nation in effect does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/a-caste-society-wrote-u-s-commissioner-of-education-francis-keppel-25/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [If Congress can do whatever in their discretion can be done by money, and will promote the General Welfare, the Government is no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/if-congress-can-do-whatever-in-their-discretion-can-be-done-by-money/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [Of all forms of government and society, those of free men and women are in many respects the most brittle. 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Anyone can call himself a promoter and stage a fight. 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Our Constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/though-liberty-is-established-by-law-we-must-be-vigilant-for-liberty/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) ## More by H G Wells > [“I have been dying for nearly two-thirds of a year,' I said, 'and I have died enough.' I stopped dying then and there, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-3/i-have-been-dying-for-nearly-two-thirds-of-a-year-i-said-and-i-have/) [H G Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells-3/) > [“A series of prohibitions called the Law - I had already heard them recited - battled in their minds with the deep-seated, ever-rebellious cravings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-3/a-series-of-prohibitions-called-the-law-i-had-already-heard-them/) [H G Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells-3/) > [“Children of the Law,’ I said, ‘he is not dead.’ M’ling turned his sharp eyes on me. ‘He has changed his shape - he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-3/children-of-the-law-i-said-he-is-not-dead-m-ling-turned-his-sharp/) [H G Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells-3/) > [“Mr. Thomas Marvel hated roomy shoes, but then he hated damp. He had never properly thought out which he hated most”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-3/mr-thomas-marvel-hated-roomy-shoes-but-then-he-hated-damp-he-had/) [H G Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells-3/) > [“On the village green an inclined strong, down which, clinging the while to a pulley-swung handle, one could be hurled violently against a sack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-3/on-the-village-green-an-inclined-strong-down-which-clinging-the-while/) [H G Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells-3/) > [“Mendham was a cadaverous man with a magnificent beard. 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Yet I felt an absolute assurance in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-3/they-were-all-intensely-excited-and-all-overflowing-with-noisy/) [H G Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells-3/) > [ “\[A\]fter all it was true that a girl does not go alone in the world unchallenged, nor ever has gone freely alone in the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-3/a-fter-all-it-was-true-that-a-girl-does-not-go-alone-in-the-world/) [H G Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells-3/) > [“Who breaks the Law -’ said Moreau, taking his eyes off his victim and turning towards us. It seemed to me there was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-3/who-breaks-the-law-said-moreau-taking-his-eyes-off-his-victim-and/) [H G Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells-3/) > [She writes like a loom, producing her broad rich fabric with hardly a thought of how it will make up into a shape, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-3/she-writes-like-a-loom-producing-her-broad-rich-fabric-with-hardly-a/) [H G Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells-3/) > [“They had certain Fixed Ideas implanted by Moreau in their minds which absolutely bounded their imaginations. 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Unlike other professional sports, whose owners collude out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahl-raz/anyone-can-call-himself-a-promoter-anyone-can-call-himself-a-promoter/) [Tahl Raz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahl-raz/) > [The absence of effective State, and, especially, national, restraint upon unfair money-getting has tended to create a small class of enormously wealthy and economically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/the-absence-of-effective-state-and-especially-national-restraint-upon/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [The preamble to the Constitution states: "We, the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/the-preamble-to-the-constitution-states-we-the-people-of-the-united/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [I wish the government would read the Constitution. 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