--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you do something to benefit one…" description: "\"“If you do something to benefit one person, that is an absolute gain, and its relative insignificance in the wider scheme is irrelevant. Benefit two pe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e5/iain-banks-3752_benefit_if-you-do-something-to-benefit-one-perso_637919.jpg" --- # If you do something to benefit one person, that is an… ![“If you do something to benefit one person, that is an absolute gain, and its relative insignificance in the wider scheme is irrelevant. Benefit two people without concomitant harm to others - or a village, tribe, city, class, nation, society or civilisation - and the benefits are scalable…” quote by Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e5/iain-banks-3752_benefit_if-you-do-something-to-benefit-one-perso_637919.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e5/iain-banks-3752_benefit_if-you-do-something-to-benefit-one-perso_637919.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e5/iain-banks-3752_benefit_if-you-do-something-to-benefit-one-perso_637919.jpg) > ““If you do something to benefit one person, that is an absolute gain, and its relative insignificance in the wider scheme is irrelevant. Benefit two people without concomitant harm to others - or a village, tribe, city, class, nation, society or civilisation - and the benefits are scalable, arithmetic. There is no excuse beyond fatalistic self-indulgence and sheer laziness for doing nothing.”” [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Helping many without harming others creates scalable benefits; inaction is selfish and lazy. **In simple terms:** Helping many is good; doing nothing is lazy. Key Takeaway Act to benefit others responsibly. Themes ethics social responsibility scale Mood thoughtful motivational Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - community projects - policy making - global aid programs Key Concepts altruism collective welfare justice Questions to Reflect On - How can you maximize positive impact? - What prevents you from acting? A Different Perspective Measuring impact can be complex and resources limited. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Benefit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benefit/) ## Related quotes > [It is great that even before we become enlightened or generate any lam-rim realizations we are able to offer incredible benefit to others. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thubten-zopa-rinpoche/it-is-great-that-even-before-we-become-enlightened-or-generate-any/) [Thubten Zopa Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thubten-zopa-rinpoche/) > [A government is for the benefit of all the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-howard-taft/a-government-is-for-the-benefit-of-all-the-people/) [William Howard Taft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-howard-taft/) > [“A talent is no talent, unless it is used for the benefit of other people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/a-talent-is-no-talent-unless-it-is-used-for-the-benefit-of-other/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I hope that what I am today is of positive benefit to other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nneka/i-hope-that-what-i-am-today-is-of-positive-benefit-to-other-people/) [Nneka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nneka/) > [All religions try to benefit people, with the same basic message of the need for love and compassion, for justice and honesty, for contentment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/all-religions-try-to-benefit-people-with-the-same-basic-message-of-2/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [The revenues of Cuban state-run companies are used exclusively for the benefit of the people, to whom they belong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fidel-castro/the-revenues-of-cuban-state-run-companies-are-used-exclusively-for/) [Fidel Castro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fidel-castro/) > [I know that I am floating on the benefit of other people. I do not deserve the blessings that I've gotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/i-know-that-i-am-floating-on-the-benefit-of-other-people-i-do-not/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [Being confronted with the realization that work you intended to benefit people is being used against them has a radicalizing effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/being-confronted-with-the-realization-that-work-you-intended-to/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [The wage of a people has meaning only when it arises from production. Every increase in production should benefit the whole people and raise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-wage-of-a-people-has-meaning-only-when-it-arises-from-production/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [I know I have a successful career, a successful life. If I sit and say, 'Look, I have a comfortable life,' and I... just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-weah/i-know-i-have-a-successful-career-a-successful-life-if-i-sit-and-say/) [George Weah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-weah/) > [It's taken a lot for me to understand that the position I'm in is meant to benefit other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-moody/it-s-taken-a-lot-for-me-to-understand-that-the-position-i-m-in-is/) [Ivan Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-moody/) > [A mind wishing to benefit other people and other sentient beings is the very basis of peace and happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/a-mind-wishing-to-benefit-other-people-and-other-sentient-beings-is/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [I think we need to feel, to come together, to look at our differences as a benefit to who we are as people on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-ventimiglia/i-think-we-need-to-feel-to-come-together-to-look-at-our-differences/) [Milo Ventimiglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-ventimiglia/) > [The shaman/priest/artist/teacher/leader does not operate for the sole benefit of herself and her kind but for the benefit of the people at large and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-grahn/the-shaman-priest-artist-teacher-leader-does-not-operate-for-the-sole/) [Judy Grahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-grahn/) > [If you're a thorough professional, and they won't let you do a professional job, nobody's going to benefit from it. The people who produce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kirby/if-you-re-a-thorough-professional-and-they-won-t-let-you-do-a/) [Jack Kirby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kirby/) ## More by Iain Banks > [I'm not a great believer in awards-of course the fact that I've never won one has nothing to do with it at all!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/i-m-not-a-great-believer-in-awards-of-course-the-fact-that-i-ve-never/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [“Looking at me, you'd never guess I'd killed three people. It isn't fair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/looking-at-me-you-d-never-guess-i-d-killed-three-people-it-isn-t-fair/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [One should never mistake pattern for meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/one-should-never-mistake-pattern-for-meaning/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [I'm a devoted husband. That must strike you as totally deviant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/i-m-a-devoted-husband-that-must-strike-you-as-totally-deviant/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [“The flames had passed over those flattened blades and consumed their heather neighbours on either side while they themselves had remained, made proof against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/the-flames-had-passed-over-those-flattened-blades-and-consumed-their/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [All you ever were was a little bit of the universe, thinking to itself. Very specific; this bit, here, right now. All the rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/all-you-ever-were-was-a-little-bit-of-the-universe-thinking-to-itself/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [“We're not in prison, we're not junkies and we're not Young Tories...it's no small achievement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/we-re-not-in-prison-we-re-not-junkies-and-we-re-not-young-tories-it-s/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [Torture is such a slippery slope; as soon as you allow a society or any legal system to do that, almost instantly you get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/torture-is-such-a-slippery-slope-as-soon-as-you-allow-a-society-or/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [“Two years after I killed Blyth I murdered my young brother Paul, for quite different reasons than I'd disposed of Blyth, and then a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/two-years-after-i-killed-blyth-i-murdered-my-young-brother-paul-for/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [If you have any helpful suggestions I'd be pleased to hear them. If all you can do is make snide insinuations then it would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/if-you-have-any-helpful-suggestions-i-d-be-pleased-to-hear-them-if/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [“He hit and fatally injured my innocent and unfortunate uncle whose muttered last words in hospital, before his coma became a full stop, were:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/he-hit-and-fatally-injured-my-innocent-and-unfortunate-uncle-whose/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [A guilty system recognizes no innocents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/a-guilty-system-recognizes-no-innocents/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [“All reality is a game.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/all-reality-is-a-game/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [There has seldom if ever a shortage of eager young males prepared to kill and die to preserve the security, comfort and prejudices of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/there-has-seldom-if-ever-a-shortage-of-eager-young-males-prepared-to/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [Escape is a consumer goods like another](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/escape-is-a-consumer-goods-like-another/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) [Explore all 123 Iain Banks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) ## More Benefit quotes > [Some Republicans gave up on winning the African-American vote, looking the other way or trying to benefit politically from racial polarization. I am here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-mehlman/some-republicans-gave-up-on-winning-the-african-american-vote-looking/) [Ken Mehlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-mehlman/) > [It's not always to the benefit of the story to have it so preordained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-woodrell/it-s-not-always-to-the-benefit-of-the-story-to-have-it-so-preordained/) [Daniel Woodrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-woodrell/) > [I'm less concerned about whether being a good corporate citizen burnishes a company's reputation. That's just an added benefit. I believe it's a responsibility,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-burns/i-m-less-concerned-about-whether-being-a-good-corporate-citizen/) [Ursula Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-burns/) > [The benefit of living in a free society is that we all have the choice to be rich, poor, or middle class. The decision…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/the-benefit-of-living-in-a-free-society-is-that-we-all-have-the/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [As the future is never known with certainty, the evaluation of the prospective benefits requires the formation of expectations. An acceptable house, partner or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-t-mortensen/as-the-future-is-never-known-with-certainty-the-evaluation-of-the/) [Dale T. Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-t-mortensen/) > [For us, my wife and I and all of my partners believe that corporations have to be corporate citizens, and individuals who benefit from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-walter/for-us-my-wife-and-i-and-all-of-my-partners-believe-that-corporations/) [Mark Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-walter/) > [The benefit to building a startup is that customers don't have the same kind of friction when they adopt new technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/the-benefit-to-building-a-startup-is-that-customers-don-t-have-the/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [“Because the core of my personal philosophy is that everything that happens to us benefits us, I was also spared the futility of cursing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/because-the-core-of-my-personal-philosophy-is-that-everything-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Nothing is so good that impious and sacrilegious and wicked people cannot contort its proper benefit into evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giordano-bruno/nothing-is-so-good-that-impious-and-sacrilegious-and-wicked-people/) [Giordano Bruno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giordano-bruno/) > [“Everything I think I’m doing for my own benefit has some incidental evolutionary advantage!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-hamantaschen/everything-i-think-i-m-doing-for-my-own-benefit-has-some-incidental/) J.R. Hamantaschen > [The true principle of taxation is the benefit principle - those who benefit from a government service should pay for it. It's also known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-skousen/the-true-principle-of-taxation-is-the-benefit-principle-those-who/) [Mark Skousen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-skousen/) > [Dance keeps me fit! It's been a huge benefit in my life and it will forever be a part of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-holker/dance-keeps-me-fit-it-s-been-a-huge-benefit-in-my-life-and-it-will/) [Allison Holker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-holker/) > [Many people do not realize that where unions have bargaining rights employers cannot raise wages or improve benefit plans any more than they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-e-wilson/many-people-do-not-realize-that-where-unions-have-bargaining-rights/) [Charles E. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-e-wilson/) > [To use for our exclusive benefit what is not ours is theft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-marti/to-use-for-our-exclusive-benefit-what-is-not-ours-is-theft/) [Jose Marti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-marti/) > [There is almost no topic that can't benefit from being talked about in a humorous way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-parris/there-is-almost-no-topic-that-can-t-benefit-from-being-talked-about/) [Rachel Parris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-parris/) [Browse all 533 Benefit quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benefit/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If you do something to benefit one person, that is an absolute gain, and its relative insignificance in the wider scheme is irrelevant. 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