--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You will find that the State is the kind…" description: "\"You will find that the State is the kind of organization which, though it does big things badly, does small things badly, too.\" — John Kenneth Galbraith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c93/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_big-things_you-will-find-that-the-state-is-the-kind_905659.png" --- # You will find that the State is the kind of organization… ![“You will find that the State is the kind of organization which, though it does big things badly, does small things badly, too.” quote by John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c93/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_big-things_you-will-find-that-the-state-is-the-kind_905659.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c93/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_big-things_you-will-find-that-the-state-is-the-kind_905659.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c93/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_big-things_you-will-find-that-the-state-is-the-kind_905659.png) > “You will find that the State is the kind of organization which, though it does big things badly, does small things badly, too.” [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The state tends to be inefficient both in large-scale projects and in everyday tasks. **In simple terms:** Government often fails big and small. Key Takeaway Expect mixed performance from institutions. Themes government efficiency policy public administration Mood skeptical critical Type political analytical When to use this quote - public services - infrastructure projects - regulatory decisions Key Concepts bureaucracy institutional failure scale effects Questions to Reflect On - How can citizens hold governments accountable for minor failures? - What reforms improve everyday government performance? A Different Perspective Even small tasks can suffer from systemic inefficiencies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Badly Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/badly-does-1282839/) [Big things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-things/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Organization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organization/) [Organization Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organization-does-327123/) [Small things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-things/) [State](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/state/) [State Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/state-kind-1282838/) [Things Badly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-badly-1123244/) ## Related quotes > [ You will find that \[the\] State \[Department\] is the kind of organisation which, though it does big things badly, does small things badly too. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/you-will-find-that-the-state-department-is-the-kind-of-organisation/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [“When the state is not kind, then the people are fodder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/when-the-state-is-not-kind-then-the-people-are-fodder/) [Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) > [I would like to see anyone be able to achieve their dreams, and that's what this organization does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergey-brin/i-would-like-to-see-anyone-be-able-to-achieve-their-dreams-and-that-s/) [Sergey Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergey-brin/) > [Every organization does good and bad things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/every-organization-does-good-and-bad-things/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [Reach Out WorldWide does great work. It's a small organization that does great work, and I'm gonna make sure that keeps going on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-walker/reach-out-worldwide-does-great-work-it-s-a-small-organization-that/) [Cody Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cody-walker/) > [ALEC, has been I think a wonderful organization. Not only does it bring like-minded legislators together. But the private sector engagement in partnership in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boehner/alec-has-been-i-think-a-wonderful-organization-not-only-does-it-bring/) [John Boehner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boehner/) > [All the great organizations in the world, all have a sense of why that organization does what it does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sinek/all-the-great-organizations-in-the-world-all-have-a-sense-of-why-that/) [Simon Sinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sinek/) > [“Do three things well, not ten things badly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-segrove/do-three-things-well-not-ten-things-badly/) [David Segrove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-segrove/) > [Sure, good things can go badly wrong. Nevertheless, there's always another day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-lumley/sure-good-things-can-go-badly-wrong-nevertheless-there-s-always/) [Joanna Lumley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-lumley/) > [“Then she said sometimes the ways boys need things so badly, like they could never stop needing, it almost scared her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-abbott/then-she-said-sometimes-the-ways-boys-need-things-so-badly-like-they/) [Megan Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-abbott/) > [When you learn not to want things so badly, life comes to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-lange/when-you-learn-not-to-want-things-so-badly-life-comes-to-you/) [Jessica Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-lange/) > [“I hate nothing more than doing things badly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/i-hate-nothing-more-than-doing-things-badly/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't like doing things badly, that just feels like a waste of a day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-don-t-like-doing-things-badly-that-just-feels-like-a-waste-of-a-day/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [Even when one is doing well, one still worries that things might go badly again in the future. This is an old observation based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-schauble/even-when-one-is-doing-well-one-still-worries-that-things-might-go/) [Wolfgang Schauble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-schauble/) > [“the only sin on earth was to do things badly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/the-only-sin-on-earth-was-to-do-things-badly/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## More by John Kenneth Galbraith > [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Technology means the systematic application of scientific or other organized knowledge to practical tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/technology-means-the-systematic-application-of-scientific-or-other/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [“Men can labor to make sense out of single steps toward the goal without ever pausing to reflect that the goal itself is ludicrous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/men-can-labor-to-make-sense-out-of-single-steps-toward-the-goal/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Consumer wants can have bizarre, frivolous, or even immoral origins, and an admirable case can still be made for a society that seeks to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/consumer-wants-can-have-bizarre-frivolous-or-even-immoral-origins-and/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [That one never need to look beyond the love of money for explanation of human behavior is one of the most jealously guarded simplification…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/that-one-never-need-to-look-beyond-the-love-of-money-for-explanation/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Agriculture is one economic activity that does not obey the laws of demand and supply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/agriculture-is-one-economic-activity-that-does-not-obey-the-laws-of/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [If we were not in Vietnam, all that part of the world would be enjoying the obscurity it so richly deserves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/if-we-were-not-in-vietnam-all-that-part-of-the-world-would-be/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Washington is a place where men praise courage and act on elaborate personal cost-benefit calculations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/washington-is-a-place-where-men-praise-courage-and-act-on-elaborate/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [World War II revealed two of the enduring features of the Keynesian Revolution. One was the moral difference between spending for welfare and spending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/world-war-ii-revealed-two-of-the-enduring-features-of-the-keynesian/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Money is what fueled the industrial society. But in the informational society, the fuel, the power, is knowledge. One has now come to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/money-is-what-fueled-the-industrial-society-but-in-the-informational/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [While it will be desirable to achieve planned results, it will be even more important to avoid unplanned disasters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/while-it-will-be-desirable-to-achieve-planned-results-it-will-be-even/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [A bad book is the worse that it cannot repent. It has not been the devil's policy to keep the masses of mankind in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/a-bad-book-is-the-worse-that-it-cannot-repent-it-has-not-been-the/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Genius is a rising stock market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/genius-is-a-rising-stock-market/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Mr. David Stockman has said that supply-side economics was merely a cover for the trickle-down approach to economic policy—what an older and less elegant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/mr-david-stockman-has-said-that-supply-side-economics-was-merely-a/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Inventions that are not made, like babies that are not born, are rarely missed. In the absence of new developments, old ones may seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/inventions-that-are-not-made-like-babies-that-are-not-born-are-rarely/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) [Explore all 434 John Kenneth Galbraith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) ## More Big things quotes > [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/) [Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/) > [I want my squad to be confident, ambitious. They have to believe in big things and we have to set targets internally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-howe/i-want-my-squad-to-be-confident-ambitious-they-have-to-believe-in-big/) [Eddie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-howe/) > [Little things make the difference. Everyone is well prepared in the big things, but only the winners perfect the little things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bear-bryant/little-things-make-the-difference-everyone-is-well-prepared-in-the/) [Bear Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bear-bryant/) > [I would not have lasted a minute, literally a minute, on this Earth without God and angels by my side, because I was born.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mattie-stepanek/i-would-not-have-lasted-a-minute-literally-a-minute-on-this-earth/) [Mattie Stepanek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mattie-stepanek/) > [The larger an English industry was, the more likely it was to go bankrupt, because the English were not naturally corporate people; they disliked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-larger-an-english-industry-was-the-more-likely-it-was-to-go/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [It's silly to have as one's sole object in life just making money, accumulating wealth. I work because I enjoy what I'm doing, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-carson/it-s-silly-to-have-as-one-s-sole-object-in-life-just-making-money/) [Johnny Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-carson/) > [Show me a man who cannot bother to do little things and I'll show you a man who cannot be trusted to do big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-dale-bell/show-me-a-man-who-cannot-bother-to-do-little-things-and-i-ll-show-you/) [Lawrence Dale Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-dale-bell/) > [ITS FUNNY HOW YOU CAN MAKE SILENT HAPPINESS TO OTHER PEOPLE OUT OF YOUR NONE SENSE ACTIONS. BECAUSE SOMETHINGS IT MAYBE LITTLE AS WE…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/no-voice/its-funny-how-you-can-make-silent-happiness-to-other-people-out-of/) [NO VOICE](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/no-voice/) > [The little things, I can obey. But the big things - how we think, what we value - those you must choose yourself. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morrie-schwartz/the-little-things-i-can-obey-but-the-big-things-how-we-think-what-we/) [Morrie Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morrie-schwartz/) > [The little things are being early to meetings and lifts, stretching and warming up - doing all these things consistently, the walk-throughs that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-herbert/the-little-things-are-being-early-to-meetings-and-lifts-stretching/) [Justin Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-herbert/) > [I promise you this: at the end of your days, you will discover that the things you now perceive to be the big things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/i-promise-you-this-at-the-end-of-your-days-you-will-discover-that-the/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [“He wanted me to understand two big things: First, that nobody, no group, is above others. Public servants are obliged to level with everybody,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/he-wanted-me-to-understand-two-big-things-first-that-nobody-no-group/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [“When it comes to big things in life, there are no accidents. Everything happens for a reason.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/when-it-comes-to-big-things-in-life-there-are-no-accidents-everything/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [President Barack Obama is a doer. And we in America will do big things with him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-hunt/president-barack-obama-is-a-doer-and-we-in-america-will-do-big-things/) [Jim Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-hunt/) > [There are experts in little things but there are no experts in big things. There are experts in this fact and that fact but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ustinov/there-are-experts-in-little-things-but-there-are-no-experts-in-big/) [Peter Ustinov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ustinov/) [Browse all 748 Big things quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-things/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You will find that the State is the kind of organization which, though it does big things badly, does small things badly, too.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Kenneth Galbraith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/you-will-find-that-the-state-is-the-kind-of-organization-which-though/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Big things" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/you-will-find-that-the-state-is-the-kind-of-organization-which-though/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c93/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_big-things_you-will-find-that-the-state-is-the-kind_905659.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c93/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_big-things_you-will-find-that-the-state-is-the-kind_905659.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c93/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_big-things_you-will-find-that-the-state-is-the-kind_905659.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You will find that the State is the kind of organization which, though it does big things badly, does small…” — John Kenneth Galbraith", "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": "John Kenneth Galbraith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You will find that the State...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/you-will-find-that-the-state-is-the-kind-of-organization-which-though/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/you-will-find-that-the-state-is-the-kind-of-organization-which-though/#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 } } ] } ```