--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ideal legislators do not vote their…" description: "\"Ideal legislators do not vote their interests.\" — John Rawls" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e8/john-rawls-7786_ideals_ideal-legislators-do-not-vote-their-inte_3219898.jpg" --- # Ideal legislators do not vote their interests. ![“Ideal legislators do not vote their interests.” quote by John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e8/john-rawls-7786_ideals_ideal-legislators-do-not-vote-their-inte_3219898.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e8/john-rawls-7786_ideals_ideal-legislators-do-not-vote-their-inte_3219898.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e8/john-rawls-7786_ideals_ideal-legislators-do-not-vote-their-inte_3219898.jpg) > “Ideal legislators do not vote their interests.” [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Legislators should prioritize the common good over personal gain. **In simple terms:** Ideal lawmakers act for public interest, not self. Key Takeaway Advocate policies that serve everyone. Themes ethics politics public service Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - parliamentary debates - policy drafting - community meetings Key Concepts justice social contract political theory Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards ensure impartial voting? - How can citizens hold legislators accountable? A Different Perspective Self‑interest often influences decisions despite ideals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ideal Legislators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideal-legislators-6048942/) [Ideals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideals/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Legislators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legislators/) [Legislators Vote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legislators-vote-6048943/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) [Vote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vote/) [Vote Interests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vote-interests-4673531/) ## Related quotes > [It's always interesting for me that people vote against their interests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-niccol/it-s-always-interesting-for-me-that-people-vote-against-their/) [Andrew Niccol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-niccol/) > [The fallacy is that politicians don't really do much about social issues. They just demonize their opponents as elitists and reap the benefit. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-noah/the-fallacy-is-that-politicians-don-t-really-do-much-about-social/) [Timothy Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-noah/) > [The truth is there are people who are quite informed who still vote against their interests. I would argue that, as a Green Party…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-lamont-hill/the-truth-is-there-are-people-who-are-quite-informed-who-still-vote/) [Marc Lamont Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-lamont-hill/) > [How to get people to vote against their interests and to really think against their interests is very clever. It's the cleverest ruling class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/how-to-get-people-to-vote-against-their-interests-and-to-really-think/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [People vote against their own interests that all the time. But when you do the polling in the U.S., it has gone from less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bloomberg/people-vote-against-their-own-interests-that-all-the-time-but-when/) [Michael Bloomberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bloomberg/) > [Ideally citizens are to think of themselves as if they were legislators and ask themselves what statutes, supported by what reasons satisfying the criterion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/ideally-citizens-are-to-think-of-themselves-as-if-they-were/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [Millennial voters are very concerned about climate change and will vote for candidates who are planning to address it. But the systems that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/millennial-voters-are-very-concerned-about-climate-change-and-will/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [I'm not a prejudice person, and I've worked with many male legislators and some have been excellent for us, so I'm not speaking against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-smeal/i-m-not-a-prejudice-person-and-i-ve-worked-with-many-male-legislators/) [Eleanor Smeal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-smeal/) > [Let me make it clear: The Disbursement Allocation Program is not pork barrel. Of the DAP releases in 2011 and 2012, only nine percent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benigno-aquino-iii/let-me-make-it-clear-the-disbursement-allocation-program-is-not-pork/) [Benigno Aquino III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benigno-aquino-iii/) > [What I have absolutely no sympathy with is the legislator, the man who seeks, for his own profit, to exploit the weaknesses of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-lowry/what-i-have-absolutely-no-sympathy-with-is-the-legislator-the-man-who/) [Malcolm Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-lowry/) > [The accountability of state legislators is so much more than federal legislators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-woodall/the-accountability-of-state-legislators-is-so-much-more-than-federal/) [Rob Woodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-woodall/) > [The 'Occupy' movement seems to have found a central theme to its 2012 movement around overturning 'the corporation as a person,' and some legislators…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/the-occupy-movement-seems-to-have-found-a-central-theme-to-its-2012/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [Trade and commerce, if they were not made of Indian rubber, would never manage to bounce over the obstacles which legislators are continually putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/trade-and-commerce-if-they-were-not-made-of-indian-rubber-would-never/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Lobbying' is the activity of attempting to influence legislation by privately influencing the legislators. It is the result and creation of a mixed economy-of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/lobbying-is-the-activity-of-attempting-to-influence-legislation-by/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [I'm going to do everything I can to get myself elected, but that's not enough. I'm going to try to help move the Senate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-m-going-to-do-everything-i-can-to-get-myself-elected-but-that-s-not/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) ## More by John Rawls > [Any comprehensive doctrine, religious or secular, can be introduced into any political argument at any time, but I argue that people who do this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/any-comprehensive-doctrine-religious-or-secular-can-be-introduced/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [First of all, principles should be general. That is, it must be possible to formulate them without use of what would be intuitively recognized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/first-of-all-principles-should-be-general-that-is-it-must-be-possible/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [Intuitionism is not constructive, perfectionism is unacceptable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/intuitionism-is-not-constructive-perfectionism-is-unacceptable/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [A political conception just applies to the basic structure of a society, its institutions, constitutional essentials, matters of basic justice and property, and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/a-political-conception-just-applies-to-the-basic-structure-of-a/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [If you compare the United States with Europe, my view is that what happened in Europe is that the church became deeply distrusted by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/if-you-compare-the-united-states-with-europe-my-view-is-that-what/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [Political philosophy is realistically utopian when it extends what are ordinarily thought to be the limits of practicable political possibility and, in so doing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/political-philosophy-is-realistically-utopian-when-it-extends-what/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [The intolerant can be viewed as free-riders, as persons who seek the advantages of just institutions while not doing their share to uphold them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/the-intolerant-can-be-viewed-as-free-riders-as-persons-who-seek-the/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [Of course, we know that not everyone agrees with assisted suicide, but people might agree that one has the right to it, even if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/of-course-we-know-that-not-everyone-agrees-with-assisted-suicide-but/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [When the basic structure of society is publicly known to satisfy its principles for an extended period of time, those subject to these arrangements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/when-the-basic-structure-of-society-is-publicly-known-to-satisfy-its/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [“Luther and Calvin were as dogmatic and intolerant as the Church had been. For those who had to decide whether to become Protestant or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/luther-and-calvin-were-as-dogmatic-and-intolerant-as-the-church-had/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [We may suppose that everyone has in himself the whole form of a moral conception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/we-may-suppose-that-everyone-has-in-himself-the-whole-form-of-a-moral/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [Citizens can have their own grounding in their comprehensive doctrines, whatever they happen to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/citizens-can-have-their-own-grounding-in-their-comprehensive/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [There is a divergence between private and social accounting that the market fails to register. One essential task of law and government is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/there-is-a-divergence-between-private-and-social-accounting-that-the/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [Many of our most serious conflicts are conflicts within ourselves. Those who suppose their judgements are always consistent are unreflective or dogmatic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/many-of-our-most-serious-conflicts-are-conflicts-within-ourselves/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [The idea of public reason isn't about the right answers to all these questions, but about the kinds of reasons that they ought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/the-idea-of-public-reason-isn-t-about-the-right-answers-to-all-these/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) [Explore all 87 John Rawls quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) ## More Ideals quotes > [I am fairly tired--bored beyond endurance--by the world we live in, and its ideals, and am ready to say so, not violently, but kindly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/i-am-fairly-tired-bored-beyond-endurance-by-the-world-we-live-in-and/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [“What you seem so unwilling to accept, even now, is this: that the ideals which supported the old Republic had no correspondence to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-williams/what-you-seem-so-unwilling-to-accept-even-now-is-this-that-the-ideals/) [John Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-williams/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [We fight to defend our democratic ideals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-austin/we-fight-to-defend-our-democratic-ideals/) [Lloyd Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-austin/) > [One can be a great artist without being a great technician. There have been many famous ballet stars who did not have the ideal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-bujones/one-can-be-a-great-artist-without-being-a-great-technician-there-have/) [Fernando Bujones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-bujones/) > [my definition of the ideal man is 'that particular man with whom a woman happens to be in love at that particular time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-boothe-luce/my-definition-of-the-ideal-man-is-that-particular-man-with-whom-a/) [Clare Boothe Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-boothe-luce/) > [I started with the belief that every person who came to the laboratory was free to accept or to reject the dictates of authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-milgram/i-started-with-the-belief-that-every-person-who-came-to-the/) [Stanley Milgram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-milgram/) > [I'm kind of still down with Virg Woolf on this one: "women must kill the aesthetic ideal through which they themselves have been 'killed'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/i-m-kind-of-still-down-with-virg-woolf-on-this-one-women-must-kill/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [The hardest thing about being a guy is that women don't accept that you really are just a simple, pathetic, labrador retriever-like creature. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/the-hardest-thing-about-being-a-guy-is-that-women-don-t-accept-that/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [If you abide in the love of Christ, rooted in the faith, you will encounter, even amid setbacks and suffering, the source of true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/if-you-abide-in-the-love-of-christ-rooted-in-the-faith-you-will/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [With a full century of contrary proof in our possession and despite our demonstrated capacity for cooperative teamwork, some among us seem to accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/with-a-full-century-of-contrary-proof-in-our-possession-and-despite/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [“It was suffering and incapacity that created all afterworlds - this, and that brief madness of bliss which is experienced only by those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-was-suffering-and-incapacity-that-created-all-afterworlds-this-and/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I've always worked closely with the designers and whoever's making the costumes. Comfort is the last thing you want on your mind when you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristi-yamaguchi/i-ve-always-worked-closely-with-the-designers-and-whoever-s-making/) [Kristi Yamaguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristi-yamaguchi/) > [All human things do require to have an ideal in them; to have some soul in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/all-human-things-do-require-to-have-an-ideal-in-them-to-have-some/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [A design may be called organic when there is an harmonious organization of the parts within the whole, according to structure, material, and purpose.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliot-noyes/a-design-may-be-called-organic-when-there-is-an-harmonious/) [Eliot Noyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliot-noyes/) [Browse all 2,364 Ideals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideals/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Ideal legislators do not vote their interests.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Rawls" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/ideal-legislators-do-not-vote-their-interests/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ideals" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/ideal-legislators-do-not-vote-their-interests/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e8/john-rawls-7786_ideals_ideal-legislators-do-not-vote-their-inte_3219898.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e8/john-rawls-7786_ideals_ideal-legislators-do-not-vote-their-inte_3219898.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e8/john-rawls-7786_ideals_ideal-legislators-do-not-vote-their-inte_3219898.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ideal legislators do not vote their interests.” — John Rawls", "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 Rawls", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Ideal legislators do not vote their...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/ideal-legislators-do-not-vote-their-interests/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/ideal-legislators-do-not-vote-their-interests/#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 } } ] } ```