--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It would be wonderful if the public…" description: "\"It would be wonderful if the public sector were always great, or always terrible; or if the private sector were always great, or always terrible. Alas,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/402/jon-meacham-2863_alas_it-would-be-wonderful-if-the-public-sect_1234174.png" --- # It would be wonderful if the public sector were always… ![“It would be wonderful if the public sector were always great, or always terrible; or if the private sector were always great, or always terrible. Alas, reality is more complicated than comforting caricatures. Governments fail, and corporations fail.” quote by Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/402/jon-meacham-2863_alas_it-would-be-wonderful-if-the-public-sect_1234174.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/402/jon-meacham-2863_alas_it-would-be-wonderful-if-the-public-sect_1234174.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/402/jon-meacham-2863_alas_it-would-be-wonderful-if-the-public-sect_1234174.png) > “It would be wonderful if the public sector were always great, or always terrible; or if the private sector were always great, or always terrible. Alas, reality is more complicated than comforting caricatures. Governments fail, and corporations fail.” [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Simplistic labels for government and business ignore complexity; real outcomes vary. **In simple terms:** Public vs private not always good or bad. Key Takeaway Assess each case individually. Themes politics economics complexity Mood analytical critical Type political analytical When to use this quote - voting - consumer choices - investment decisions Key Concepts public policy corporate governance Questions to Reflect On - What evidence challenges the label? - How do you evaluate performance? A Different Perspective Overgeneralization can mislead decision‑making. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alas/) [Always](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always/) [Caricatures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caricatures/) [Comforting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comforting/) [Complicated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complicated/) [Corporations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporations/) [Corporations Fail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporations-fail-3828606/) [Fail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fail/) [Fail Corporations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fail-corporations-3828607/) [Governments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/governments/) [Governments Fail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/governments-fail-937173/) [Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great/) [More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/more/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Private](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/private/) [Private sector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/private-sector/) [Public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public/) [Public sector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-sector/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Sector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sector/) [Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible/) [Than](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/than/) [Were](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/were/) [Wonderful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonderful/) [Would](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would/) ## Related quotes > [Big corporations don't just belong to one person or two persons but to a whole nation. If you let big corporations fail, then a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/big-corporations-don-t-just-belong-to-one-person-or-two-persons-but/) [Mahathir Mohamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/) > [It is only fair to expect public employees like me and others in the public sector to pay something close to what our neighbors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-walker/it-is-only-fair-to-expect-public-employees-like-me-and-others-in-the/) [Scott Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-walker/) > [We are focusing on four vertical markets - utilities, public sector, large enterprises, and transportation. And, we are building a software business as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajeev-suri/we-are-focusing-on-four-vertical-markets-utilities-public-sector/) [Rajeev Suri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajeev-suri/) > [I wish the private sector worked as hard at explaining its importance as much as the public sector.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemi-badenoch/i-wish-the-private-sector-worked-as-hard-at-explaining-its-importance/) [Kemi Badenoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemi-badenoch/) > [You can't have public health without working with the public sector. You can't have public education without working with the public sector in education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-farmer/you-can-t-have-public-health-without-working-with-the-public-sector/) [Paul Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-farmer/) > [But the real growth I must say in terms of the public sector for the Labor Department is really at state and local levels.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-herman/but-the-real-growth-i-must-say-in-terms-of-the-public-sector-for-the/) [Alexis Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-herman/) > [I'd like to have another opportunity to serve. I believe in service. I enjoy it. I also like coming and going, you know, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deval-patrick/i-d-like-to-have-another-opportunity-to-serve-i-believe-in-service-i/) [Deval Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deval-patrick/) > [There is definitely a need for increasing capacity in higher education; a large part of this is being met in the technical education segment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pallam-raju/there-is-definitely-a-need-for-increasing-capacity-in-higher/) [Pallam Raju](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pallam-raju/) > [Public sector employees are the eyes and ears on the ground for the communities they serve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-hoffa/public-sector-employees-are-the-eyes-and-ears-on-the-ground-for-the/) [James P. Hoffa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-hoffa/) > [My focus and that of all members of the Government responsible for delivering services to the public is to make sure that the public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/estelle-morris/my-focus-and-that-of-all-members-of-the-government-responsible-for/) [Estelle Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/estelle-morris/) > [Somehow, failures in the public sector are always judged as systematic. The private sector thus exists to ride to the rescue - and their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perlstein/somehow-failures-in-the-public-sector-are-always-judged-as-systematic/) [Rick Perlstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perlstein/) > [Railroads are the primary economic beneficiaries. It's a difficult project for the public sector.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gates/railroads-are-the-primary-economic-beneficiaries-it-s-a-difficult/) [John Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gates/) > [Private sector labors unions continue to suffer losses in their membership while public sector and service unions grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-e-mann/private-sector-labors-unions-continue-to-suffer-losses-in-their/) [Thomas E. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-e-mann/) > [Artists have a responsibility to speak and to act when governments fail, and if we don't do that, we really deserve the world we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/artists-have-a-responsibility-to-speak-and-to-act-when-governments/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Governments that fail to provide jobs to those who are willing and able to work begin to lose their legitimacy and will face the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharan-burrow/governments-that-fail-to-provide-jobs-to-those-who-are-willing-and/) [Sharan Burrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharan-burrow/) ## More by Jon Meacham > [Scripture is not inerrant; believers are called to interpret biblical texts in light of tradition and reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/scripture-is-not-inerrant-believers-are-called-to-interpret-biblical/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [As a southerner born after the epic events of the civil rights movement, I've always wondered how on earth people of good will could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/as-a-southerner-born-after-the-epic-events-of-the-civil-rights/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [We are now living in a post-Roosevelt, post-Reagan universe. What comes next will not be post-partisan, because faction is an intrinsic human impulse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/we-are-now-living-in-a-post-roosevelt-post-reagan-universe-what-comes/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [“his other hand. Sensitive to his guest’s affliction, Churchill realized that “every step” was”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/his-other-hand-sensitive-to-his-guest-s-affliction-churchill-realized/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [Too many activists have convinced themselves that they have a monopoly on truth. A little humility and a sense of history could move us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/too-many-activists-have-convinced-themselves-that-they-have-a/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [In the fullness of time, I suspect that bigotry against homosexuals will seem as repugnant as racial prejudice does today. Or so one hopes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/in-the-fullness-of-time-i-suspect-that-bigotry-against-homosexuals/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [Mysteries and thrillers are not the same things, though they are literary siblings. Roughly put, I would say the distinction is that mysteries emphasize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/mysteries-and-thrillers-are-not-the-same-things-though-they-are/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [“When Lincoln was running for the House of Representatives from Illinois, he was charged with being “a scoffer at religion,” wrote the historian William…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/when-lincoln-was-running-for-the-house-of-representatives-from/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [“The Man who has not Music in his Soul, Or is not touch’d with Concord of sweet Sounds, Is fit for Treason, Stratagems, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/the-man-who-has-not-music-in-his-soul-or-is-not-touch-d-with-concord/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [I am an Episcopalian who takes the faith of my fathers seriously, and I would, I think, be disheartened if my own young children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/i-am-an-episcopalian-who-takes-the-faith-of-my-fathers-seriously-and/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [Only the most unapologetic biblical fundamentalists, for instance, take every biblical injunction literally. If we all took all scripture at the same level of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/only-the-most-unapologetic-biblical-fundamentalists-for-instance-take/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [“There was, of course, a more immediate point to frequent gatherings of lawmakers, diplomats, and cabinet officers at the president’s table. It tends to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/there-was-of-course-a-more-immediate-point-to-frequent-gatherings-of/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [“For Jefferson, William and Mary was largely about what university life is supposed to be about: reading books, enjoying the company of like-minded, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/for-jefferson-william-and-mary-was-largely-about-what-university-life/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [One wonders whether the Obama re-election campaign may be on the right track as it seeks to apply the you-break-it-you-own-it rule to Bush and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/one-wonders-whether-the-obama-re-election-campaign-may-be-on-the/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [Reagan is the Republican FDR, an exemplar of presidential greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/reagan-is-the-republican-fdr-an-exemplar-of-presidential-greatness/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) [Explore all 146 Jon Meacham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) ## More Alas quotes > [“Muchos de los ángeles de Dios no tienen alas...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-n-harris/muchos-de-los-ngeles-de-dios-no-tienen-alas/) [José N. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-n-harris/) > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Alas, you don't need monsters for monstrous deeds to be accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/alas-you-don-t-need-monsters-for-monstrous-deeds-to-be-accomplished/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Time, time - that is our greatest master! Alas, like Ugolino, time devours its own children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hector-berlioz/time-time-that-is-our-greatest-master-alas-like-ugolino-time-devours/) [Hector Berlioz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hector-berlioz/) > [Removing prejudices is, alas! too often removing the boundary of a delightful near prospect in order to let in a shockingly extensive one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-fulke-greville/removing-prejudices-is-alas-too-often-removing-the-boundary-of-a/) [Sir Fulke Greville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-fulke-greville/) > [Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-pharcellus-church/yes-virginia-there-is-a-santa-claus-he-exists-as-certainly-as-love/) [Francis Pharcellus Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-pharcellus-church/) > [Alas, Postumus, the fleeting years slip by, nor will piety give any stay to wrinkles and pressing old age and untamable death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/alas-postumus-the-fleeting-years-slip-by-nor-will-piety-give-any-stay/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Sensible Catholics have for generations been ignoring the views on contraception held by reactionary old men in the Vatican, but alas, since it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-grayling/sensible-catholics-have-for-generations-been-ignoring-the-views-on/) [A.C. Grayling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-grayling/) > [The flesh is sad, alas, and I have read all the books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-phane-mallarm/the-flesh-is-sad-alas-and-i-have-read-all-the-books/) [Stephane Mallarme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-phane-mallarm/) > [Alas! all music jars when the soul's out of tune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/alas-all-music-jars-when-the-soul-s-out-of-tune/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [In spite of the honestest efforts to annihilate my I-ity, or merge it in what the world doubtless considers my better half, I still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-welsh-carlyle/in-spite-of-the-honestest-efforts-to-annihilate-my-i-ity-or-merge-it/) [Jane Welsh Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-welsh-carlyle/) > [The dumpling is indeed of more ancient institution, and of foreign origin; but alas, what were those dumplings? Nothing but a few lentils sodden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-arbuthnot/the-dumpling-is-indeed-of-more-ancient-institution-and-of-foreign/) [John Arbuthnot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-arbuthnot/) > [“World is so beautiful, but alas! There are so many assholes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/world-is-so-beautiful-but-alas-there-are-so-many-assholes/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Ideally a painter (and, generally, an artist) should not become conscious of his insights: without taking the detour through his reflective processes, and incomprehensibly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/ideally-a-painter-and-generally-an-artist-should-not-become-conscious/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [Alas! we makeA ladder of our thoughts, where angels step,But sleep ourselves at the foot: our high resolvesLook down upon our slumbering acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letitia-elizabeth-landon/alas-we-makea-ladder-of-our-thoughts-where-angels-step-but-sleep/) [Letitia Elizabeth Landon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letitia-elizabeth-landon/) [Browse all 453 Alas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alas/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It would be wonderful if the public sector were always great, or always terrible; or if the private sector were always great, or always terrible. 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