--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For we were, as I say, an idealistic…" description: "\"“For we were, as I say, an idealistic generation for whom the question was not simply one of how well one practised one’s skills, but to what end one d..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04c/kazuo-ishiguro-1029_better-world_for-we-were-as-i-say-an-idealistic-gener_1922593.jpg" --- # For we were, as I say, an idealistic generation for whom… ![“For we were, as I say, an idealistic generation for whom the question was not simply one of how well one practised one’s skills, but to what end one did so; each of us harboured the desire to make our own small contribution to the creation of a better world,” quote by Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04c/kazuo-ishiguro-1029_better-world_for-we-were-as-i-say-an-idealistic-gener_1922593.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04c/kazuo-ishiguro-1029_better-world_for-we-were-as-i-say-an-idealistic-gener_1922593.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04c/kazuo-ishiguro-1029_better-world_for-we-were-as-i-say-an-idealistic-gener_1922593.jpg) > ““For we were, as I say, an idealistic generation for whom the question was not simply one of how well one practised one’s skills, but to what end one did so; each of us harboured the desire to make our own small contribution to the creation of a better world,”” [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An idealistic generation seeks purpose beyond skill, aiming to contribute to a better world. **In simple terms:** Young people want meaning, not just skill. Key Takeaway Pursue meaningful contributions, not just competence. Themes idealism purpose generational hope social change Mood hopeful reflective Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - career choices - activism - education - community building Key Concepts existentialism humanism collective responsibility Questions to Reflect On - What motivates your desire to improve the world? - How can you sustain idealism amid setbacks? A Different Perspective Idealism can clash with pragmatic constraints and disillusionment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Better world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-world/) [Idealistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealistic/) ## Related quotes > [We say it is idealistic to think we can continue to live the way we live - with 5% of the world using half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/we-say-it-is-idealistic-to-think-we-can-continue-to-live-the-way-we/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [“How much wreckage and destruction justifies the creation of a better world?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-bertagna/how-much-wreckage-and-destruction-justifies-the-creation-of-a-better/) [Julie Bertagna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-bertagna/) > [If you think one piece of creation is better than another, you have completely lost it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaggi-vasudev/if-you-think-one-piece-of-creation-is-better-than-another-you-have/) [Jaggi Vasudev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaggi-vasudev/) > [“Creation is a better means of self-expression than possession; it is through creating, not possessing, that life is revealed. —VIDA D. SCUDDER, The Life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/creation-is-a-better-means-of-self-expression-than-possession-it-is/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [So many idealistic political movements for a better world have ended in mass-murdering dictatorships. Giving leaders enough power to create 'social justice' is giving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/so-many-idealistic-political-movements-for-a-better-world-have-ended/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [I still have a suspicion of charity and think the state has a role to play in many areas. And although for most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/i-still-have-a-suspicion-of-charity-and-think-the-state-has-a-role-to/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [I do feel part of that generation of people who were rather idealistic in the '70s and became disillusioned in the '80s. Not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/i-do-feel-part-of-that-generation-of-people-who-were-rather/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [“I don't like places or people either that haven't any faults. I think that a truly perfect person would be very uninteresting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-don-t-like-places-or-people-either-that-haven-t-any-faults-i-think/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [Women are treated as unjustly in poetry as in life. The feminine ones are not idealistic, and the idealistic not feminine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/women-are-treated-as-unjustly-in-poetry-as-in-life-the-feminine-ones/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [For most of us, generosity is a quality that must be developed. 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This is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henryk-sienkiewicz/an-excessive-preponderance-of-an-idealistic-mood-is-harmful-to/) [Henryk Sienkiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henryk-sienkiewicz/) ## More by Kazuo Ishiguro > [The evening's the best part of the day. You've done your day's work. Now you can put your feet up and enjoy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/the-evening-s-the-best-part-of-the-day-you-ve-done-your-day-s-work/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [As a writer, I'm more interested in what people tell themselves happened rather than what actually happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/as-a-writer-i-m-more-interested-in-what-people-tell-themselves/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [“About him and his wife voting for different parties. A few years ago that would have been unthinkable.” “No doubt.” “Quite extraordinary the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/about-him-and-his-wife-voting-for-different-parties-a-few-years-ago/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [“But what is the sense in forever speculating what might have happened had such and such a moment turned out differently? One could presumably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/but-what-is-the-sense-in-forever-speculating-what-might-have-happened/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [“Silence is just as likely to indicate the most profound ideas forming, the deepest energies being summoned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/silence-is-just-as-likely-to-indicate-the-most-profound-ideas-forming/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [“I don't know why, but it didn't seem an option for more than one of us to storm off, and I wanted to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/i-don-t-know-why-but-it-didn-t-seem-an-option-for-more-than-one-of-us/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [Our family arrived in England in 1960. At that time I thought the war was ancient history. 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Soon enough, the long hours, the traveling, the broken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/you-re-always-in-a-rush-or-else-you-re-too-exhausted-to-have-a-proper/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [I don't think it's any fun, even if you are one of the most respected authors in the world like Margaret Atwood, to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/i-don-t-think-it-s-any-fun-even-if-you-are-one-of-the-most-respected/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [I think it's quite difficult to understand what kind of life a writer leads. They might be millionaires, or they might be starving people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/i-think-it-s-quite-difficult-to-understand-what-kind-of-life-a-writer/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [“But this small episode is as good an illustration as any of the hazards of uttering witticisms. By the very nature of a witticism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/but-this-small-episode-is-as-good-an-illustration-as-any-of-the/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [There comes a point when you can more or less count the number of books you're going to write before you die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/there-comes-a-point-when-you-can-more-or-less-count-the-number-of/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [My wife is the most savage critic. She doesn't feel intimidated by my reputation. As far as she's concerned, she's just criticising a boyfriend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/my-wife-is-the-most-savage-critic-she-doesn-t-feel-intimidated-by-my/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) [Explore all 292 Kazuo Ishiguro quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) ## More Better world quotes > [Something must be done to save humanity! A better world is possible!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fidel-castro/something-must-be-done-to-save-humanity-a-better-world-is-possible/) [Fidel Castro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fidel-castro/) > [One Hundred Year Starship really is about the idea that is we pursue an extraordinary tomorrow; we'll build a better world today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-jemison/one-hundred-year-starship-really-is-about-the-idea-that-is-we-pursue/) [Mae Jemison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-jemison/) > [The advance of liberty is the path to both a safer and better world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/the-advance-of-liberty-is-the-path-to-both-a-safer-and-better-world/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [... man has an idea of a better world than this. But better does not mean different, it means unified... Religion or crime, every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/man-has-an-idea-of-a-better-world-than-this-but-better-does-not-mean/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“Joseph Ratzinger never developed his own theological system. As a theologian he took on what was there, discerned its essentials, situated it in relation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/joseph-ratzinger-never-developed-his-own-theological-system-as-a/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [How can I create a better world? 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I believe we can, if enough people are concerned and get involved in changing what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-spock/can-we-make-a-better-world-for-our-children-i-believe-we-can-if/) [Benjamin Spock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-spock/) [Browse all 606 Better world quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-world/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“For we were, as I say, an idealistic generation for whom the question was not simply one of how well one practised one’s skills, but to what end one did so; each of us harboured the desire to make our own small contribution to the creation of a better world,”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kazuo Ishiguro" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/for-we-were-as-i-say-an-idealistic-generation-for-whom-the-question/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Better world" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/for-we-were-as-i-say-an-idealistic-generation-for-whom-the-question/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04c/kazuo-ishiguro-1029_better-world_for-we-were-as-i-say-an-idealistic-gener_1922593.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04c/kazuo-ishiguro-1029_better-world_for-we-were-as-i-say-an-idealistic-gener_1922593.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04c/kazuo-ishiguro-1029_better-world_for-we-were-as-i-say-an-idealistic-gener_1922593.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For we were, as I say, an idealistic generation for whom the question was not simply one of how well one…” — Kazuo Ishiguro", "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": "Kazuo Ishiguro", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“For we were, as I say,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/for-we-were-as-i-say-an-idealistic-generation-for-whom-the-question/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/for-we-were-as-i-say-an-idealistic-generation-for-whom-the-question/#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 } } ] } ```