--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we want to work out a policy for the…" description: "\"If we want to work out a policy for the present, we must examine the past and prepare for the future, discard the material and elevate the spirit, rely..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f6/lu-xun-12813_ifs_if-we-want-to-work-out-a-policy-for-the_1601039.jpg" --- # If we want to work out a policy for the present, we must… ![“If we want to work out a policy for the present, we must examine the past and prepare for the future, discard the material and elevate the spirit, rely on the individual and exclude the mass.” quote by Lu Xun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f6/lu-xun-12813_ifs_if-we-want-to-work-out-a-policy-for-the_1601039.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f6/lu-xun-12813_ifs_if-we-want-to-work-out-a-policy-for-the_1601039.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f6/lu-xun-12813_ifs_if-we-want-to-work-out-a-policy-for-the_1601039.jpg) > “If we want to work out a policy for the present, we must examine the past and prepare for the future, discard the material and elevate the spirit, rely on the individual and exclude the mass.” [Lu Xun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lu-xun/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Policy should learn from history, discard materialism, uplift spirit, value individuals over masses. **In simple terms:** Balance past lessons, spiritual values, and individual focus. Key Takeaway Integrate history, spirituality, and individual rights in policy. Themes policy history spirituality individualism collectivism Mood critical visionary Type political philosophical When to use this quote - government planning - educational curricula - community activism Key Concepts political theory ethics social reform Questions to Reflect On - How can policies honor both individual and collective needs? - What steps prevent materialism from dominating decisions? A Different Perspective Implementation may clash with entrenched material interests. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Work out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-out/) ## Related quotes > [In exile, I have tried to profit by the past and prepare for the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lajos-kossuth/in-exile-i-have-tried-to-profit-by-the-past-and-prepare-for-the-future/) [Lajos Kossuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lajos-kossuth/) > [“Respect the past, and prepare for the future by taking action in the present.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-letters-of-gratitude/respect-the-past-and-prepare-for-the-future-by-taking-action-in-the/) [The Letters Of Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-letters-of-gratitude/) > [“Learn from the past, prepare for the future, and perform in the moment." (Moments: Making Your Life Count For What Matters Most, Mike Van…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-van-hoozer/learn-from-the-past-prepare-for-the-future-and-perform-in-the-moment/) Mike Van Hoozer > [Learn from the past, prepare for the future, live in the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/learn-from-the-past-prepare-for-the-future-live-in-the-present/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [I do believe the most important thing I can do now is to help young people understand the past and prepare for the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-stennis/i-do-believe-the-most-important-thing-i-can-do-now-is-to-help-young/) [John C. Stennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-stennis/) > [“When we constantly worry and re-examine the past in order to discover what's wrong with the present, we reinforce the same thought process that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-robert-anthony/when-we-constantly-worry-and-re-examine-the-past-in-order-to-discover/) [Dr. Robert Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-robert-anthony/) > [“The moment historians examine the past they risk changing it, by selectively re-arranging events, consciously or not, according to the judgment(s) of posterity or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ham/the-moment-historians-examine-the-past-they-risk-changing-it-by/) [Paul Ham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ham/) > [“We go through the present blindfolded... Only later, when the blindfold is removed and we examine the past, do we realise what we've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/we-go-through-the-present-blindfolded-only-later-when-the-blindfold/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Time doesn't conceal anything, it tells the future the truth about what you did in the past, so prepare well in order to score…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/time-doesn-t-conceal-anything-it-tells-the-future-the-truth-about/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Time doesn't conceal anything, it tells the future what you did in the past, so prepare well in order to score extra marks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/time-doesn-t-conceal-anything-it-tells-the-future-what-you-did-in-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God is in the résumé-building business. He is always using past experiences to prepare us for future opportunities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-batterson/god-is-in-the-r-sum-building-business-he-is-always-using-past/) [Mark Batterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-batterson/) > [“Every action in the present prepare us for the future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-giftyakita/every-action-in-the-present-prepare-us-for-the-future/) [Lailah GiftyAkita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-giftyakita/) > [Today is the parent of tomorrow. The present casts its shadow far into the future. That is the law of life, individual and social.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/today-is-the-parent-of-tomorrow-the-present-casts-its-shadow-far-into/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [“\* Be ready for rainy-day emergencies \* Avoid excessive debt; be content with what we have \* Use the resources of the earth wisely;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-hales/be-ready-for-rainy-day-emergencies-avoid-excessive-debt-be-content/) [Robert D. Hales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-hales/) > [“How can we prepare for the future if we won’t acknowledge the past?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/how-can-we-prepare-for-the-future-if-we-won-t-acknowledge-the-past/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) ## More by Lu Xun > [The ability to forget the past enables people to free themselves gradually from the pain they once suffered; but it also often makes them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lu-xun/the-ability-to-forget-the-past-enables-people-to-free-themselves/) [Lu Xun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lu-xun/) > [Hope is a path on the mountainside. At first there is no path. But then there are people passing that way. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lu-xun/hope-is-a-path-on-the-mountainside-at-first-there-is-no-path-but-then/) [Lu Xun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lu-xun/) > [It is in the nature of things that some people should be unlucky enough to get their heads chopped off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lu-xun/it-is-in-the-nature-of-things-that-some-people-should-be-unlucky/) [Lu Xun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lu-xun/) > [The most painful thing in life is to wake up from a dream and find no way out. Dreamers are fortunate people. If no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lu-xun/the-most-painful-thing-in-life-is-to-wake-up-from-a-dream-and-find-no/) [Lu Xun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lu-xun/) > [I entreat fresh visions from the painters. Be lavish with your vermilion to portray the mountains in the spring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lu-xun/i-entreat-fresh-visions-from-the-painters-be-lavish-with-your/) [Lu Xun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lu-xun/) > [Though science has given us many marvels, it has also spoiled many of our pleasant dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lu-xun/though-science-has-given-us-many-marvels-it-has-also-spoiled-many-of/) [Lu Xun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lu-xun/) > [Creation, even when it is a mere outpouring from the heart, wishes to find a public. By definition, creation is sociable. Yet it can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lu-xun/creation-even-when-it-is-a-mere-outpouring-from-the-heart-wishes-to/) [Lu Xun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lu-xun/) > [“With the weight of four thousand years of cannibalism bearing down upon me, even if I was once innocent how can I now face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lu-xun/with-the-weight-of-four-thousand-years-of-cannibalism-bearing-down/) [Lu Xun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lu-xun/) > [True fighters dare face the sorrows of humanity, and look unflinchingly at bloodshed. What sorrow and joy are theirs! But the Creator's common device…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lu-xun/true-fighters-dare-face-the-sorrows-of-humanity-and-look/) [Lu Xun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lu-xun/) > [I could not blot out hope, for hope belongs to the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lu-xun/i-could-not-blot-out-hope-for-hope-belongs-to-the-future/) [Lu Xun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lu-xun/) > [Hope is like a path in the countryside. Originally, there is nothing - but as people walk this way again and again, a path…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lu-xun/hope-is-like-a-path-in-the-countryside-originally-there-is-nothing/) [Lu Xun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lu-xun/) > [Whoever thinks he is objective must already be half drunk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lu-xun/whoever-thinks-he-is-objective-must-already-be-half-drunk/) [Lu Xun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lu-xun/) > [When a great man has become petrified, and everyone begins to proclaim his greatness, he has already turned into a puppet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lu-xun/when-a-great-man-has-become-petrified-and-everyone-begins-to-proclaim/) [Lu Xun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lu-xun/) > [Men who have not known the horror of death are not likely to be awed by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lu-xun/men-who-have-not-known-the-horror-of-death-are-not-likely-to-be-awed/) [Lu Xun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lu-xun/) > [Like students going to school, the planes on their bombing missions fly over Beijing each morning. And each time I hear their engines attack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lu-xun/like-students-going-to-school-the-planes-on-their-bombing-missions/) [Lu Xun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lu-xun/) [Explore all 49 Lu Xun quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lu-xun/) ## More Ifs quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Obviously, if you don't love life, you can't enjoy an oyster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-clark/obviously-if-you-don-t-love-life-you-can-t-enjoy-an-oyster/) [Eleanor Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-clark/) > [If I don't have pressure, I don't function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferran-adria/if-i-don-t-have-pressure-i-don-t-function/) [Ferran Adria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferran-adria/) > [If you restore a car, and you're making money, then you're doing it wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/if-you-restore-a-car-and-you-re-making-money-then-you-re-doing-it/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [If we gave up our freedom as the price of security, we would no longer be the great nation that we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/if-we-gave-up-our-freedom-as-the-price-of-security-we-would-no-longer/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-sarabhai/but-we-are-convinced-that-if-we-are-to-play-a-meaningful-role/) [Vikram Sarabhai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-sarabhai/) > [The thing about hitting kids is, think about if you were doing the same thing to another adult. Hitting your kid is really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-thing-about-hitting-kids-is-think-about-if-you-were-doing-the/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) Browse all 94,303 Ifs quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If we want to work out a policy for the present, we must examine the past and prepare for the future, discard the material and elevate the spirit, rely on the individual and exclude the mass.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lu Xun" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lu-xun/if-we-want-to-work-out-a-policy-for-the-present-we-must-examine-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ifs" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lu-xun/if-we-want-to-work-out-a-policy-for-the-present-we-must-examine-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f6/lu-xun-12813_ifs_if-we-want-to-work-out-a-policy-for-the_1601039.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f6/lu-xun-12813_ifs_if-we-want-to-work-out-a-policy-for-the_1601039.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f6/lu-xun-12813_ifs_if-we-want-to-work-out-a-policy-for-the_1601039.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If we want to work out a policy for the present, we must examine the past and prepare for the future…” — Lu Xun", "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": "Lu Xun", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lu-xun/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If we want to work out...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lu-xun/if-we-want-to-work-out-a-policy-for-the-present-we-must-examine-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lu-xun/if-we-want-to-work-out-a-policy-for-the-present-we-must-examine-the/#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 } } ] } ```