--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everything that is not forbidden is…" description: "\"Everything that is not forbidden is compulsory.\" — Murray Gell-Mann" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ea/murray-gell-mann-12560_compulsory_everything-that-is-not-forbidden-is-comp_1756638.jpg" --- # Everything that is not forbidden is compulsory. ![“Everything that is not forbidden is compulsory.” quote by Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ea/murray-gell-mann-12560_compulsory_everything-that-is-not-forbidden-is-comp_1756638.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ea/murray-gell-mann-12560_compulsory_everything-that-is-not-forbidden-is-comp_1756638.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ea/murray-gell-mann-12560_compulsory_everything-that-is-not-forbidden-is-comp_1756638.jpg) > “Everything that is not forbidden is compulsory.” [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Anything not explicitly prohibited becomes an expectation to act. **In simple terms:** If not banned, it feels required. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about obligations. Themes freedom responsibility social norms Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - workplace policies - legal frameworks - personal boundaries Key Concepts psychology behavioral economics normative pressure Questions to Reflect On - When does an unwritten rule become oppressive? - How can we distinguish voluntary participation from compulsion? A Different Perspective The rule may be misapplied, leading to overreach. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compulsory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compulsory/) [Forbidden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forbidden/) [Forbidden Compulsory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forbidden-compulsory-1653373/) ## Related quotes > [“Everything not forbidden is compulsory”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-h-white/everything-not-forbidden-is-compulsory/) [T.H. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-h-white/) > [Physicists often quote from T. H. White's epic novel The Once and Future King, where a society of ants declares, "Everything not forbidden is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/physicists-often-quote-from-t-h-white-s-epic-novel-the-once-and/) [Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/) > [“The fortress was entered by tunnels in the rock, and, over the entrance to each tunnel, there was a notice which said: EVERYTHING NOT…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-h-white/the-fortress-was-entered-by-tunnels-in-the-rock-and-over-the-entrance/) [T.H. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-h-white/) > [The purpose of scientific enquiry is not to compile an inventory of factual information, nor to build up a totalitarian world picture of natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/the-purpose-of-scientific-enquiry-is-not-to-compile-an-inventory-of/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [The difference between a contemporary liberal and a socialist is that to a liberal the most beautiful word in the English language is 'forbidden',…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccarthy/the-difference-between-a-contemporary-liberal-and-a-socialist-is-that/) [John McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccarthy/) > [I studied with a blind teacher from about 5 until I was 16, at two different schools. From the age of 12 until 16,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-shearing/i-studied-with-a-blind-teacher-from-about-5-until-i-was-16-at-two/) [George Shearing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-shearing/) > [Education: free and compulsory - what a way to learn logic!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-van-dun/education-free-and-compulsory-what-a-way-to-learn-logic/) [Frank Van Dun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-van-dun/) > [ Praise becomes compulsory when we experience true intimacy \[with God\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/praise-becomes-compulsory-when-we-experience-true-intimacy-with-god/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [The chief attraction of military service has consisted and will consist in this compulsory and irreproachable idleness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-chief-attraction-of-military-service-has-consisted-and-will/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Citizens ... should be practitioners of civic virtue in their conduct toward government. They should be ever willing to fulfill the duties of citizenship.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallin-h-oaks/citizens-should-be-practitioners-of-civic-virtue-in-their-conduct/) [Dallin H. Oaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallin-h-oaks/) > [East Germany was so total in its totalitarianism that everything was banned which wasn't compulsory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/east-germany-was-so-total-in-its-totalitarianism-that-everything-was/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [Those who begin coercive elimination of dissent soon find themselves exterminating dissenters. Compulsory unification of opinion achieves only the unanimity of the graveyard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/those-who-begin-coercive-elimination-of-dissent-soon-find-themselves/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Also in the new constitution, we want to lower the voting age from 20 years to 18 years and also gradually implement a voluntary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chen-shui-bian/also-in-the-new-constitution-we-want-to-lower-the-voting-age-from-20/) [Chen Shui-bian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chen-shui-bian/) > [I have very real concerns about the civil liberties implications of ultimately requiring every resident to submit themselves for compulsory fingerprinting or some other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hewitt/i-have-very-real-concerns-about-the-civil-liberties-implications-of/) [Patricia Hewitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hewitt/) > [I never did drama at school. I did it for one term, when it was compulsory, and I hated it. Tennis was the main…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-mitchell/i-never-did-drama-at-school-i-did-it-for-one-term-when-it-was/) [Luke Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-mitchell/) ## More by Murray Gell-Mann > [Of course the word chaos is used in rather a vague sense by a lot of writers, but in physics it means a particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/of-course-the-word-chaos-is-used-in-rather-a-vague-sense-by-a-lot-of/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [ My colleagues in elementary particle theory in many lands \[and I\] are driven by the usual insatiable curiosity of the scientist, and our work… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/my-colleagues-in-elementary-particle-theory-in-many-lands-and-i-are/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [Think how hard physics would be if particles could think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/think-how-hard-physics-would-be-if-particles-could-think/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [Sustainability is living on nature's income rather than living on its capital.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/sustainability-is-living-on-nature-s-income-rather-than-living-on-its/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [But when researchers at Bell Labs discovered that static tends to come from particular places in the sky, the whole field of radio astronomy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/but-when-researchers-at-bell-labs-discovered-that-static-tends-to/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [I am frequently astonished that it so often results in correct predictions of experimental results.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/i-am-frequently-astonished-that-it-so-often-results-in-correct/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [Superstitions typically involve seeing order where in fact there is none, and denial amounts to rejecting evidence of regularities, sometimes even ones that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/superstitions-typically-involve-seeing-order-where-in-fact-there-is/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [I thought of killing myself but soon decided that I could always try MIT and then kill myself later if it was that bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/i-thought-of-killing-myself-but-soon-decided-that-i-could-always-try/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [In fact any experiment that measures a quantum effect is one in which the quantum effect is aligned with the behavior of some heavy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/in-fact-any-experiment-that-measures-a-quantum-effect-is-one-in-which/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [So the old Copenhagen interpretation needs to be generalized, needs to be replaced by something that can be used for the whole universe, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/so-the-old-copenhagen-interpretation-needs-to-be-generalized-needs-to/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [Enthusiasm is followed by disappointment and even depression, and then by renewed enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/enthusiasm-is-followed-by-disappointment-and-even-depression-and-then/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [If I have seen further than others, it is because I am surrounded by dwarfs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/if-i-have-seen-further-than-others-it-is-because-i-am-surrounded-by/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [If we look at the way the universe behaves, quantum mechanics gives us fundamental, unavoidable indeterminacy, so that alternative histories of the universe can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/if-we-look-at-the-way-the-universe-behaves-quantum-mechanics-gives-us/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [Now, what that means is that there is fundamental indeterminacy from quantum mechanics, but besides that there are other sources of effective indeterminacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/now-what-that-means-is-that-there-is-fundamental-indeterminacy-from/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [Just because things get a little dingy at the subatomic level doesn't mean all bets are off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/just-because-things-get-a-little-dingy-at-the-subatomic-level-doesn-t/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) [Explore all 54 Murray Gell-Mann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) ## More Compulsory quotes > [I never did drama at school. I did it for one term, when it was compulsory, and I hated it. Tennis was the main…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-mitchell/i-never-did-drama-at-school-i-did-it-for-one-term-when-it-was/) [Luke Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-mitchell/) > [Education: free and compulsory - what a way to learn logic!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-van-dun/education-free-and-compulsory-what-a-way-to-learn-logic/) [Frank Van Dun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-van-dun/) > [East Germany was so total in its totalitarianism that everything was banned which wasn't compulsory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/east-germany-was-so-total-in-its-totalitarianism-that-everything-was/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [I studied with a blind teacher from about 5 until I was 16, at two different schools. From the age of 12 until 16,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-shearing/i-studied-with-a-blind-teacher-from-about-5-until-i-was-16-at-two/) [George Shearing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-shearing/) > [I have very real concerns about the civil liberties implications of ultimately requiring every resident to submit themselves for compulsory fingerprinting or some other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hewitt/i-have-very-real-concerns-about-the-civil-liberties-implications-of/) [Patricia Hewitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hewitt/) > [Also in the new constitution, we want to lower the voting age from 20 years to 18 years and also gradually implement a voluntary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chen-shui-bian/also-in-the-new-constitution-we-want-to-lower-the-voting-age-from-20/) [Chen Shui-bian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chen-shui-bian/) > [Those who begin coercive elimination of dissent soon find themselves exterminating dissenters. Compulsory unification of opinion achieves only the unanimity of the graveyard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/those-who-begin-coercive-elimination-of-dissent-soon-find-themselves/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Citizens ... should be practitioners of civic virtue in their conduct toward government. They should be ever willing to fulfill the duties of citizenship.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallin-h-oaks/citizens-should-be-practitioners-of-civic-virtue-in-their-conduct/) [Dallin H. Oaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallin-h-oaks/) > [The chief attraction of military service has consisted and will consist in this compulsory and irreproachable idleness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-chief-attraction-of-military-service-has-consisted-and-will/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [ Praise becomes compulsory when we experience true intimacy \[with God\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/praise-becomes-compulsory-when-we-experience-true-intimacy-with-god/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [When caring for your neighbor becomes a compulsory obligation imposed by government instead of voluntary, charity turns to confiscation and freedom to achieve to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/star-parker/when-caring-for-your-neighbor-becomes-a-compulsory-obligation-imposed/) [Star Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/star-parker/) > [Lesbian existence comprises both the breaking of a taboo and the rejection of a compulsory way of life. It is also a direct or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/lesbian-existence-comprises-both-the-breaking-of-a-taboo-and-the/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [You can legislate many conditions-but you cannot legislate harmony into the hearts of men. To attain industrial peace, we need more than by-laws and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-francis/you-can-legislate-many-conditions-but-you-cannot-legislate-harmony/) [Clarence Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-francis/) > [Every politically controlled educational system will inculcate the doctrine of state supremacy sooner or later. . . . Once that doctrine has been accepted,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-paterson/every-politically-controlled-educational-system-will-inculcate-the/) [Isabel Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-paterson/) > [So Thomas Pynchon wants a private life and no photographs and nobody to know his home address. I can dig it, I can relate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/so-thomas-pynchon-wants-a-private-life-and-no-photographs-and-nobody/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) [Browse all 136 Compulsory quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compulsory/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Everything that is not forbidden is compulsory.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Murray Gell-Mann" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/everything-that-is-not-forbidden-is-compulsory/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Compulsory" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/everything-that-is-not-forbidden-is-compulsory/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ea/murray-gell-mann-12560_compulsory_everything-that-is-not-forbidden-is-comp_1756638.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ea/murray-gell-mann-12560_compulsory_everything-that-is-not-forbidden-is-comp_1756638.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ea/murray-gell-mann-12560_compulsory_everything-that-is-not-forbidden-is-comp_1756638.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Everything that is not forbidden is compulsory.” — Murray Gell-Mann", "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": "Murray Gell-Mann", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Everything that is not forbidden is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/everything-that-is-not-forbidden-is-compulsory/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/everything-that-is-not-forbidden-is-compulsory/#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 } } ] } ```