--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If it's wrong when they do it, it's wrong…" description: "\"If it's wrong when they do it, it's wrong when we do it.\" — Noam Chomsky" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a28/noam-chomsky-42_international-relati_if-it-s-wrong-when-they-do-it-it-s-wrong_2494621.jpg" --- # If it's wrong when they do it, it's wrong when we do it. ![“If it's wrong when they do it, it's wrong when we do it.” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a28/noam-chomsky-42_international-relati_if-it-s-wrong-when-they-do-it-it-s-wrong_2494621.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a28/noam-chomsky-42_international-relati_if-it-s-wrong-when-they-do-it-it-s-wrong_2494621.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a28/noam-chomsky-42_international-relati_if-it-s-wrong-when-they-do-it-it-s-wrong_2494621.jpg) > “If it's wrong when they do it, it's wrong when we do it.” [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If an action is wrong when others do it, it is equally wrong when we do it; moral standards apply universally. **In simple terms:** Moral consistency is essential. Key Takeaway Apply the same ethics to yourself. Themes ethics consistency justice Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - politics - business - personal decisions - social movements Key Concepts moral philosophy universal ethics Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle double standards? - When have you challenged a norm? A Different Perspective Context can blur moral judgments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [International relations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/international-relations/) [Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong/) [Wrong Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong-wrong/) ## Related quotes > [Right is right and wrong is wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrell-owens/right-is-right-and-wrong-is-wrong/) [Terrell Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrell-owens/) > [What's right is right, and what's wrong is wrong. That's how I live my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-rock/what-s-right-is-right-and-what-s-wrong-is-wrong-that-s-how-i-live-my/) [Jay Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-rock/) > [Right is right even if no one does it, and wrong is wrong even if everyone does it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-scott/right-is-right-even-if-no-one-does-it-and-wrong-is-wrong-even-if/) [Rachel Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-scott/) > [International relations bears more than a slight resemblance to the mafia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/international-relations-bears-more-than-a-slight-resemblance-to-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“We're taught to talk about the world as a world of as states conceived as unified, coherent entities. If you study international relations (IR)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/we-re-taught-to-talk-about-the-world-as-a-world-of-as-states/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Leave the wrong done by another where the wrong arose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/leave-the-wrong-done-by-another-where-the-wrong-arose/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it. Right is right Even if only your are doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wrong-is-wrong-even-if-everyone-is-doing-it-right-is-right-even-if/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it . Right is right even if you only are doing it .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wrong-is-wrong-even-if-everyone-is-doing-it-right-is-right-even-if-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wrong is wrong only when you are at liberty to choose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/wrong-is-wrong-only-when-you-are-at-liberty-to-choose/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“It's about wrong and less wrong. Bad and less bad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/it-s-about-wrong-and-less-wrong-bad-and-less-bad/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Before I had my first child, I thought women had to decide between being a mom and a fulfilling, successful professional life. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-campos-duffy/before-i-had-my-first-child-i-thought-women-had-to-decide-between/) [Rachel Campos-Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-campos-duffy/) > [“ I am not wrong: Wrong is not my name My name is my own my own my own and I can’t tell you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-jordan/i-am-not-wrong-wrong-is-not-my-name-my-name-is-my-own-my-own-my-own/) [June Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-jordan/) > [“Something has gone wrong in us, very wrong indeed. So wrong that we have to be told that joy is found not in having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eldredge/something-has-gone-wrong-in-us-very-wrong-indeed-so-wrong-that-we/) [John Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eldredge/) > [When you're wrong, you're wrong. But when you're right, you're wrong anyhow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-rustin/when-you-re-wrong-you-re-wrong-but-when-you-re-right-you-re-wrong/) [Bayard Rustin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-rustin/) > [Doing something right for a wrong thing doesn't make it right. wrong is always wrong. We can't make it right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/doing-something-right-for-a-wrong-thing-doesn-t-make-it-right-wrong/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) ## More by Noam Chomsky > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [If you believe in democracy, why shouldn't you know what the government is doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-believe-in-democracy-why-shouldn-t-you-know-what-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are questions as to whether it should even exist. Who should corporations be responsive to, the management of a corporation? Theoretically they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-questions-as-to-whether-it-should-even-exist-who-should/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Governments regard their own citizens as their main enemy, and they have to be - protect themselves. That's why you have state secret laws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/governments-regard-their-own-citizens-as-their-main-enemy-and-they/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The first thing you ought to do is verify what I present. Just because I say it doesn't make it true. So check it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-first-thing-you-ought-to-do-is-verify-what-i-present-just-because/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [ I wrote an article about the marine landing \[in Haiti\] right away, but barely mentioned the oil, because my article would come out two… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-wrote-an-article-about-the-marine-landing-in-haiti-right-away-but/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [American society is now remarkably atomized. Political organizations have collapsed. In fact, it seems like even bowling leagues are collapsing. The left has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/american-society-is-now-remarkably-atomized-political-organizations/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's an interesting book about that called The Third Reich and the Ivory Tower, written by Stephen H. Norwood. It has a long discussion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-an-interesting-book-about-that-called-the-third-reich-and-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [This is class war on an international scale, and power is in the hands of those who control the international economic system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/this-is-class-war-on-an-international-scale-and-power-is-in-the-hands/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are big, extremely irrational parts of the society, and they have now been mobilized politically by the Republican establishment, hoping that these people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-big-extremely-irrational-parts-of-the-society-and-they-have/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's plenty to criticize about the mass media, but they are the source of regular information about a wide range of topics. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-plenty-to-criticize-about-the-mass-media-but-they-are-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The 50,000 Korean mercenaries we had in Vietnam were professional killers and just massacred people outright. And the American army did plenty of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-50-000-korean-mercenaries-we-had-in-vietnam-were-professional/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Explore all 2,129 Noam Chomsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More International relations quotes > [“Love first; ask questions later.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-courtney/love-first-ask-questions-later/) [Jeremy Courtney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-courtney/) > [“Attending peace conference to represent a nation, is like attending freedom conference to represent a prison.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/attending-peace-conference-to-represent-a-nation-is-like-attending/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [I'm a historian by training and by conviction. And so the thing that has throughout informed my thinking about international relations is history. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-garton-ash/i-m-a-historian-by-training-and-by-conviction-and-so-the-thing-that/) [Timothy Garton Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-garton-ash/) > [I studied law, economy, international relations, communications, in order to find what I would do. It's the hardest thing, being 17 and trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-testino/i-studied-law-economy-international-relations-communications-in-order/) [Mario Testino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-testino/) > [“The Possibility of somebody emerging as a nuclear power or events happening that surprise us on the nuclear stage is still a possibility. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-c-rosenberg/the-possibility-of-somebody-emerging-as-a-nuclear-power-or-events/) [Joel C. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-c-rosenberg/) > [Too often in the post-9/11 world, when the time has come to translate the moral, and essentially progressive, roots of foreign policy idealism into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-just/too-often-in-the-post-9-11-world-when-the-time-has-come-to-translate/) [Richard Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-just/) > [“On her very first day, when she politely raised questions about Bernie’s health care plan—she has a master’s degree in public health and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-rodham-clinton/on-her-very-first-day-when-she-politely-raised-questions-about-bernie/) [Hillary Rodham Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-rodham-clinton/) > [“Neither the Russians nor the Americans were the cleverest people, or the most experienced, in the world that followed 1945. The French were rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-r-fehrenbach-2/neither-the-russians-nor-the-americans-were-the-cleverest-people-or/) [T.R. Fehrenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-r-fehrenbach-2/) > [Educational exchange can turn nations into people, contributing as no other form of communication can to the humanizing of international relations. Man's capacity for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/educational-exchange-can-turn-nations-into-people-contributing-as-no/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > [“It is a tragedy, at rate at which EBOLA VIRUS is spreading in West Africa. It is a fatal disease in the history of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/it-is-a-tragedy-at-rate-at-which-ebola-virus-is-spreading-in-west/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“International peace negotiations need more value creation than value claiming. The more we create value for peace and development, the easier it is going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-ray/international-peace-negotiations-need-more-value-creation-than-value/) [Amit Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-ray/) > [“For most of their history in China, Pugs were treasured dogs. By law, they could only be owned by nobility or by Buddhist monks.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-palika/for-most-of-their-history-in-china-pugs-were-treasured-dogs-by-law/) [Liz Palika](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-palika/) > [A man of true honor protects the unwritten word which binds his conscience more scrupulously, if possible, than he does the bond a breach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grover-cleveland/a-man-of-true-honor-protects-the-unwritten-word-which-binds-his/) [Grover Cleveland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grover-cleveland/) > [We need to use the United Nations Security Council and believe that preserving law and order in today's complex and turbulent world is one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/we-need-to-use-the-united-nations-security-council-and-believe-that/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [“Citizens without fear are citizens without border.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/citizens-without-fear-are-citizens-without-border/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) [Browse all 245 International relations quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/international-relations/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If it's wrong when they do it, it's wrong when we do it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Noam Chomsky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-it-s-wrong-when-they-do-it-it-s-wrong-when-we-do-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "International relations" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-it-s-wrong-when-they-do-it-it-s-wrong-when-we-do-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a28/noam-chomsky-42_international-relati_if-it-s-wrong-when-they-do-it-it-s-wrong_2494621.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a28/noam-chomsky-42_international-relati_if-it-s-wrong-when-they-do-it-it-s-wrong_2494621.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a28/noam-chomsky-42_international-relati_if-it-s-wrong-when-they-do-it-it-s-wrong_2494621.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If it's wrong when they do it, it's wrong when we do it.” — Noam Chomsky", "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": "Noam Chomsky", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If it's wrong when they do...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-it-s-wrong-when-they-do-it-it-s-wrong-when-we-do-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-it-s-wrong-when-they-do-it-it-s-wrong-when-we-do-it/#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 } } ] } ```