--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every government, left or right, always…" description: "\"Every government, left or right, always engages in moral crusades. What else are they supposed to do? Especially when they make war; any war has to be ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30d/richard-rorty-13909_crusades_every-government-left-or-right-always-en_655943.jpg" --- # Every government, left or right, always engages in moral… ![“Every government, left or right, always engages in moral crusades. What else are they supposed to do? Especially when they make war; any war has to be a moral crusade.” quote by Richard Rorty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30d/richard-rorty-13909_crusades_every-government-left-or-right-always-en_655943.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30d/richard-rorty-13909_crusades_every-government-left-or-right-always-en_655943.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30d/richard-rorty-13909_crusades_every-government-left-or-right-always-en_655943.jpg) > “Every government, left or right, always engages in moral crusades. What else are they supposed to do? Especially when they make war; any war has to be a moral crusade.” [Richard Rorty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rorty/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Governments often frame actions, especially war, as moral missions, regardless of political orientation. **In simple terms:** Governments moralize actions, especially war. Key Takeaway Question the moral framing of political actions. Themes politics war morality Mood critical skeptical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - policy analysis - media critique - public debate - activism Key Concepts ethical justification propaganda power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Why do leaders label wars as moral crusades? - What are the consequences of such framing? A Different Perspective Moral framing can obscure underlying interests. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crusades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crusades/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [Moral crusade: Public activity undertaken by middle-aged men who are cheating on their wives or diddling little boys. Moral crusades are particularly popular among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ralston-saul/moral-crusade-public-activity-undertaken-by-middle-aged-men-who-are/) [John Ralston Saul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ralston-saul/) > [When Congress gets through investigating Attorney General Janet Reno, will her agency become known as the Obstruction of Justice Department? The civil rights movement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/when-congress-gets-through-investigating-attorney-general-janet-reno/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The Labour Party is a moral crusade or it is nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-wilson/the-labour-party-is-a-moral-crusade-or-it-is-nothing/) [Harold Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-wilson/) > [What was distinctively Western was not slavery but the moral crusade to end slavery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/what-was-distinctively-western-was-not-slavery-but-the-moral-crusade/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) > [This Party is a moral crusade or it is nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-wilson/this-party-is-a-moral-crusade-or-it-is-nothing/) [Harold Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-wilson/) > [“You can find dozens of examples of this kind of liberal-class virtue-quest if you try, but instead of listing them, let me go straight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/you-can-find-dozens-of-examples-of-this-kind-of-liberal-class-virtue/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [In war, the moral is to the physical as three is to one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/in-war-the-moral-is-to-the-physical-as-three-is-to-one/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [“War as a moral metaphor is limited, limiting, and dangerous. By reducing the choices of action to “a war against” whatever-it-is, you divide the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/war-as-a-moral-metaphor-is-limited-limiting-and-dangerous-by-reducing-2/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [In war, moral factors acount for three quarters of the whole; relative material strength accounts for only one quarter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/in-war-moral-factors-acount-for-three-quarters-of-the-whole-relative/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [In war, the moral element and public opinion are half the battle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/in-war-the-moral-element-and-public-opinion-are-half-the-battle/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [“War as a moral metaphor is limited, limiting, and dangerous. By reducing the choices of action to “a war against” whatever-it-is, you divide the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/war-as-a-moral-metaphor-is-limited-limiting-and-dangerous-by-reducing/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“The American intellectuals, in their preoccupation with reality, seem to have forgotten that the real enemy is War rather than imperial Germany. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-bourne/the-american-intellectuals-in-their-preoccupation-with-reality-seem/) [Randolph Bourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-bourne/) > [“Despite shared language, ethnicity, and culture, alliances nurtured deep, long-standing hostilities toward one another, the original source of which was often unknown. They had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-zuckoff/despite-shared-language-ethnicity-and-culture-alliances-nurtured-deep/) [Mitchell Zuckoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-zuckoff/) > [The manner in which the hours of freedom are spent determines, no less than labor and war, the moral worth of a nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/the-manner-in-which-the-hours-of-freedom-are-spent-determines-no-less/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. ... We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/our-nation-was-born-in-genocide-when-it-embraced-the-doctrine-that/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) ## More by Richard Rorty > [If I had to lay bets, my bet would be that everything is going to go to hell, but, you know, what else have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rorty/if-i-had-to-lay-bets-my-bet-would-be-that-everything-is-going-to-go/) [Richard Rorty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rorty/) > [Truth is simply a compliment paid to sentences seen to be paying their way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rorty/truth-is-simply-a-compliment-paid-to-sentences-seen-to-be-paying/) [Richard Rorty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rorty/) > ["True" resembles... a compliment paid to sentences that seem to be paying their way and that fit in with other sentences which are doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rorty/true-resembles-a-compliment-paid-to-sentences-that-seem-to-be-paying/) [Richard Rorty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rorty/) > [Open-mindedness should not be fostered because, as Scripture teaches, Truth is great and will prevail, nor because, as Milton suggests, Truth will always win…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rorty/open-mindedness-should-not-be-fostered-because-as-scripture-teaches/) [Richard Rorty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rorty/) > [Philosophy makes progress not by becoming more rigorous but by becoming more imaginative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rorty/philosophy-makes-progress-not-by-becoming-more-rigorous-but-by/) [Richard Rorty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rorty/) > [“There is nothing sacred about universality which makes the shared automatically better than the unshared.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rorty/there-is-nothing-sacred-about-universality-which-makes-the-shared/) [Richard Rorty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rorty/) > [I think of an intellectual as just being bookish, being interested in history books, utopian ideas, that kind of thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rorty/i-think-of-an-intellectual-as-just-being-bookish-being-interested-in/) [Richard Rorty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rorty/) > [I illustrate with a quotation from the atheist philosopher Richard Rorty, who died recently and is, I suspect, now having a lengthy conversation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rorty/i-illustrate-with-a-quotation-from-the-atheist-philosopher-richard/) [Richard Rorty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rorty/) > [Academic disciplines are subject to being overtaken by attacks of "knowingness"- a state of mind and soul that prevents shudders of awe and makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rorty/academic-disciplines-are-subject-to-being-overtaken-by-attacks-of/) [Richard Rorty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rorty/) > [There is nothing deep down inside us except what we have put there ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rorty/there-is-nothing-deep-down-inside-us-except-what-we-have-put-there/) [Richard Rorty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rorty/) > [The most important advance that the West has yet made is to develop a secularist moral tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rorty/the-most-important-advance-that-the-west-has-yet-made-is-to-develop-a/) [Richard Rorty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rorty/) > [Always strive to excel, but only on weekends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rorty/always-strive-to-excel-but-only-on-weekends/) [Richard Rorty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rorty/) > [The world is out there, but descriptions of the world are not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rorty/the-world-is-out-there-but-descriptions-of-the-world-are-not/) [Richard Rorty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rorty/) > [What sort of world can we prepare for our great grandchildren?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rorty/what-sort-of-world-can-we-prepare-for-our-great-grandchildren/) [Richard Rorty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rorty/) > [I think that a good Left is a party that always thinks about the future and doesn't care much about our past sins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rorty/i-think-that-a-good-left-is-a-party-that-always-thinks-about-the/) [Richard Rorty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rorty/) [Explore all 48 Richard Rorty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rorty/) ## More Crusades quotes > [Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. ... We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/our-nation-was-born-in-genocide-when-it-embraced-the-doctrine-that/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Helen Crawfurd and the Women's Peace Crusade, made a march on the City Chambers, distributing an illegal leaflet in front of police and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-gallacher/helen-crawfurd-and-the-women-s-peace-crusade-made-a-march-on-the-city/) Willie Gallacher > [Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/soldiers-sailors-and-airmen-of-the-allied-expeditionary-force-you-are/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [Well, for me, my favourite 'Indiana Jones' is 'The Last Crusade,' because you get tears in your eyes when you see the old guard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-winstone/well-for-me-my-favourite-indiana-jones-is-the-last-crusade-because/) [Ray Winstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-winstone/) > [After more than two decades of trying to destroy the firearms rights of more than 80 million law-abiding American gun owners - and statistically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-gottlieb/after-more-than-two-decades-of-trying-to-destroy-the-firearms-rights/) Alan Gottlieb > [You know — we've had to imagine the war here, and we have imagined that it was being fought by aging men like ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-know-we-ve-had-to-imagine-the-war-here-and-we-have-imagined-that/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [When Conservatives crusade against government while they are trying to be appointed to head the government, I think that's weird!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/when-conservatives-crusade-against-government-while-they-are-trying/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [Hope springs eternal, even for hopeless crusades.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kayleigh-mcenany/hope-springs-eternal-even-for-hopeless-crusades/) [Kayleigh McEnany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kayleigh-mcenany/) > [Now that they talk about Islam as being a violent faith, when you look at the history of Christendom, the Crusades and the many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/now-that-they-talk-about-islam-as-being-a-violent-faith-when-you-look/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [What we need are mental and spiritual giants who are aflame with a purpose . . . We're a race ready for crusade, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nannie-helen-burroughs/what-we-need-are-mental-and-spiritual-giants-who-are-aflame-with-a/) [Nannie Helen Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nannie-helen-burroughs/) > [Many argue that Christianity is "different" from other religions - that it is primarily about love of one's fellow man. The Crusades, The Inquisition,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-bernstein/many-argue-that-christianity-is-different-from-other-religions-that/) [Andrew Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-bernstein/) > [...until the Crusades Islam was indistinguishable from Judaism and... only then did it receive its independent character, while Muhammad and the first Caliphs are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-alexandrovich-morozov/until-the-crusades-islam-was-indistinguishable-from-judaism-and-only/) Nikolai Alexandrovich Morozov > [The notion of political correctness has ignited controversy across the land. And although the movement arises from the laudable desire to sweep away the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-w-bush/the-notion-of-political-correctness-has-ignited-controversy-across/) [George H. W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-w-bush/) > [“I remember one Gentleman objected to the Christian Faith, that it made Men insolent, quarrelsom and ill-natur'd. From whence I concluded, (as I told…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stephens/i-remember-one-gentleman-objected-to-the-christian-faith-that-it-made/) William Stephens > [People used to complain about 'the idle rich.' But the idle rich did not do the kind of harm being done by today's busybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/people-used-to-complain-about-the-idle-rich-but-the-idle-rich-did-not/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) [Browse all 208 Crusades quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crusades/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every government, left or right, always engages in moral crusades. What else are they supposed to do? 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