--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A world without corruption would be a…" description: "\"“A world without corruption would be a strange world indeed - and a damned bad world for lawyers, let me say.”\" — Robertson Davies" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/265/robertson-davies-834_corruption_a-world-without-corruption-would-be-a-st_1915574.png" --- # A world without corruption would be a strange world indeed… ![“A world without corruption would be a strange world indeed - and a damned bad world for lawyers, let me say.” quote by Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/265/robertson-davies-834_corruption_a-world-without-corruption-would-be-a-st_1915574.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/265/robertson-davies-834_corruption_a-world-without-corruption-would-be-a-st_1915574.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/265/robertson-davies-834_corruption_a-world-without-corruption-would-be-a-st_1915574.png) > ““A world without corruption would be a strange world indeed - and a damned bad world for lawyers, let me say.”” [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A world without corruption would eliminate a major source of legal work, making the profession less necessary and potentially less fulfilling. **In simple terms:** Corruption fuels legal business; without it, lawyers lose purpose. Key Takeaway Recognize the role of conflict in creating professional demand. Themes law ethics profession society Mood reflective critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - legal practice - policy making - ethical debates Key Concepts Legal demand economic incentives Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities would lawyers have in a cleaner world? A Different Perspective If corruption vanished, would other complexities arise to sustain legal work? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-world/) [Corruption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corruption/) [Strange world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange-world/) ## Related quotes > [Everyone says corruption is everywhere, but for me it seems strange to say that and then not try to put the people guilty of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-navalny/everyone-says-corruption-is-everywhere-but-for-me-it-seems-strange-to/) [Alexei Navalny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-navalny/) > [Does America really need 70 percent of the world's lawyers? ... Is it healthy for our economy to have 18 million lawsuits coursing through our system annually?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-quayle/does-america-really-need-70-percent-of-the-world-s-lawyers-is-it/) [Dan Quayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-quayle/) > [There is no part of the world where corruption is absolutely eliminated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olusegun-obasanjo/there-is-no-part-of-the-world-where-corruption-is-absolutely/) [Olusegun Obasanjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olusegun-obasanjo/) > [All around the world, there is corruption, tribalism and division, as many find it easier to pick on those that are different, which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ger-duany/all-around-the-world-there-is-corruption-tribalism-and-division-as/) [Ger Duany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ger-duany/) > [The Arab world is full of corruption, in the time of the dictatorships and in the time of anarchy. This corruption is not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hassan-blasim/the-arab-world-is-full-of-corruption-in-the-time-of-the-dictatorships/) [Hassan Blasim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hassan-blasim/) > [The world is full of corruption, and deceit, and deviltry — chock full of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-montgomery-bailey/the-world-is-full-of-corruption-and-deceit-and-deviltry-chock-full-of/) James Montgomery Bailey > [“The amount of good and bad in the world always remains the same. It neither increases nor decreases, it only changes hands.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rana-dasgupta/the-amount-of-good-and-bad-in-the-world-always-remains-the-same-it/) [Rana Dasgupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rana-dasgupta/) > [Whether good or bad, there is nothing in this world that lasts forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaya-harden/whether-good-or-bad-there-is-nothing-in-this-world-that-lasts-forever/) Izaya Harden > [It was always me and my sister against the big bad world. The world was bad because of our mother. Now that she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-was-always-me-and-my-sister-against-the-big-bad-world-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Hollywood is kind of a bad world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-maestro/hollywood-is-kind-of-a-bad-world/) [Mia Maestro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-maestro/) > [“Then one day he sent her a single long-stemmed rose with the famous Hfez of Shrz poem that you probably know.” She recited the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilian-jackson-braun/then-one-day-he-sent-her-a-single-long-stemmed-rose-with-the-famous/) [Lilian Jackson Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilian-jackson-braun/) > [“The old masters said if you met another Buddha on the road, you should kill him. All reality is an illusion: if you think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-w-robertson/the-old-masters-said-if-you-met-another-buddha-on-the-road-you-should/) [Edward W. Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-w-robertson/) > [The Christian resolution to find the world ugly and bad has made the world ugly and bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-christian-resolution-to-find-the-world-ugly-and-bad-has-made-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [If you want something bad enough the whole world conspires to help you get it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/if-you-want-something-bad-enough-the-whole-world-conspires-to-help/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [It is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and good people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyprian/it-is-a-bad-world-donatus-an-incredibly-bad-world-but-i-have/) [Cyprian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyprian/) ## More by Robertson Davies > [“...the irrational will have its say, perhaps because 'irrational' is the wrong word for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/the-irrational-will-have-its-say-perhaps-because-irrational-is-the/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [If you're going to do something that looks evil, don't smear it with icing and pretend it's good; just bloody well do it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/if-you-re-going-to-do-something-that-looks-evil-don-t-smear-it-with/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [Extraordinary people survive under the most terrible circumstances and they become more extraordinary because of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/extraordinary-people-survive-under-the-most-terrible-circumstances/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [Although there may be nothing new under the sun, what is old is new to us and so rich and astonishing that we never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/although-there-may-be-nothing-new-under-the-sun-what-is-old-is-new-to/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [If I had to describe my remarks this evening frankly as if I were in police court and on oath, so to speak I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/if-i-had-to-describe-my-remarks-this-evening-frankly-as-if-i-were-in/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [The people of the United States, perhaps more than any other nation in history, love to abase themselves and proclaim their unworthiness, and seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/the-people-of-the-united-states-perhaps-more-than-any-other-nation-in/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [I don't suppose God laughs at the people who think He doesn't exist. He's above jokes. But the devil isn't. That's one of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/i-don-t-suppose-god-laughs-at-the-people-who-think-he-doesn-t-exist/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [Inactivity and deprivation of all accustomed stimulus is not rest; it is a preparation for the tomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/inactivity-and-deprivation-of-all-accustomed-stimulus-is-not-rest-it/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [“My lifelong involvement with Mrs Dempster began at 5:58 o'clock p.m. on 27 December 1908, at which time I was ten years and seven months old.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/my-lifelong-involvement-with-mrs-dempster-began-at-5-58-o-clock-p-m/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [In a government like ours, the Crown is the abiding and unshakable element in government; politicians may come and go, but the Crown remains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/in-a-government-like-ours-the-crown-is-the-abiding-and-unshakable/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [The art of the quoter is to know when to stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/the-art-of-the-quoter-is-to-know-when-to-stop/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [There can be no doubt that Samuel Marchbanks is one of the choice and master spirits of this age. If there were such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/there-can-be-no-doubt-that-samuel-marchbanks-is-one-of-the-choice-and/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [Nobody who looks as though he enjoyed life is ever called distinguished, though he is a man in a million.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/nobody-who-looks-as-though-he-enjoyed-life-is-ever-called/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [They're all so highly educated, you know. Education is a great shield against experience. It offers so much, ready-made and all from the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/they-re-all-so-highly-educated-you-know-education-is-a-great-shield/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [Students today are a pretty solemn lot. One of the really notable achievements of the twentieth century has been to make the young old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/students-today-are-a-pretty-solemn-lot-one-of-the-really-notable/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) [Explore all 357 Robertson Davies quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) ## More Corruption quotes > [We could form a government of national unity fighting corruption. The ordinary Afghan is sick and tired of it, because it's she or he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashraf-ghani/we-could-form-a-government-of-national-unity-fighting-corruption-the/) [Ashraf Ghani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashraf-ghani/) > [Right now we're concerned about budget. Right now we're concerned about the prospect of interest rate rise. We're concerned about government corruption, government handing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amity-shlaes/right-now-we-re-concerned-about-budget-right-now-we-re-concerned/) [Amity Shlaes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amity-shlaes/) > [In the lead up to the Iraq war and its later conduct, I saw at a minimum, true dereliction, negligence and irresponsibility, at worse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-zinni/in-the-lead-up-to-the-iraq-war-and-its-later-conduct-i-saw-at-a/) [Anthony Zinni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-zinni/) > [“Don't let cycles of violent crimes, uncontrollable, rising cases of bloody impunity, evil puppets in a crippled judiciary, marionettes in a corrupted legislative system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelica-hopes/don-t-let-cycles-of-violent-crimes-uncontrollable-rising-cases-of/) [Angelica Hopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelica-hopes/) > [What greater weakness can there be than not to know what is the source of one's being, of one's life, of one's senses, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/what-greater-weakness-can-there-be-than-not-to-know-what-is-the/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [My aim was to make money for the bank. You lose track of the amounts involved when you are engaged in this kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-kerviel/my-aim-was-to-make-money-for-the-bank-you-lose-track-of-the-amounts/) [Jerome Kerviel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-kerviel/) > [Democracy must be built through open societies that share information. When there is information, there is enlightenment. When there is debate, there are solutions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atifete-jahjaga/democracy-must-be-built-through-open-societies-that-share-information/) [Atifete Jahjaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atifete-jahjaga/) > [As you fight corruption, it fights back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yemi-osinbajo/as-you-fight-corruption-it-fights-back/) [Yemi Osinbajo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yemi-osinbajo/) > [Selfishness is one of the principal fruits of the corruption of human nature; and it is obvious that selfishness disposes us to over-rate our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wilberforce/selfishness-is-one-of-the-principal-fruits-of-the-corruption-of-human/) [William Wilberforce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wilberforce/) > [ Corruption could lead to the collapse of the Party \[Communist Party of China\] and the downfall of the state \[People's Republic of China\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xi-jinping/corruption-could-lead-to-the-collapse-of-the-party-communist-party-of/) [Xi Jinping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xi-jinping/) > [“Oh where is the noble face of modesty, or the strength of virtue, now that blasphemy is in power and men have put justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/oh-where-is-the-noble-face-of-modesty-or-the-strength-of-virtue-now/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [I can say across Europe that many principles that have been taken for granted here around free speech, and around civil liberties and an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-can-say-across-europe-that-many-principles-that-have-been-taken-for/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The victory of Hamas is not only based on the corruption of the Palestinian Authority. Hamas has a vision and a program, and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ismail-haniyeh/the-victory-of-hamas-is-not-only-based-on-the-corruption-of-the/) [Ismail Haniyeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ismail-haniyeh/) > [It looked incredibly credible!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-horlick/it-looked-incredibly-credible/) Nicola Horlick > [All power corrupts but some must govern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/all-power-corrupts-but-some-must-govern/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) [Browse all 2,253 Corruption quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corruption/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A world without corruption would be a strange world indeed - and a damned bad world for lawyers, let me say.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robertson Davies" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/a-world-without-corruption-would-be-a-strange-world-indeed-and-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Corruption" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/a-world-without-corruption-would-be-a-strange-world-indeed-and-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/265/robertson-davies-834_corruption_a-world-without-corruption-would-be-a-st_1915574.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/265/robertson-davies-834_corruption_a-world-without-corruption-would-be-a-st_1915574.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/265/robertson-davies-834_corruption_a-world-without-corruption-would-be-a-st_1915574.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A world without corruption would be a strange world indeed - and a damned bad world for lawyers, let me say.” — Robertson Davies", "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": "Robertson Davies", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“A world without corruption would be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/a-world-without-corruption-would-be-a-strange-world-indeed-and-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/a-world-without-corruption-would-be-a-strange-world-indeed-and-a/#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 } } ] } ```