--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People cannot be free unless they are…" description: "\"People cannot be free unless they are willing to sacrifice some of their interests to guarantee the freedom of others. The price of democracy is the on..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27e/saul-alinsky-3048_common-good_people-cannot-be-free-unless-they-are-wi_3056964.png" --- # People cannot be free unless they are willing to sacrifice… ![“People cannot be free unless they are willing to sacrifice some of their interests to guarantee the freedom of others. The price of democracy is the ongoing pursuit of the common good by all of the people.” quote by Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27e/saul-alinsky-3048_common-good_people-cannot-be-free-unless-they-are-wi_3056964.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27e/saul-alinsky-3048_common-good_people-cannot-be-free-unless-they-are-wi_3056964.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27e/saul-alinsky-3048_common-good_people-cannot-be-free-unless-they-are-wi_3056964.png) > “People cannot be free unless they are willing to sacrifice some of their interests to guarantee the freedom of others. The price of democracy is the ongoing pursuit of the common good by all of the people.” [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Freedom requires personal sacrifice for the collective good, embodying democracy's ongoing pursuit of common welfare. **In simple terms:** Freedom needs personal sacrifice for others. Key Takeaway Put common good above self‑interest. Themes democracy freedom collective responsibility Mood serious inspirational Type political philosophical When to use this quote - political activism - community service - policy making Key Concepts social contract public good Questions to Reflect On - What are you willing to sacrifice for others? - How can societies balance individual rights and common good? A Different Perspective Self‑interest often conflicts with sacrifice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Common good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-good/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Democracy Ongoing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy-ongoing-5111452/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Freedom Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-price-234928/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Guarantee Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guarantee-freedom-848103/) [Price Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/price-democracy-4603970/) [Sacrifice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacrifice/) ## Related quotes > [“We know that freedom has a price. Democracy has a price. 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Freedom is the only price to pay for anything in this place.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-destefano/it-s-best-not-to-wonder-at-what-cost-freedom-is-the-only-price-to-pay/) [Lauren DeStefano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-destefano/) > [It’s ironic. At last I have my freedom. But at a price. 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Stallman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-stallman/) > [Wherever despotism abounds, the sources of public information are the first to be brought under its control. Where ever the cause of liberty is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/wherever-despotism-abounds-the-sources-of-public-information-are-the/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [“The constitution did indeed guarantee freedom of speech, but the laws punished anything that could be considered an attack on state security”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-constitution-did-indeed-guarantee-freedom-of-speech-but-the-laws/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [The guarantees of civil liberty are but guarantees of freedom of the human mind and spirit and of reasonable freedom and opportunity to express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-f-stone/the-guarantees-of-civil-liberty-are-but-guarantees-of-freedom-of-the/) [Harlan F. Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-f-stone/) > [There is freedom of speech, but I cannot guarantee freedom after speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idi-amin/there-is-freedom-of-speech-but-i-cannot-guarantee-freedom-after-speech/) [Idi Amin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idi-amin/) ## More by Saul Alinsky > [The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-threat-is-usually-more-terrifying-than-the-thing-itself/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The very first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-very-first-radical-known-to-man-who-rebelled-against-the/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [I've never joined any organization - not even the ones I've organized myself. I prize my own independence too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/i-ve-never-joined-any-organization-not-even-the-ones-i-ve-organized/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Everybody owned stock in the Capone mob; in a way, he was a public benefactor. I remember one time when he arrived at his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/everybody-owned-stock-in-the-capone-mob-in-a-way-he-was-a-public/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [First rule of change is controversy. You can't get away from it for the simple reason all issues are controversial. 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Go after people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/pick-the-target-freeze-it-personalize-it-and-polarize-it-cut-off-the/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The first step in community organization is community disorganization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-first-step-in-community-organization-is-community-disorganization/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Power just goes to two poles — to those who've got money, and those who've got people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/power-just-goes-to-two-poles-to-those-who-ve-got-money-and-those-who/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The establishment can accept being screwed, but not being laughed at](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-establishment-can-accept-being-screwed-but-not-being-laughed-at/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [To the organizer, compromise is a key and beautiful word. It is always present in the pragmatics of operation... If you start with nothing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/to-the-organizer-compromise-is-a-key-and-beautiful-word-it-is-always/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/power-is-not-only-what-you-have-but-what-the-enemy-thinks-you-have/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The standards of judgment must be rooted in the whys and wherefores of life as it is lived, the world as it is, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-standards-of-judgment-must-be-rooted-in-the-whys-and-wherefores/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Organized business has assumed that greater profits would be pretty much of a cure-all, and it has to a major extent ignored the fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/organized-business-has-assumed-that-greater-profits-would-be-pretty/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [One acts decisively only in the conviction that all the angels are on one side and all the devils on the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/one-acts-decisively-only-in-the-conviction-that-all-the-angels-are-on/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) [Explore all 141 Saul Alinsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) ## More Common good quotes > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [Advocacy groups, politicians, and bureaucrats use the government to advance their private good instead of the common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-miller/advocacy-groups-politicians-and-bureaucrats-use-the-government-to/) [Joel Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-miller/) > [With a full century of contrary proof in our possession and despite our demonstrated capacity for cooperative teamwork, some among us seem to accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/with-a-full-century-of-contrary-proof-in-our-possession-and-despite/) [Dwight D. 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At his first coming, he saved us from the penalty of sin and gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/the-coming-of-the-messianic-king-occurs-in-two-stages-at-his-first/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [Once we are bound together to our brothers by a common good that is outside us, then we can breathe. Experience teaches us that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/once-we-are-bound-together-to-our-brothers-by-a-common-good-that-is/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [The original Greek word "idiotes" referred to people who might have had a high IQ, but were so self-involved that they focused exclusively on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-hightower/the-original-greek-word-idiotes-referred-to-people-who-might-have-had/) [Jim Hightower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-hightower/) > [People who reject transcendent authority can no longer persuade one another through rational arguments; everything is reduced to personal opinion. Debates about ideas thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-colson/people-who-reject-transcendent-authority-can-no-longer-persuade-one/) [Charles Colson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-colson/) > [I am a strong believer in the free market. I am a strong believer in capitalism. 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