---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The other side of my work is political…"
description: "\"The other side of my work is political disappointment - the realization that we are living in an unjust world. \"Blood is being spilled in the merriest ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b09/simon-critchley-11984_able_the-other-side-of-my-work-is-political-d_659413.jpg"
---

#  The other side of my work is political disappointment…

![“The other side of my work is political disappointment - the realization that we are living in an unjust world. &quot;Blood is being spilled in the merriest way, as if it was champagne,&quot; Dostoevsky says. That raises the problem of justice, what it might mean in an unjust world and whether there can be…” quote by Simon Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b09/simon-critchley-11984_able_the-other-side-of-my-work-is-political-d_659413.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b09/simon-critchley-11984_able_the-other-side-of-my-work-is-political-d_659413.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b09/simon-critchley-11984_able_the-other-side-of-my-work-is-political-d_659413.jpg)

> “The other side of my work is political disappointment - the realization that we are living in an unjust world. "Blood is being spilled in the merriest way, as if it was champagne," Dostoevsky says. That raises the problem of justice, what it might mean in an unjust world and whether there can be an ethics and a political practice that would be able to face and face down the injustice of the present. How might we begin to think about that?”

[Simon Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-critchley/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Political disappointment arises from recognizing systemic injustice, prompting a search for ethical and political responses to confront present wrongs.

**In simple terms:** Seeing injustice leads to political disappointment and a call for action.

Key Takeaway

Seek ethical ways to address injustice.

Themes

politics justice disappointment

Mood

critical thoughtful

Type

philosophical political

When to use this quote

- activism
- policy reform
- public discourse

Key Concepts

ethical theory political practice

Questions to Reflect On

- How can individuals influence unjust systems?
- What ethical frameworks best address systemic wrongs?

A Different Perspective

Ethical solutions may be limited by power structures.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Champagne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/champagne/) [Disappointment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disappointment/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Injustice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injustice/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Realization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realization/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/)

## Related quotes

> [At worst, is not this an unjust world, full of nothing but beasts of prey, four-footed or two-footed?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/at-worst-is-not-this-an-unjust-world-full-of-nothing-but-beasts-of/)

[Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/)

> [“In order for us to live comfortably with ourselves while living on unjust terms with others, we have to tell ourselves a story that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/in-order-for-us-to-live-comfortably-with-ourselves-while-living-on/)

[Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/)

> [I'm really very sorry for you all, but it's an unjust world, and virtue is triumphant only in theatrical performances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-really-very-sorry-for-you-all-but-it-s-an-unjust-world-and-virtue/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [An unjust world represented as harmonious is a political position.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/an-unjust-world-represented-as-harmonious-is-a-political-position/)

[Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/)

> [There are two forms of disappointment that interest me: religious and political disappointment. Religious disappointment flows from the realization that religious belief is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/there-are-two-forms-of-disappointment-that-interest-me-religious-and/)

[Simon Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-critchley/)

> [For me philosophy begins with these experiences of disappointment: a disappointment at the level of what I would think of as "meaning," namely that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/for-me-philosophy-begins-with-these-experiences-of-disappointment-a/)

[Simon Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-critchley/)

> [Back when George W. Bush was identifying his Axis of Evil, it struck me that a longer and more instructive list could be compiled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serge-schmemann/back-when-george-w-bush-was-identifying-his-axis-of-evil-it-struck-me/)

[Serge Schmemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serge-schmemann/)

> [Dostoevsky's underground man ... observes his contemporaries striving to establish false goals where there are no naturally generated ones. ... He argues they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carroll/dostoevsky-s-underground-man-observes-his-contemporaries-striving-to/)

[John Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carroll/)

> ['The Gambler' by Dostoevsky. It was the first time I realised that it was possible to have good and evil in one person. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-townsend/the-gambler-by-dostoevsky-it-was-the-first-time-i-realised-that-it/)

[Sue Townsend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-townsend/)

> [“It was not surprising that after the war Dostoevsky was linked to Kierkegaard as a prophet of social resignation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jay/it-was-not-surprising-that-after-the-war-dostoevsky-was-linked-to/)

Martin Jay

> [“A drunken but exceedingly depressed German clown from Munich entertained the public.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/a-drunken-but-exceedingly-depressed-german-clown-from-munich/)

[Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/)

> [“Then it happened. One night as the rain beat on the slanted kitchen roof a great spirit slipped forever into my life. I held…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/then-it-happened-one-night-as-the-rain-beat-on-the-slanted-kitchen/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

> [“So against the grain I serve to produce events and do what’s irrational because I am commanded to. For all their indisputable intelligence, men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/so-against-the-grain-i-serve-to-produce-events-and-do-what-s/)

[Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/)

> [“He main retain his human dignity even in a concentration camp. Dostoevsky said once, 'There is only one thing that I dread: not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/he-main-retain-his-human-dignity-even-in-a-concentration-camp/)

[Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/)

> [ “\[Dostoyevsky\] eloquently proves that heartless ideas are often a source of immorality: they bring with them destructiveness, hatred, cynicism, and misanthropy. The novelist also… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-l-kline/dostoyevsky-eloquently-proves-that-heartless-ideas-are-often-a-source/)

George L. Kline

## More by Simon Critchley

> [If I had a religious experience, what I know for sure is that I would stop doing philosophy and would start doing religion, teaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/if-i-had-a-religious-experience-what-i-know-for-sure-is-that-i-would/)

[Simon Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-critchley/)

> [We live in a world that is dominated by science. And that's not a bad thing - not at all. But one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/we-live-in-a-world-that-is-dominated-by-science-and-that-s-not-a-bad/)

[Simon Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-critchley/)

> [The current situation with regard to theory is odd and maybe defined by a paradox.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/the-current-situation-with-regard-to-theory-is-odd-and-maybe-defined/)

[Simon Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-critchley/)

> [There are two forms of disappointment that interest me: religious and political disappointment. Religious disappointment flows from the realization that religious belief is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/there-are-two-forms-of-disappointment-that-interest-me-religious-and/)

[Simon Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-critchley/)

> [If the denial of death is self-hatred, as it is to deny our freedom and live in fear of death (which is to say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/if-the-denial-of-death-is-self-hatred-as-it-is-to-deny-our-freedom/)

[Simon Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-critchley/)

> [It is so ridiculous to limit oneself to one version of the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/it-is-so-ridiculous-to-limit-oneself-to-one-version-of-the-truth/)

[Simon Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-critchley/)

> [Philosophy for me is essentially atheistic. Now that's an anxious atheism. It's an atheism that is anxious because it inhabits questions that were resolved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/philosophy-for-me-is-essentially-atheistic-now-that-s-an-anxious/)

[Simon Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-critchley/)

> [For me philosophy begins with these experiences of disappointment: a disappointment at the level of what I would think of as "meaning," namely that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/for-me-philosophy-begins-with-these-experiences-of-disappointment-a/)

[Simon Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-critchley/)

> [Obama dreams of a society without power relations, without the agonism that constitutes political life. Against such a position one might assert that justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/obama-dreams-of-a-society-without-power-relations-without-the-agonism/)

[Simon Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-critchley/)

> [The influence of being in New York, made me realize a lot of the ethical and political ideas I want to push or promote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/the-influence-of-being-in-new-york-made-me-realize-a-lot-of-the/)

[Simon Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-critchley/)

> [Melancholia for Freud is the relationship that the subject takes up with respect to itself from the position of what he calls conscience or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/melancholia-for-freud-is-the-relationship-that-the-subject-takes-up/)

[Simon Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-critchley/)

> [When the animal becomes human, the effect is pleasingly benign and we laugh outloud, "Okay come clean now. This isn't really about hunting, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/when-the-animal-becomes-human-the-effect-is-pleasingly-benign-and-we/)

[Simon Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-critchley/)

> [My favourite writer is Beckett and I keep going back to wallow in his work like a deep pool of dark humour or like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/my-favourite-writer-is-beckett-and-i-keep-going-back-to-wallow-in-his/)

[Simon Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-critchley/)

> [In the US, what passes for Christianity - and it is, to say the least, a highly perverse, possessive individualist and capitalist version of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/in-the-us-what-passes-for-christianity-and-it-is-to-say-the-least-a/)

[Simon Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-critchley/)

> [I am opposing it with an idea of the history of philosophy as a history of philosophers, that is, a history of mortal, fragile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/i-am-opposing-it-with-an-idea-of-the-history-of-philosophy-as-a/)

[Simon Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-critchley/)

[Explore all 57 Simon Critchley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-critchley/)

## More Able quotes

> [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/)

[Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/)

> [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/)

[Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/)

> [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/)

[Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/)

> [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/)

[Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/)

> [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/)

[Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/)

> [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/)

[Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/)

> [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/)

[Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/)

> [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/)

[Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/)

> [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/)

Greg Perry

> [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/)

[Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/)

> [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/)

[Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/)

> [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/)

[Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/)

> [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/)

[Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/)

> [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/)

[Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/)

> [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/)

[Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/)

Browse all 17,257 Able quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The other side of my work is political disappointment - the realization that we are living in an unjust world. \"Blood is being spilled in the merriest way, as if it was champagne,\" Dostoevsky says. That raises the problem of justice, what it might mean in an unjust world and whether there can be an ethics and a political practice that would be able to face and face down the injustice of the present. How might we begin to think about that?",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Simon Critchley"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/the-other-side-of-my-work-is-political-disappointment-the-realization/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Able"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/the-other-side-of-my-work-is-political-disappointment-the-realization/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b09/simon-critchley-11984_able_the-other-side-of-my-work-is-political-d_659413.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b09/simon-critchley-11984_able_the-other-side-of-my-work-is-political-d_659413.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b09/simon-critchley-11984_able_the-other-side-of-my-work-is-political-d_659413.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The other side of my work is political disappointment - the realization that we are living in an unjust…” — Simon Critchley",
                "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": "Simon Critchley",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-critchley/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The other side of my work...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/the-other-side-of-my-work-is-political-disappointment-the-realization/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/the-other-side-of-my-work-is-political-disappointment-the-realization/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
