--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The consequence of this, morally, is that…" description: "\"“The consequence of this, morally, is that the individual is of less significance than the state. The individual’s empirical, day-to-day interests are ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ce/stephen-r-c-hicks-12692_responsibility_the-consequence-of-this-morally-is-that_2316209.jpg" --- # The consequence of this, morally, is that the individual… ![“The consequence of this, morally, is that the individual is of less significance than the state. The individual’s empirical, day-to-day interests are of a lower moral order than the state’s universal, world-historical interests. The state has as its final end the self-realization of the Absolute…” quote by Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ce/stephen-r-c-hicks-12692_responsibility_the-consequence-of-this-morally-is-that_2316209.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ce/stephen-r-c-hicks-12692_responsibility_the-consequence-of-this-morally-is-that_2316209.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ce/stephen-r-c-hicks-12692_responsibility_the-consequence-of-this-morally-is-that_2316209.jpg) > ““The consequence of this, morally, is that the individual is of less significance than the state. The individual’s empirical, day-to-day interests are of a lower moral order than the state’s universal, world-historical interests. The state has as its final end the self-realization of the Absolute, and “this final end has supreme right against the individual, whose supreme duty is to be a member of the state.”\[210\] Duty, as we have learned from Kant and Fichte, always trumps personal interests and inclinations.”” [Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that the state’s collective, historical purpose outweighs individual needs, demanding personal sacrifice for a higher moral goal. **In simple terms:** The state is more important than the individual. Key Takeaway Prioritize communal duty over personal desire. Themes politics ethics collectivism duty authority Mood serious reflective Type philosophical political When to use this quote - government policy - military service - civil activism - public office - social movements Key Concepts Kantianism Fichtean nationalism absolute idealism Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities do individuals have to a state that contradicts personal morals? - When should personal conscience override collective duty? A Different Perspective It may ignore personal rights and lead to oppression if the state’s goals are misguided. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) ## Related quotes > [The trouble with the sacred Individual is that he has no significance, except as he can acquire it from others, from the social whole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-devoto/the-trouble-with-the-sacred-individual-is-that-he-has-no-significance/) [Bernard DeVoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-devoto/) > [“Why is it so important to make a difference? You’re human. You eat, shit, fuck, reproduce, and you die. 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The declaration of things as absolutely evil or absolutely good,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-hewitt/my-analysis-is-that-most-faith-based-systems-depend-upon-an-absolute/) [Hugh Hewitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-hewitt/) > [“The world is built on the foundation of morality, which is another name for Universal Spirit, and moral order sustains it. We human beings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaiten-nukariya/the-world-is-built-on-the-foundation-of-morality-which-is-another/) [Kaiten Nukariya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaiten-nukariya/) > [“No offense against moral order was too trivial to escape the attention of the Spanish Inquisition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kirsch/no-offense-against-moral-order-was-too-trivial-to-escape-the/) [Jonathan Kirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kirsch/) > [“So what if people disagree about values? People also disagree about facts. . . . In my view, the great intellectual challenge facing conservatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/so-what-if-people-disagree-about-values-people-also-disagree-about/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) ## More by Stephen R.C. Hicks > [“Nasty political correctness as a tactic then makes perfect sense. Having rejected reason, we will not expect ourselves or others to behave reasonably. Having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/nasty-political-correctness-as-a-tactic-then-makes-perfect-sense/) [Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/) > [“Marxism was and is a class analysis, pitting economic classes against each other in a zero-sum competition. In that competition, the stronger parties would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/marxism-was-and-is-a-class-analysis-pitting-economic-classes-against/) [Stephen R.C. 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Economically, in practice the capitalist nations are increasingly productive and prosperous, with no end in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/the-empirical-evidence-has-been-much-harder-on-socialism-economically/) [Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/) > [“Yet it is also true, Hegel granted, that in many cases the individual’s freedoms and interests will genuinely be set aside, overridden, and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/yet-it-is-also-true-hegel-granted-that-in-many-cases-the-individual-s/) [Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/) > [“Morally and politically, in practice every liberal capitalist country has a solid record for being humane, for by and large respecting rights and freedoms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/morally-and-politically-in-practice-every-liberal-capitalist-country/) [Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/) > [“In our time, the world created by the Enlightenment is strong, active, and exuberant. For a while in the past century, socialists could believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/in-our-time-the-world-created-by-the-enlightenment-is-strong-active/) [Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/) > [“Kunst ist Scheisse (Art is shit) was, fittingly, the motto of the Dada movement. Duchamp’s urinal was the fitting symbol. Everything is waste to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/kunst-ist-scheisse-art-is-shit-was-fittingly-the-motto-of-the-dada/) [Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/) [Explore all 53 Stephen R.C. Hicks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/) ## More Responsibility quotes > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. 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