--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The great escape of our times is escape…" description: "\"The great escape of our times is escape from personal responsibility for the consequences of one's own behavior.\" — Thomas Sowell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23a/thomas-sowell-247_behavior_the-great-escape-of-our-times-is-escape_1126627.jpg" --- # The great escape of our times is escape from personal… ![“The great escape of our times is escape from personal responsibility for the consequences of one's own behavior.” quote by Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23a/thomas-sowell-247_behavior_the-great-escape-of-our-times-is-escape_1126627.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23a/thomas-sowell-247_behavior_the-great-escape-of-our-times-is-escape_1126627.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23a/thomas-sowell-247_behavior_the-great-escape-of-our-times-is-escape_1126627.jpg) > “The great escape of our times is escape from personal responsibility for the consequences of one's own behavior.” [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Avoiding personal responsibility leads to societal decline and moral erosion. **In simple terms:** Escaping responsibility harms society. Key Takeaway Own your actions and their outcomes. Themes responsibility ethics society individualism consequences Mood serious reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - personal decision making - leadership - parenting - public policy Key Concepts moral philosophy social contract Questions to Reflect On - How does personal accountability shape community health? - What are the costs of blaming external factors? A Different Perspective Responsibility cannot be fully delegated to institutions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Consequence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consequence/) [Consequences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consequences/) [Consequences Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consequences-behavior-245227/) [Escape Personal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/escape-personal-555226/) [Great escape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-escape/) [Our time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-time/) [Personal responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-responsibility/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Responsibility Consequences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility-consequences-507359/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Today scientists, technologists, businessmen, engineers don't have any personal responsibility for the consequences of their actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-joy/today-scientists-technologists-businessmen-engineers-don-t-have-any/) [Bill Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-joy/) > [A finely tempered nature longs to escape from the personal life into the world of objective perception and thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-finely-tempered-nature-longs-to-escape-from-the-personal-life-into/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Anyone who has actually had to take responsibility for consequences by running any kind of enterprise whether economic or academic, or even just managing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/anyone-who-has-actually-had-to-take-responsibility-for-consequences/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The thing that has always interested me in the kinds of shows that I do have more to do with the consequences of behavior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-bochco/the-thing-that-has-always-interested-me-in-the-kinds-of-shows-that-i/) [Steven Bochco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-bochco/) > [When a child is watching television, he or she is not involved in play, not socializing with other individuals, and most importantly, not receiving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-perlmutter/when-a-child-is-watching-television-he-or-she-is-not-involved-in-play/) [David Perlmutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-perlmutter/) > [Values determine behavior; Principles determine the consequences of behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/values-determine-behavior-principles-determine-the-consequences-of/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [So to hope to be able to have peace, to be able to have justice and environmental balance, are consequences of our behavior, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/godfrey-reggio/so-to-hope-to-be-able-to-have-peace-to-be-able-to-have-justice-and/) [Godfrey Reggio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/godfrey-reggio/) > [Do not intervene between a person and the consequences of their own behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/do-not-intervene-between-a-person-and-the-consequences-of-their-own/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [To get along with God, Consider the consequences of your behavior. Earthseed: The Books of the Living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-get-along-with-god-consider-the-consequences-of-your-behavior/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The difficulty we have in accepting responsibility for our behavior lies in the desire to avoid the pain of the consequences of that behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/the-difficulty-we-have-in-accepting-responsibility-for-our-behavior/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [What motivates most people to change their behavior is consequences. No consequences? No behavior modification.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-pinsky/what-motivates-most-people-to-change-their-behavior-is-consequences/) [Drew Pinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-pinsky/) > [Choosing to take responsibility for ourselves and for the consequences our choices create looks like hard work, but it really sets us free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-beattie/choosing-to-take-responsibility-for-ourselves-and-for-the/) [Melody Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-beattie/) > [“What is fire? It’s a mystery. Scientists give us gobbledegook about friction and molecules. But they don’t really know. Its real beauty is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/what-is-fire-it-s-a-mystery-scientists-give-us-gobbledegook-about/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“In some cases, however, a person will try to avoid taking responsibility by trying to avoid making conscious choices altogether. Perhaps she cites uncontrollable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-a-linde/in-some-cases-however-a-person-will-try-to-avoid-taking/) [K.A. Linde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-a-linde/) > [We're all flawed heroes. Responsibility is power. Take responsibility for the consequences of your actions, and the world is yours. Everything is a choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/we-re-all-flawed-heroes-responsibility-is-power-take-responsibility/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) ## More by Thomas Sowell > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [There is no bigger waste of time than doing 90% of what is necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/there-is-no-bigger-waste-of-time-than-doing-90-of-what-is-necessary/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [If you have always believed that everyone should play by the same rules and be judged by the same standards, that would have gotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/if-you-have-always-believed-that-everyone-should-play-by-the-same/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“In 1962, Democratic President John F. Kennedy, like both Democratic and Republican Presidents and Secretaries of the Treasury in earlier years, pointed out that “it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/in-1962-democratic-president-john-f-kennedy-like-both-democratic-and/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Ideological bigotry has become the norm on even our most prestigious campuses, where students can go for years without reading or hearing anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/ideological-bigotry-has-become-the-norm-on-even-our-most-prestigious/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Bailing out people who made ill-advised mortgages makes no more sense that bailing out people who lost their life savings in Las Vegas casinos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/bailing-out-people-who-made-ill-advised-mortgages-makes-no-more-sense/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“One third of all Scots in the mid-nineteenth century moved from one county to another”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/one-third-of-all-scots-in-the-mid-nineteenth-century-moved-from-one/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The difference is that we have the hardest and most painful evidence that there was a Holocaust. But, for the global warming scenario that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-difference-is-that-we-have-the-hardest-and-most-painful-evidence/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“Just as price fluctuations allocate scarce resources which have alternative uses, price controls which limit those fluctuations reduce the incentives for individuals to limit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/just-as-price-fluctuations-allocate-scarce-resources-which-have/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The greatest danger to the liberal vision are facts about the consequences of liberalism itself and the laws, policies, and ways of life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-greatest-danger-to-the-liberal-vision-are-facts-about-the/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Having spent years ruining the housing markets with their interference, leading to a housing meltdown that has taken the whole economy down with it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/having-spent-years-ruining-the-housing-markets-with-their/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Do all children have some inherent right to live in America if they have done nothing wrong? If not, then why should the children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/do-all-children-have-some-inherent-right-to-live-in-america-if-they/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [What 'eminent domain' laws mean in practice is that politicians have a right to seize your property and turn it over to someone else,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/what-eminent-domain-laws-mean-in-practice-is-that-politicians-have-a/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“those parts of the British Isles without the advantage of coal deposits or ports, industrialization was as handicapped as in other countries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/those-parts-of-the-british-isles-without-the-advantage-of-coal/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The whole idea of equal justice under law is completely incompatible with the idea of judges deciding cases according to "empathy".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-whole-idea-of-equal-justice-under-law-is-completely-incompatible/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) [Explore all 823 Thomas Sowell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## More Behavior quotes > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [As you begin changing your thinking, start immediately to change your behaviour. Begin to act the part of the person you would like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-you-begin-changing-your-thinking-start-immediately-to-change-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I now know that deep within the human concept is something dark, selfish, and completely willing to do whatever is necessary to support the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-west/i-now-know-that-deep-within-the-human-concept-is-something-dark/) [Melissa West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-west/) > [“We are endowed with genes which code out our reaction to beavers and otters, maybe our reaction to each other as well. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-endowed-with-genes-which-code-out-our-reaction-to-beavers-and/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [The number of poor, and poorly prepared, students who succeed in college and beyond undercuts the simplistic notion that economic or educational disadvantage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-merullo/the-number-of-poor-and-poorly-prepared-students-who-succeed-in/) [Roland Merullo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-merullo/) > [To behave creatively in art means behavior with skill; and skill comes from discipline, not derangement. The artist who knows the rules -and proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burne-hogarth/to-behave-creatively-in-art-means-behavior-with-skill-and-skill-comes/) [Burne Hogarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burne-hogarth/) > [You don't put milk in chamomile tea - that's disgusting behavior! That's not right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-fraser/you-don-t-put-milk-in-chamomile-tea-that-s-disgusting-behavior-that-s/) [Laura Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-fraser/) > [The laws of thermodynamics, as empirically determined, express the approximate and probable behavior of systems of a great number of particles, or, more precisely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-gibbs/the-laws-of-thermodynamics-as-empirically-determined-express-the/) [J. Willard Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-willard-gibbs/) > [I started with the belief that every person who came to the laboratory was free to accept or to reject the dictates of authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-milgram/i-started-with-the-belief-that-every-person-who-came-to-the/) [Stanley Milgram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-milgram/) > [The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/the-tipping-point-is-that-magic-moment-when-an-idea-trend-or-social/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [I think we've told a lot of lies about human behavior through film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-arquette/i-think-we-ve-told-a-lot-of-lies-about-human-behavior-through-film/) [Patricia Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-arquette/) > [The strongest rebellion may be expressed in quiet, undramatic behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-spock/the-strongest-rebellion-may-be-expressed-in-quiet-undramatic-behavior/) [Benjamin Spock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-spock/) > [The behavior of any bureaucratic organization can best be understood by assuming that it is controlled by a secret cabal of its enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-conquest/the-behavior-of-any-bureaucratic-organization-can-best-be-understood/) [Robert Conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-conquest/) > [If you want good behavior, don't pay on a commission basis. Our judges aren't paid so much a case. We keep them pretty well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/if-you-want-good-behavior-don-t-pay-on-a-commission-basis-our-judges/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Browse all 4,218 Behavior quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The great escape of our times is escape from personal responsibility for the consequences of one's own behavior.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Sowell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-great-escape-of-our-times-is-escape-from-personal-responsibility/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Behavior" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-great-escape-of-our-times-is-escape-from-personal-responsibility/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23a/thomas-sowell-247_behavior_the-great-escape-of-our-times-is-escape_1126627.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23a/thomas-sowell-247_behavior_the-great-escape-of-our-times-is-escape_1126627.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23a/thomas-sowell-247_behavior_the-great-escape-of-our-times-is-escape_1126627.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The great escape of our times is escape from personal responsibility for the consequences of one's own…” — Thomas Sowell", "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": "Thomas Sowell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The great escape of our times...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-great-escape-of-our-times-is-escape-from-personal-responsibility/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-great-escape-of-our-times-is-escape-from-personal-responsibility/#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 } } ] } ```