--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If active or concerned citizens forfeit…" description: "\"If active or concerned citizens forfeit politics, they thereby abandon their society to its most mediocre and venal public servants\" — Tony Judt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/tony-judt-1730_abandon_if-active-or-concerned-citizens-forfeit_2895830.png" --- # If active or concerned citizens forfeit politics, they… ![“If active or concerned citizens forfeit politics, they thereby abandon their society to its most mediocre and venal public servants” quote by Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/tony-judt-1730_abandon_if-active-or-concerned-citizens-forfeit_2895830.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/tony-judt-1730_abandon_if-active-or-concerned-citizens-forfeit_2895830.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/tony-judt-1730_abandon_if-active-or-concerned-citizens-forfeit_2895830.png) > “If active or concerned citizens forfeit politics, they thereby abandon their society to its most mediocre and venal public servants” [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If citizens disengage, mediocre officials dominate society. **In simple terms:** People abandoning politics lets bad leaders take over. Key Takeaway Stay engaged to ensure good governance. Themes civic duty political apathy leadership Mood concerned reflective Type political motivational When to use this quote - elections - community meetings - activism - policy advocacy Key Concepts democracy public accountability Questions to Reflect On - Why do people feel politics is futile? - How can we rebuild trust? A Different Perspective Apathy can be rooted in disillusionment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandon/) [Abandon Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandon-society-4090862/) [Active](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/active/) [Citizens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizens/) [Citizens Forfeit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizens-forfeit-4090859/) [Concerned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concerned/) [Forfeit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forfeit/) [Forfeit Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forfeit-politics-4090860/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Mediocre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mediocre/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Politics Abandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics-abandon-4090861/) [Public servants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-servants/) [Servant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/servant/) [Society Mediocre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society-mediocre-4090863/) ## Related quotes > [Before you can begin to think about politics at all, you have to abandon the notion that there is a war between good men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/before-you-can-begin-to-think-about-politics-at-all-you-have-to/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [ONLY in the release of the seen do you lay hold on the unseen, My little one. Heaven waits for those who are no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-j-roberts/only-in-the-release-of-the-seen-do-you-lay-hold-on-the-unseen-my/) [Frances J Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-j-roberts/) > [The king just sits there, moving one square at a time. The queen can move so freely. I suppose I’d rather lose the game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-harkness/the-king-just-sits-there-moving-one-square-at-a-time-the-queen-can/) [Deborah Harkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-harkness/) > [I would rather not be a king than to forfeit my liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phaedrus/i-would-rather-not-be-a-king-than-to-forfeit-my-liberty/) [Phaedrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phaedrus/) > [Personally, I hold that a man, who deliberately and intelligently takes a pledge and then breaks it, forfeits his manhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/personally-i-hold-that-a-man-who-deliberately-and-intelligently-takes/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [If you once forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem. It is true that you may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/if-you-once-forfeit-the-confidence-of-your-fellow-citizens-you-can/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“Sometimes you have to risk life, in order to live, and gamble death, to sacrifice life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/sometimes-you-have-to-risk-life-in-order-to-live-and-gamble-death-to/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [In order to succeed we need leaders of inspired idealism, leaders to whom are granted great visions, who dream greatly and strive to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/in-order-to-succeed-we-need-leaders-of-inspired-idealism-leaders-to/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [With the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, the Republican political establishment has done something it is not actually used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kirk/with-the-confirmation-of-judge-brett-kavanaugh-to-the-supreme-court/) [Charlie Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kirk/) > [The Society is based on that great bottom law of human right, that nothing but crime can forfeit liberty. 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Without ignoring anything, it reacts wholeheartedly to everything it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soko-morinaga/the-truly-still-mind-with-which-you-were-born-is-the-mind-that-moves/) [Soko Morinaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soko-morinaga/) > [“If you don’t try, you forfeit the opportunity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sonnenberg/if-you-don-t-try-you-forfeit-the-opportunity/) [Frank Sonnenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sonnenberg/) > [Making money doesn't oblige people to forfeit their honor or their conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-rothschild/making-money-doesn-t-oblige-people-to-forfeit-their-honor-or-their/) [Guy de Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-rothschild/) ## More by Tony Judt > [I don't believe in an afterlife. I don't believe in a single or multiple godhead. 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For thirty years we have made a virtue out of the pursuit of material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/something-is-profoundly-wrong-with-the-way-we-live-today-for-thirty/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [“Today, neither Left nor Right can find their footing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/today-neither-left-nor-right-can-find-their-footing/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [We have responsibilities for others, not just across space but across time. We have responsibilities to people who came before us. They left us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/we-have-responsibilities-for-others-not-just-across-space-but-across/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [“What did trust, cooperation, progressive taxation and the interventionist state bequeath to western societies in the decades following 1945? 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Osborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-l-osborn/) > [However, however, if the goal is to abandon America's free enterprise economy, if the goal is to convert America into a submissive member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/however-however-if-the-goal-is-to-abandon-america-s-free-enterprise/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [I would leave at once, but it would be cruel to abandon a lady in a foreign land with a maniac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-would-leave-at-once-but-it-would-be-cruel-to-abandon-a-lady-in-a/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/) [Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/) > [every subjective phenomenon is essentially connected with a single point of view, and it seems inevitable that an objective, physical theory will abandon that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/every-subjective-phenomenon-is-essentially-connected-with-a-single/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [Can you dissolve your ego? Can you abandon the idea of self and other? Can you relinquish the notions of male and female, short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/can-you-dissolve-your-ego-can-you-abandon-the-idea-of-self-and-other/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Every great thing starts with an idea, followed by a doubt and finally a resolve to abandon or pursue. Victory is a treacherous journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/every-great-thing-starts-with-an-idea-followed-by-a-doubt-and-finally/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [Those who have been once intoxicated with power, and have derived any kind of emolument from it, even though but for one year, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/those-who-have-been-once-intoxicated-with-power-and-have-derived-any/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Do not lose hope; St. Joseph also experienced moments of difficulty, but he never lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/do-not-lose-hope-st-joseph-also-experienced-moments-of-difficulty-but/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Don't give up because things are hard, but work harder, when you think of giving up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/don-t-give-up-because-things-are-hard-but-work-harder-when-you-think/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [Sex is not the ultimate high, but the ultimate high hangs out around sex. The ultimate high is the dance with another person, played…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/sex-is-not-the-ultimate-high-but-the-ultimate-high-hangs-out-around/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [I care so deeply about this matter that I'm willing to take on the legal penalties, to sit in this prison cell, to sacrifice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-care-so-deeply-about-this-matter-that-i-m-willing-to-take-on-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I've been to unpretty places with the roles I've played, and I'm attracted to reckless abandon. I like being taken to the edge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-ifans/i-ve-been-to-unpretty-places-with-the-roles-i-ve-played-and-i-m/) [Rhys Ifans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-ifans/) [Browse all 1,142 Abandon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If active or concerned citizens forfeit politics, they thereby abandon their society to its most mediocre and venal public servants", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tony Judt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/if-active-or-concerned-citizens-forfeit-politics-they-thereby-abandon/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abandon" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/if-active-or-concerned-citizens-forfeit-politics-they-thereby-abandon/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/tony-judt-1730_abandon_if-active-or-concerned-citizens-forfeit_2895830.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/tony-judt-1730_abandon_if-active-or-concerned-citizens-forfeit_2895830.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/tony-judt-1730_abandon_if-active-or-concerned-citizens-forfeit_2895830.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If active or concerned citizens forfeit politics, they thereby abandon their society to its most mediocre…” — Tony Judt", "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": "Tony Judt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If active or concerned citizens forfeit...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/if-active-or-concerned-citizens-forfeit-politics-they-thereby-abandon/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/if-active-or-concerned-citizens-forfeit-politics-they-thereby-abandon/#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 } } ] } ```