--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is the duty of government to make it…" description: "\"It is the duty of government to make it difficult for people to do wrong, easy to do right.\" — William E. Gladstone" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e61/william-e-gladstone-9842_difficult_it-is-the-duty-of-government-to-make-it_590344.png" --- # It is the duty of government to make it difficult for… ![“It is the duty of government to make it difficult for people to do wrong, easy to do right.” quote by William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e61/william-e-gladstone-9842_difficult_it-is-the-duty-of-government-to-make-it_590344.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e61/william-e-gladstone-9842_difficult_it-is-the-duty-of-government-to-make-it_590344.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e61/william-e-gladstone-9842_difficult_it-is-the-duty-of-government-to-make-it_590344.png) > “It is the duty of government to make it difficult for people to do wrong, easy to do right.” [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Government should create barriers to wrongdoing while making virtuous actions easy to perform. **In simple terms:** Make bad acts hard, good acts easy. Key Takeaway Support policies that simplify ethical choices. Themes ethics policy governance Mood thoughtful optimistic Type prescriptive philosophical When to use this quote - lawmaking - education - public services - community programs Key Concepts public administration behavioral economics Questions to Reflect On - What simple change could encourage honesty? - How can we balance freedom with guidance? A Different Perspective Complex incentives may be hard to design fairly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) ## Related quotes > [The chief duty of government is to keep the peace and stand out of the sunshine of the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-chief-duty-of-government-is-to-keep-the-peace-and-stand-out-of/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [It's the duty of any government: where there is disregard of the law, that law and order must be instituted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmerson-mnangagwa/it-s-the-duty-of-any-government-where-there-is-disregard-of-the-law/) [Emmerson Mnangagwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmerson-mnangagwa/) > [No more essential duty of government exists than the protection of the lives of its people. Fail in this, and we fail in everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-t-murphy/no-more-essential-duty-of-government-exists-than-the-protection-of/) Francis T Murphy > [But then it hasn't really been a focus of our government to make us an educated people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/but-then-it-hasn-t-really-been-a-focus-of-our-government-to-make-us/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [The government can't solve every problem, but an enlightened government can make sure that people can work hard for their dreams and achieve them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-government-can-t-solve-every-problem-but-an-enlightened/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I had to watch government fail for 25 years doing consumer reporting before I really saw it because intuitively, the reaction is problem, bring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stossel/i-had-to-watch-government-fail-for-25-years-doing-consumer-reporting/) [John Stossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stossel/) > [No government can make me wear a veil, no government can force me not to wear it either](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirin-ebadi/no-government-can-make-me-wear-a-veil-no-government-can-force-me-not/) [Shirin Ebadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirin-ebadi/) > [Government cannot make man richer, but it can make him poorer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/government-cannot-make-man-richer-but-it-can-make-him-poorer/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Now, so there will be no misunderstanding, it's not my intention to do away with government. It is rather to make it work -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/now-so-there-will-be-no-misunderstanding-it-s-not-my-intention-to-do/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [“The aim of all government is to make all government superfluous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-fichte/the-aim-of-all-government-is-to-make-all-government-superfluous/) Johann Fichte > [It is not my intention to do away with government. It is rather to make it work -- work with us, not over us;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/it-is-not-my-intention-to-do-away-with-government-it-is-rather-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Shutting down the government is not how you make government work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/shutting-down-the-government-is-not-how-you-make-government-work/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [In general, I found that the more that debates can be about facts and data, the more likely government is to make sound decisions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-genachowski/in-general-i-found-that-the-more-that-debates-can-be-about-facts-and/) [Julius Genachowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-genachowski/) > [When government does, occasionally, work, it works in an elitist fashion. That is, government is most easily manipulated by people who have money and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/when-government-does-occasionally-work-it-works-in-an-elitist-fashion/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [The effect of a good government is to make life more valuable; of a bad one, to make it less valuable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-effect-of-a-good-government-is-to-make-life-more-valuable-of-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More by William E. Gladstone > [I think that the principle of the Conservative Party is jealousy of liberty and of the people , only qualified by fear ; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/i-think-that-the-principle-of-the-conservative-party-is-jealousy-of/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [National injustice is the surest road to national downfall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/national-injustice-is-the-surest-road-to-national-downfall/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [For works of the mind really great there is no old age, no decrepitude. It is inconceivable that a time should come when Homer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/for-works-of-the-mind-really-great-there-is-no-old-age-no-decrepitude/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [It is not a life at all. It is a reticence, in three volumes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/it-is-not-a-life-at-all-it-is-a-reticence-in-three-volumes/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [There is a limit to the work that can be got out of a human body or a human brain, and he is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/there-is-a-limit-to-the-work-that-can-be-got-out-of-a-human-body-or-a/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [No one ever became great except through many and great mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/no-one-ever-became-great-except-through-many-and-great-mistakes/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [The book must of necessity be put into a bookcase. And the bookcase must be housed. And the house must be kept. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/the-book-must-of-necessity-be-put-into-a-bookcase-and-the-bookcase/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [One example is worth a thousand arguments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/one-example-is-worth-a-thousand-arguments/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [The oppression of a majority is detestable and odious; the oppression of a minority is only by one degree less detestable and odious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/the-oppression-of-a-majority-is-detestable-and-odious-the-oppression/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [ \[The British constitution\] presumes more boldly than any other the good sense and the good faith of those who work it. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/the-british-constitution-presumes-more-boldly-than-any-other-the-good/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [All the wonders of the Greek civilization heaped together are less wonderful than the single book of Psalms. Greece had all that this world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/all-the-wonders-of-the-greek-civilization-heaped-together-are-less/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [Ireland, Ireland. That cloud in the west, that coming storm. That minister of God's retribution upon cruel, inveterate, and but half-atoned injustice! Ireland forces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/ireland-ireland-that-cloud-in-the-west-that-coming-storm-that/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [Ireland, Ireland. That cloud in the west, that coming storm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/ireland-ireland-that-cloud-in-the-west-that-coming-storm/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [To be engaged in opposing wrong affords...but a slender guarantee for being right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/to-be-engaged-in-opposing-wrong-affords-but-a-slender-guarantee-for/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [There should be a sympathy with freedom, a desire to give it scope, founded not upon visionary ideas, but upon the long experience of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/there-should-be-a-sympathy-with-freedom-a-desire-to-give-it-scope/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) [Explore all 70 William E. Gladstone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) ## More Difficult quotes > [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. 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You've got to believe that the work you're doing is ultimately more useful to the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-sivers/it-s-only-a-little-difficult-to-say-no-you-ve-got-to-believe-that-the/) [Derek Sivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-sivers/) > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Lutherans, whose arguments and mistakes will not be difficult to contest or discover, do not want to attribute any value to works, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-servetus/lutherans-whose-arguments-and-mistakes-will-not-be-difficult-to/) [Michael Servetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-servetus/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [I want to make myself and the crowd happy by way of something different, and that makes things difficult. 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