WIST Quotations

Chomsky, Noam -- “An Eight Point Brief for LEV (Lesser Evil Voting)” (2016-06-15) [with John Halle]

Dave — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 15:16:51 +0000

Another point of disagreement [over Lesser Evil Voting] is not factual but involves the ethical/moral principle […] sometimes referred to as the “politics of moral witness.” Generally associated with the religious left, secular leftists implicitly invoke it when they reject LEV on the grounds that “a lesser of two evils is still evil.” Leaving aside the obvious rejoinder that this is exactly the point of lesser evil voting — i.e. to do less evil, what needs to be challenged is the assumption that voting should be seen a form of individual self-expression rather than as an act to be judged on its likely consequences. […] The basic moral principle at stake is simple: not only must we take responsibility for our actions, but the consequences of our actions for others are a far more important consideration than feeling good about ourselves.

Noam Chomsky (b. 1928) American linguist and activist
“An Eight Point Brief for LEV (Lesser Evil Voting)” (2016-06-15) [with John Halle]
(Source)

Spinoza, Baruch -- Ethics, “Reason and Desire” (1677) [tr. Runes (1957)]

Dave — Tue, 05 Apr 2016 18:58:05 +0000

Under the guidance of reason, we should pursue the greater of two goods, and the lesser of two evils.

Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) Dutch philosopher
Ethics, “Reason and Desire” (1677) [tr. Runes (1957)]

Colton, Charles Caleb -- Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 2, § 102 (1822)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 18:00:00 +0000

Life often presents us with a choice of evils, rather than of goods.

Charles Caleb "C. C." Colton (1780-1832) English cleric, writer, aphorist
Lacon: Or, Many Things in Few Words, Vol. 2, § 102 (1822)
(Source)

Arendt, Hannah -- Life of the Mind, Vol. 1 “Thinking,” Part 3, ch. 18 “The two-in-one” (1977)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 19:00:00 +0000

The sad truth of the matter is that most evil is done by people who never made up their minds to be or do either evil or good.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Life of the Mind, Vol. 1 “Thinking,” Part 3, ch. 18 “The two-in-one” (1977)
(Source)

Sometimes shortened as: "The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil."

Originally printed as an essay (1977-11-28), "Thinking -- III," The New Yorker (1977-12-05). That version is slightly longer:

The sad truth of the matter is that most evil is done by people who never made up their minds to be either good or bad or to do either good or evil.