The state is made for man, not man for the state. And in this respect science resembles the state.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Institutions like the state and science should serve humans, not the reverse.
- In plain terms
- Systems exist to help people, not make people serve them.
- What can you take from it?
- Design systems to serve human needs, not control people.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Who does your organization serve?
- Is power oriented toward people?
Another view
Sometimes collective goals require individual sacrifice.
More from Albert Einstein
Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind.
Permalink to quote #148 Modern anthropology has taught us, through comparative investigation of so-called primitive cultures, that the social behavior of human beings may differ great…
Permalink to quote #150 May the conscience and the common sense of the peoples be awakened, so that we may reach a new stage in the life of nations, where people will look back on war…
Permalink to quote #147
Related quotes
I speak an open and disinterested language, dictated by no passion but that of humanity. To me, who have not only refused offers, because I thought them improp…
Thomas PaineThomas Paine quote #1 Science is analytical, descriptive, informative. Man does not live by bread alone, but by science he attempts to do so. Hence the deadliness of all that is pur…
Eric GillEric Gill quote #5 The blame for Armageddon lies on man. And the millennium will come only when the average man exhibits a scientific integrity about all he is and does--instead …
Philip WyliePhilip Wylie quote #8