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About this quote

What does it mean?
Society judges theft differently based on the scale and target of the crime.
In plain terms
Stealing big things is seen as bold while small theft is seen as mean.
What can you take from it?
Perception of crime depends on magnitude.

Where it applies

  • law
  • politics
  • media

Putting it to work

  • analyze bias
  • question narratives
  • study power

Questions to consider

  • Why do we admire larger crimes?
  • Is justice blind to size?

Another view

Moral worth should not depend on scale.

More from Friedrich von Schiller

  1. It hinders the creative work of the mind if the intellect examines too closely the ideas as they pour in.

    Permalink to quote #113
  2. It is difficult to discriminate the voice of truth from amid the clamor raised by heated partisans.

    Permalink to quote #115
  3. It does not prove a thing to be right because the majority say it is so.

    Permalink to quote #112

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