But what could be more important than your happiness? It's said that an authoritarian moral code is necessary to protect society. But who is society? Isn't it just a large group of people, all of whom have differing ideas concerning how one should live? And if an individual is required to give up his own happiness, of what value is society to him?
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Individual happiness matters more than abstract societal demands that require sacrifice.
- In plain terms
- If society makes you unhappy, is it really worth sacrificing your well-being for?
- What can you take from it?
- Prioritize personal happiness over abstract societal demands.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What makes you happy?
- What should society demand?
Another view
Society provides benefits that individuals cannot achieve alone.
More from Harry Browne
Before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, many governments in southern states forced people to segregate by race. Civil rights advocates fought to repeal these stat…
Permalink to quote #4 Democratic politicians want to solve the crisis of poor education by taking more of your money and using it to reduce classroom sizes in the government schools…
Permalink to quote #6 A little government involvement is just as dangerous as a lot - because the first leads inevitably to the second.
Permalink to quote #3
Related quotes
You beg for happiness in life, but security is more important to you, even if it costs you your spine or your life. Your life will be good and secure when aliv…
Wilhelm ReichWilhelm Reich quote #52 Liberty ultimately seems to me, for societies and for individuals, for labor and for culture, the supreme good that governs all others.
Albert CamusAlbert Camus quote #164 I've come to the realization that a lot of our problems are because of a dearth of spiritual values.
Benjamin SpockBenjamin Spock quote #2