The rule, acknowledged or not, seems to be that if we have great power we must use it. We would use a steam shovel to pick up a dime. We have experts who can prove there is no other way to do it.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- When we have great power, we feel compelled to use it, often in wasteful or excessive ways, despite expert advice.
- In plain terms
- Power makes us want to use it, even wastefully.
- What can you take from it?
- Beware of over‑using power just to feel useful.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When is it justified to use all your resources?
- How can we curb unnecessary use of power?
Another view
Sometimes power must be used decisively, even if it seems excessive.
More from Wendell Berry
A community is the mental and spiritual condition of knowing that the place is shared, and that the people who share the place define and limit the possibiliti…
Permalink to quote #2 Far from making peace, wars invariably serve as classrooms and laboratories where men and techniques and states of mind are prepared for the next war.
Permalink to quote #3 If I solve my dispute with my neighbor by killing him, I have certainly solved the immediate dispute. If my neighbor was a scoundrel, then the world is no doub…
Permalink to quote #4
Related quotes
WITH GREAT POWER THERE MUST ALSO COME - - GREAT RESPONSIBILITY!
Stan LeeStan Lee quote #1 The problem of power is how to achieve its responsible use rather than its irresponsible and indulgent use - of how to get men of power to live for the public …
Robert KennedyRobert Kennedy quote #1 The problem of power is how to achieve its responsible use rather than its irresponsible and indulgent use - of how to get men of power to live for the public …
Robert F. KennedyRobert F. Kennedy quote #1