A Quote by Edward Abbey

If the end does not justify the means - what can?

Edward Abbey

Quote Topics

Does End Justify Means

Quote Author

Edward Abbey
American - Author
January 29, 1927 - March 14, 1989

Does the end justify the means? That is possible. But what will justify the end? To that question, which historical thought leaves pending, rebellion replies: the means.

Albert Camus

Does the end justify the means? Or should it be, Do the ends justify the mean; do the extremes justify moderation?

Daniel N. Robinson

Do not turn yourself from an end into a means-one does not justify the other.

Lord Acton

We are so anxious to achieve some particular end that we never pay attention to the psycho-physical means whereby that end is to be gained. So far as we are concerned, any old means is good enough. But the nature of the universe is such that ends can never justify the means. On the contrary, the means always determine the end.

Aldous Huxley

I understand that the end does not justify the means. And this should be a lasting value for democracy.

Park Geun-hye

I want us to organize, to tell the personal stories that create empathy, which is the most revolutionary emotion. The truth of the mater is that hierarchy and violence can't be remedied by more hierarchy and violence. The end doesn't justify the means, the means we choose decide the end we get. The means are the end.

Gloria Steinem

The end does not justify the means. No one's rights can be secured by the violation of the rights of others.

Ayn Rand

The end does not justify the means. If we try to be someone we are not in order to achieve a result, then the result cannot help but be something other than what we intended.

Marianne Williamson

But the nature of the universe is such that ends can never justify means. On the contrary, the means always determine the end.

Aldous Huxley

The end may justify the means as long as there is something that justifies the end.

Leon Trotsky

Your policy should be a mixture between your interests and how you reach your ends, but based on values. It cannot be only the end justifies the means, because for the criminals, ends justify the means, for thieves, for every illegal and immoral action, the end justifies the means.

Bashar al-Assad

Life is nothing in itself. It’s a place marker that proves who’s winning, and we are the winners. We are always the winners. There is nothing but the winning. Even winning means nothing. We win because it’s an insult to lose. The ends don’t justify the means. The means don’t justify the ends. There is no one to justify to. There is no justice.” ~ Durzo Blint