A Quote by George Bernard Shaw

Capitalism justified itself and was adopted as an economic principle on the express ground that it provides selfish motives for doing good, and that human beings will do nothing except for selfish motives

George Bernard Shaw

Quote Topics

Adopted Beings Capitalism Doing Doing Good Economic Except Express Good Ground Human Human Being Human Beings Itself Justified Motives Nothing Principle Provides Selfish Selfish Motives Will

Quote Author

George Bernard Shaw
Irish - Playwright
July 26, 1856 - November 2, 1950

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.

Mother Teresa

There are novels that end well, but in between there are human beings acting like human beings. And human beings are not perfect. All of the motives a human being may have, which are mixed, that's the novelists' materials. That's where they have to go. And a lot of that just isn't pretty. We like to think of ourselves as really, really good people. But look in the mirror. Really look. Look at your own mixed motives. And then multiply that.

Margaret Atwood

Take a good long look at human beings in their actual practices and motives; bring the utmost psychological and bio-economic factors to bear on making sense of their illusions and delusions. What then would the truth have to be, such that such human beings are FIT TO KNOW IT at all, even provisionally or tentatively?

Kenny Smith

Those who joined us for selfish personal reasons, for a career or other motives will be the ones to leave.

Janos Kadar

All writers are vain, selfish and lazy, and at the very bottom of their motives lies a mystery.

George Orwell

I am convinced that the majority of people would be generous from selfish motives, if they had the opportunity.

Charles Dudley Warner

The first steps toward stewardship are awareness, appreciation, and the selfish desire to have the things around for our kids to see. Presumably the unselfish motives will follow as we wise up.

Barbara Kingsolver

Since all motives at bottom are selfish and ignoble, we may judge acts and qualities only be their effects.

H. P. Lovecraft

The truth of the matter is, we all come to prayer with a tangled mass of motives altruistic and selfish, merciful and hateful, loving and bitter. Frankly, this side of eternity we will never unravel the good from the bad, the pure from the impure. God is big enough to receive us with all our mixture.

Richard J. Foster

A wise Government seeks to provide the opportunity through which the best of individual achievement can be obtained, while at the same time it seeks to remove such obstruction, such unfairness as springs from selfish human motives.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

The trouble with selfish motives is that they harden into principles, and you end up sending your kids to war for them.

Robert Breault

Gods tend to be selfish. Even when they're helpful, they always have their own motives. That's why you have to be careful about trusting them.

Rick Riordan

What is obnoxious about the motives of politicians - whatever those motives may be - is that politicians must announce their motives as visionary and grand.

P. J. O'Rourke

Meditation without selfless giving is not enough. You may go into very high states of consciousness but the rough edges will still be there - there may be lots of selfish motives lurking within the self - that you don't see.