Thomas More Quotes

We need property dedicated to the general benefit in addition to that intended for private use.

Private advantages are often impediments of publick Profit…publick profits should be in a single power to direct, whose Interest is only the benefit of the whole

Liberals worry that what's best for the individual might not be better for the public at large. But that philosophy assumes something vicious about each and every one of us. It assumes we only care about ourselves.

Everyone thinks chiefly of his own, hardly ever of the public interest.

Men in their private capacities may be allowed to prefer their single profit, but should consult only the general good in public councils.

It is vain to talk of the interest of the community, without understanding what is the interest of the individual.

Every society, all government, and every kind of civil compact therefore, is or ought to be, calculated for the general good and safety of the community.

The right to private property is inconceivable without responsibilities to the common good.

Liberty was realized when the citizens were ... willing to sacrifice their private interests for the sake of the community

Private interests must be made subservient to the general interests of the community

Anything which dominates the life of the community should be owned by the community.

It's time to put back on the agenda the importance of public ownership and public good, the value of working together collaboratively, not in competition.

If you talk to most businessmen, they'll say that what they do is for the public good, but you know they're just greedy, and consumers are just consuming for the sake of their own greed.

Every man is to be considered in two capacities, the private and public; as designed to pursue his own interest, and likewise to contribute to the good of others.

What it missing, I think, is this notion of the common good.

Join cooperatively with one another, put aside self-interest, and take on service to the public …

In all your acts, self interest shall be cast away. Look and listen for the welfare of the whole people, and have always in view not only the present, but of the coming generations.

I will ever prefer the weal of the public and of the whole commonwealth, in making of good laws and constitutions, to any particular and private ends of mine

The instinct of ownership is fundamental in man’s nature.

When fear, especially a fear for one’s own well-being, clouds decisions on public policy, the public ends up falling into a solipsistic trap – each individual is so concerned with his or her own particular future, that one fails to consider the best interests of the community as a whole.

The wisdom of the few may be the light of mankind, but the interest of the few is not the profit of mankind, nor of a commonwealth.

The leader is supposed to represent the community, the public good. He's supposed to be the focal point and the guide and the inspiration, and to represent a concern for the public good. The trouble is, the tragic problem is, very often, when you are a leader and pursue the public good, it may be at the expense of your private interests in a very drastic way

When people fought for a democratic life, they were insisting that the common man had the capacity to engage in deliberation about how the community ought to run its life, not that you could let him squeak for what he wanted. And that ideal was that you could educate the common man to develop a certain amount of wisdom and that he could marshal the objectivity to deliberate and decide about what the public would require without always thinking that the political action was an opportunity to further his private interests…

It's appropriate for people to pursue their profit motive in business. If you want to change that, you're going against human nature. But when it comes to setting the rules or creating the institutions, then you should have the general interest at heart.

The supreme inspiration is the common weal.