The individual decides worth of an institution

Blithe Spirit 1 Minute

This popped out at me from my daily dose of memorable quotations:

“The worth of a state, in the long run,
is the worth of the individuals composing it.”
— John Stuart Mill
(1806-1873) English philosopher and economist
http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/John.Stuart.Mill.Quote.8106

Why so? Because it’s true of many things and as stand-alone is a truism. (Mill did not spout truisms, is my bet, knowing him as I do only by reputation.)

Among which are schools. Great schools depend on great students, meaning ones willing to learn. True?

Published by Jim Bowman

Jim Bowman covered religion 1968-78 for the Chicago Daily News, since then has written books, articles, etc., mostly on corporate history but also on religion (Company Man: My Jesuit Life, 1950-1968), and more recently on politics (Illinois Blues: How the Ruling Party Talks to Voters -- Lulu.com, Kindle). Longtime Oak Park, Illinois, resident, he lives now on Chicago's North Side, where four of his and Winnie's six children live close by.

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One thought on “The individual decides worth of an institution”

  1. Perfectly true!! That’s a great fact ….and it also motivates one to improve themselves before blaming their states and institutions!

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