We all have an unscientific weakness for being always in the right, and this weakness seems to be particularly common among professional and amateur politicians. But the only way to apply something like scientific method in politics is to proceed on the assumption that there can be no political move which has no drawbacks, no undesirable consequences. To look out for these mistakes, to find them, to bring them into the open, to analyse them, and to learn from them, this is what a scientific politician as well as a political scientist must do. Scientific method in politics means that the great art of convincing ourselves that we have not made any mistakes, of ignoring them, of hiding them, and of blaming others from them, is replaced by the greater art of accepting the responsibility for them, of trying to learn from them, and of applying this knowledge so that we may avoid them in future. . Karl R. Popper
About This Quote

The idea that "everyone has a weakness for being in the right" is a common one in political circles. Journalists, pundits and other observers have a tendency to label a politician's actions as "right" or "wrong" based on their own personal beliefs or biases. But, in the realm of policy, you have to be able to look past your own biases and explore possible outcomes based on actual data. When it comes to politics, there’s no room for rash decisions or simple explanations. You have to realize that you’re making decisions based on incomplete information and that sometimes there isn’t a clear “right” answer.

Source: The Poverty Of Historicism

Some Similar Quotes
  1. The problem, often not discovered until late in life, is that when you look for things in life like love, meaning, motivation, it implies they are sitting behind a tree or under a rock. The most successful people in life recognize, that in life they... - Neil Degrasse Tyson
  2. And sometimes I believe your relentless analysis of June leaves something out, which is your feeling for her beyond knowledge, or in spite of knowledge. I often see how you sob over what you destroy, how you want to stop and just worship; and you... - Unknown
  3. The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom. - Isaac Asimov
  4. I'm sure the universe is full of intelligent life. It's just been too intelligent to come here. - Arthur C. Clarke
  5. A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life. - Charles Darwin
More Quotes By Karl R. Popper
  1. No rational argument will have a rational effect on a man who does not want to adopt a rational attitude.
  2. Aestheticism and radicalism must lead us to jettison reason, and to replace it by a desperate hope for political miracles. This irrational attitude which springs from intoxication with dreams of a beautiful world is what I call Romanticism. It may seek its heavenly city in...
  3. Whenever a theory appears to you as the only possible one, take this as a sign that you have neither understood the theory nor the problem which it was intended to solve.
  4. While differing widely in the various little bits we know, in our infinite ignorance we are all equal.
  5. No book can ever be finished. While working on it we learn just enough to find it immature the moment we turn away from it
Related Topics