“Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test: Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man (woman) whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him. Will he gain anything by it? Will it restore him to a control over his own life and destiny?”
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About this quote
Grand plans and clever arguments drift far from the people they claim to serve. Anchoring a choice to one vulnerable human — rather than to metrics or your own standing — keeps power honest and turns good intentions into something the powerless can actually feel.
When to use it
- A city planner weighs a bus-route cut by picturing the person with no car trying to reach work.
- A manager rewrites a benefits policy after imagining the lowest-paid worker attempting to use it.
- A charity picks its program by whether the poorest family gains real control, not by donor optics.