Public Interest Quotes

“James Ed’s statistics even made me feel guilty,” a businessman said. “Let’s make him a millionaire.”
― Shafter Bailey, James Ed Hoskins and the One-Room Schoolhouse: The Unprosecuted Crime Against Children

“We are plagued by a corrupt polity which promotes unlawful and/or immoral behaviour. Public interest has no practical significance in everyday behaviour among the ruling factions. The real problems of our world are not being confronted by those in power. In the guise of public service, they use whatever comes to hand for personal gain. They are insane with and for power.”
― Frank Herbert, The Dosadi Experiment

“As so often happens in politics, what appears to be politically expedient for those in power rarely overlaps with the public interest. The lesser evils of the regime become entrenched, while the greater good is never realized.”
― Jason Stearns, Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa

“So... we have what the people are interested in, and human interest stories, which is what humans are interested in, and the public interest, which no one is interested in.”
― Terry Pratchett, The Truth

“[A mission-oriented economy] means asking what kind of markets we want, rather than what problem in the market needs to be fixed.”
― Mariana Mazzucato, Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism

“There are a lot of people who do not care about public interest. In fact, they always cater to their own self-interests.”
― Eraldo Banovac

“It is interesting to note that in announcing the formation of the National Broadcasting Company, the Radio Corporation of America published a newspaper advertisement on September 14, 1926 which contained the following significant statements:

Any use of radio transmission which causes the public to feel that the quality of programs is not the highest, that the use of radio is not the broadest and best use in the public interest, that it is used for political advantage or selfish power will be detrimental to the public interest in radio and, therefore, to the Radio Corporation of America.
The purpose of the (National Broadcasting) Company will be to provide the best programs available for broadcasting in the United States.
In order that the National Broadcasting Company may be advised as to the best type of program, that discrimination may be avoided, the the public may be assured that the broadcasting is being done in the fairest and best way, always allowing for human frailties and human performance, it has created an Advisory Council.”
― Judith C. Waller, Radio: The Fifth Estate

“One must Judge Patents of Public Funded Institutions in India by their Inventive Contribution, not financial or commercial value they have generated. Our academicians and researchers are driven by public interest, not commercial benefit. Financial benefit is a mere side effect for them.”
― Kalyan C. Kankanala, Fun IP, Fundamentals of Intellectual Property

“True democracy focuses on the public interest; it defends the common good and protects its citizens - especially the weak and the vulnerable. We maintain that no democracy can survive without the powerful notions of compassion and public service. The level of wealth inequality in this country has gotten so far out of hand, the quantity of compassion so diminished, that the very future of democracy is at stake." ― & Cornel West”
― Tavis Smiley, The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto

“What's in the public interest is not what the public is interested in.”
― Terry Pratchett, The Truth: Stage Adaptation

“Broadly socialists believe all human beings are of equal worth and that society should be organised to reflect that. Fairness, equality, justice and the common good are the foundations of socialism. The wealth created by humans should be used to benefit everyone.”
― Harriet Sherwood

“A dictator is a person who cares about his image or chair much more than he cares about public interest.”
― HAZEM ABDELMOWLA