Nine-tenths of the activities of a modern Government are harmful; therefore the worse they are performed, the better." - Meaning and context.">
QuotesCosmos
The Problem of China (1922), Ch. XII: The Chinese Character
“

Nine-tenths of the activities of a modern Government are harmful; therefore the worse they are performed, the better.

— Bertrand Russell

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Nine-tenths of the activities of a modern Government are harmful; therefore the worse they are performed, the better." in the context of "The Problem of China (1922), Ch. XII: The Chinese Character" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Quote Image
Source: Wikiquote: "Bertrand Russell" (Quotes, 1920s) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed February 08, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

Tags

#Bertrand Russell#ninetenths#activities#government#therefore#performed#harmful#modern#better#worse
Bertrand Russell

About Bertrand Russell

Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell (May 18, 1872 – February 2, 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. In 1950, he was awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature.