what do each of the following quotations mean to you in the present context?

"The true rule, in…

Question

what do each of the following quotations mean to you in the present context?

"The true rule, in determining to embrace, or reject any thing, is not whether it has any evil in it; but whether it has more evil than good. There are few things wholly evil or wholly good. Almost every thing, especially of governmental policy, is an inseparable compound of the two; so that our best judgment of the preponderance between them is continually demanded." — Abraham Lincoln

Ghissu Editorial · Accepted Answer

Lincoln's quotation means that public choices are rarely wholly good or evil, so judgement lies in weighing their net balance while respecting basic rights. The Supreme Court's 2018 Aadhaar judgment, upholding welfare use but striking down mandatory private use, shows such weighing through proportionality.

**Introduction**

Lincoln suspended habeas corpus in 1861 to save the Union, accepting a lesser evil to avert a greater one. His quotation asks for **Prudence**, Aristotle's phronesis, because almost every public choice mixes good and harm.

**What the Quotation Means to Me**

SKETCH: flow | Judging the Preponderance
- List goods and harms
- Weigh scale, likelihood
- Check rights floor
- Mitigate residual harm
- Decide, then review

1. **No pure options**: Policy works under scarcity and uncertainty, so the test is net balance; waiting for a perfect option is itself a costly choice.
2. **Judgement, continually**: The balance shifts with evidence, so decisions must be reviewed as consequences unfold, and **Trade-off Awareness** means naming openly who gains and who loses.
3. **Limits of the calculus**: A net gain cannot justify crushing a minority; Rawls's priority of liberty and Gandhi's Talisman set a floor.

**The Quotation in Present-Day Governance**

1. **Lives and livelihoods**: The March 2020 lockdown slowed COVID-19 but triggered a migrant exodus, so the state moved to phased unlocking and free foodgrains under PMGKAY.
2. **Welfare and privacy**: In the Aadhaar judgment (2018), the Supreme Court upheld Aadhaar for welfare but struck down mandatory private use, through the proportionality test.
3. **Growth and climate**: India keeps coal for affordable power while pledging net zero by 2070 at COP26 (2021), balancing development against climate harm.
4. **Science and caution**: The GEAC's 2022 approval of GM mustard DMH-11 for environmental release weighed yield gains against biosafety fears, and the matter remains before the Supreme Court.

**Conclusion**

Lincoln's rule is the realistic ethic of public service. Weighing stays ethical when it is transparent, evidence-based and bounded by constitutional rights, which is what constitutional morality demands of every decision-maker.

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