Brecht’s ‘To What End Goodness’

By Scott Horton

1

To what end goodness

If the good are immediately struck down, or those

 To whom they are good

Are struck down?

To what end freedom

If the free are forced to live among the unfree?

To what end reason

If only stupidity puts the bread on the table

 That each of us needs?

2

Instead of just being good, make an effort

To create the conditions that make goodness possible,

 And better still

That make it superfluous!

Instead of just being free, make an effort

To create the conditions that liberate us all,

 And that make the love of freedom

Superfluous!

Instead of just being sensible, make an effort

To create the conditions that make the stupidity

 of the individual

Into a bad deal!

–Bertolt Brecht, Was nützt die Güte? (1935) in: Gesammelte Werke, vol. 4, p. 553 (Suhrkamp ed. 1967)(S.H. transl.)