Politics & Power Quote by Abba Eban

Wisdom, in Abba Eban's telling, isn’t a virtue nations cultivate; it’s the last surviving option after pride, panic, and miscalculation have run their course. The line lands because it flatters our belief in “learning from history” while quietly accusing us of learning only under duress. It’s not inspirational so much as mordantly procedural: catastrophe first, prudence later.

Eban, a diplomat who spent his life translating existential stakes into negotiable language, understands that states rarely pivot because they have been persuaded by moral clarity. They pivot because the cost curve finally becomes unbearable. “Exhausted” does the heavy lifting: it conjures war rooms burning through plans like matches, public opinions hardening, alliances fraying, leaders clinging to face-saving narratives until reality strips them. The quote’s cynicism is tactical. It gives policymakers permission to be skeptical about early warnings and lofty commitments, and it gives citizens a bleak comfort: even reckless systems contain a braking mechanism, though it’s calibrated to suffering.

Context matters. Eban spoke from the postwar century’s repeating pattern: Europe’s devastation birthing institutions, the Cold War’s near-misses producing arms control, Middle East crises yielding ceasefires that arrive only after the damage is done. His intent isn’t to sneer at “men and nations” as uniquely foolish, but to describe collective behavior under incentives: leaders get rewarded for defiance until defiance stops paying. The subtext is a warning disguised as a shrug: don’t count on wisdom arriving in time, because historically it shows up late, limping, and claiming it meant to all along.