"Time goes by, reputation increases, ability declines"
About this Quote
A diplomat’s most subversive move is to admit, dryly, that history is not a meritocracy. Hammarskjold’s line turns the usual career narrative upside down: the longer you last, the shinier your name becomes, even as your actual capacity to do the work erodes. It’s not just personal modesty. It’s an institutional diagnosis delivered in three blunt clauses, each one landing like a bureaucratic stamp.
The mechanics are the point. “Time goes by” is passive, almost anesthetic; no one is blamed, because the real culprit is entropy. Then “reputation increases” captures how prestige compounds in closed systems. In diplomacy, reputation is a currency that often detaches from performance: photo-ops, communiques, and the aura of “experience” can outweigh outcomes that are messy, compromised, or simply unmeasurable. Finally, “ability declines” punctures the myth that seniority equals wisdom. Ability here can mean stamina, clarity, nerve, or the willingness to see new facts without defending old positions.
Hammarskjold wrote and worked at the apex of postwar multilateralism, when the UN was trying to look inevitable while constantly proving how fragile it was. As Secretary-General, he was treated as a moral symbol even while being trapped by superpower politics and procedure. The subtext is a warning to both leaders and publics: don’t confuse a growing legend with growing competence. Time elevates the story; it rarely improves the instrument.
The mechanics are the point. “Time goes by” is passive, almost anesthetic; no one is blamed, because the real culprit is entropy. Then “reputation increases” captures how prestige compounds in closed systems. In diplomacy, reputation is a currency that often detaches from performance: photo-ops, communiques, and the aura of “experience” can outweigh outcomes that are messy, compromised, or simply unmeasurable. Finally, “ability declines” punctures the myth that seniority equals wisdom. Ability here can mean stamina, clarity, nerve, or the willingness to see new facts without defending old positions.
Hammarskjold wrote and worked at the apex of postwar multilateralism, when the UN was trying to look inevitable while constantly proving how fragile it was. As Secretary-General, he was treated as a moral symbol even while being trapped by superpower politics and procedure. The subtext is a warning to both leaders and publics: don’t confuse a growing legend with growing competence. Time elevates the story; it rarely improves the instrument.
Quote Details
| Topic | Aging |
|---|
More Quotes by Dag
Add to List
