The road to hell is paved with good intentions is a proverb or aphorism.
An alternative form of the proverb is "hell is full of good meanings, but heaven is full of good works".[1]
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The saying is thought to have originated with Saint Bernard of Clairvaux who wrote, "L'enfer est plein de bonnes volontés et désirs" (hell is full of good wishes and desires).[2]
The meaning of the phrase is that individuals may do bad things even though they intend the results to be good. An example might be the economic policies of the 1920s and 1930s. These were intended to be a prudent response to the economic turmoil following World War I and the Wall Street Crash but they helped to cause the Great Depression and World War II in which millions of people suffered and died. [3]
Another interpretation is that good intentions may not result in a good outcome because of inaction due to procrastination, laziness or other subversive vice.[4]
Quite simply, it could also mean that good ideas or thoughts lead to negative consequences that were unintended. A person begins with good thoughts, promising to themselves to do the right thing, however, priorities in life change, time becomes a limiting factor, and alas, the good intentions go astray.
Psychological studies of the effect of intention upon task completion by professors Peter Gollwitzer, Paschal Sheeran and Sheina Orbell indicate that there is some truth in the proverb.[5] Perfectionists are especially prone to have their intentions backfire in this way.[6] When judging intentions, people are more likely to interpret good intentions for their own actions than they are for those of others.[7]
Attempts to improve the ethical behaviour of groups are often counter-productive. If legislation is used then people will observe the letter of the law rather than improving the desired behaviour. During negotiation, groups that are encouraged to understand the point of view of the other parties do worse than those whose perspective is not enlightened. The threat of punishment may worsen ethical behaviour rather than improving it.[8] Studies of business ethics indicate that most wrongdoing is not due directly to wickedness but is performed by people who did not plan to err.[9]
Stephen Garrard Post, writing about altruism, suggests that good intentions are often not what they seem and that mankind normally acts from less worthy, selfish motives — "If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, it is partly because that is the road they generally start out on."[10]
Authors who have used the phrase include Samuel Johnson, Terence McKenna, Bruce Dickinson, Madonna, Billy Joel, Coleridge, Sir Walter Scott, Søren Kierkegaard, Honoré de Balzac and Karl Marx.[11][12]
In the movie, Highway to Hell, the phrase is taken literally to create its funniest scene. The Good Intentions Paving Company has a team of Andy Warhols who grind good-intentioned souls into pavement. "I was only sleeping with my husband's boss to advance his career", says one.[13]