What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?

The line condemns the moral evasions by which states and movements justify violence. Gandhi contrasts political labels—“totalitarianism” versus “liberty” or “democracy”—and insists that for those who suffer most in war (the dead, bereaved children, and the displaced), the ideology invoked is irrelevant; the human cost is the same. The quote reflects Gandhi’s broader insistence that means and ends are inseparable: noble-sounding ends cannot cleanse destructive means. It also functions as a warning against propaganda and self-righteousness in politics, urging ethical evaluation based on consequences for the vulnerable rather than on the prestige of a cause.