--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If there had been no troublemakers, no…" description: "\"If there had been no troublemakers, no Dissenters, we should still be living in caves.\" — A. J. P. Taylor" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/672/a-j-p-taylor-14528_caves_if-there-had-been-no-troublemakers-no-di_2035308.png" --- # If there had been no troublemakers, no Dissenters, we… ![“If there had been no troublemakers, no Dissenters, we should still be living in caves.” quote by A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/672/a-j-p-taylor-14528_caves_if-there-had-been-no-troublemakers-no-di_2035308.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/672/a-j-p-taylor-14528_caves_if-there-had-been-no-troublemakers-no-di_2035308.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/672/a-j-p-taylor-14528_caves_if-there-had-been-no-troublemakers-no-di_2035308.png) > “If there had been no troublemakers, no Dissenters, we should still be living in caves.” [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Progress depends on dissent; without challengers, society would stagnate in primitive conditions. **In simple terms:** Dissent drives advancement. Key Takeaway Encourage questioning. Themes progress dissent innovation Mood reflective inspired Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political reform - scientific research - cultural change - activism Key Concepts social evolution critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - What role does constructive criticism play in your community? - How can we balance stability with necessary disruption? A Different Perspective Even dissent can be destructive if unchecked. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Caves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caves/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Quiet life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quiet-life/) [Troublemaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/troublemaker/) ## Related quotes > [Even after conquering moon, mentally some of us are still living in caves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasneem-hameed/even-after-conquering-moon-mentally-some-of-us-are-still-living-in/) [Tasneem Hameed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasneem-hameed/) > [I found you people in mud huts.. you were living in CAVES!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kane/i-found-you-people-in-mud-huts-you-were-living-in-caves/) [Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kane/) > [“If all the people who were called "crazy" started acting "normal", we'd probably still be living in caves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joana-james/if-all-the-people-who-were-called-crazy-started-acting-normal-we-d/) Joana James > [If you worry about anyone having a go at you for having ideas, we'd still all be living in caves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-mcguire/if-you-worry-about-anyone-having-a-go-at-you-for-having-ideas-we-d/) Eddie McGuire > [“If buyer’s remorse ever accomplished anything in this world,” Max said, “we’d all still be living in caves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/if-buyer-s-remorse-ever-accomplished-anything-in-this-world-max-said/) [Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/) > [Conformity may give you a quiet life; it may even bring you to a University Chair. But all change in history, all advance, comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/conformity-may-give-you-a-quiet-life-it-may-even-bring-you-to-a/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [Though dissenters seem to question everything in sight, they are actually bundles of dusty answers and never conceived a new question. What offends us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/though-dissenters-seem-to-question-everything-in-sight-they-are/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Locking up dissenters does not reduce dissent - it fosters it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amal-clooney/locking-up-dissenters-does-not-reduce-dissent-it-fosters-it/) [Amal Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amal-clooney/) > [Freedom is always the freedom of dissenters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosa-luxemburg/freedom-is-always-the-freedom-of-dissenters/) [Rosa Luxemburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosa-luxemburg/) > [“Yet it is the dissenters seeking a peaceful settlement”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-corvino/yet-it-is-the-dissenters-seeking-a-peaceful-settlement/) [John Corvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-corvino/) > [“Only when Clark Nichols was not in the shop did the boys argue religion. Or at night up in the attic where they bunked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-wellman/only-when-clark-nichols-was-not-in-the-shop-did-the-boys-argue/) [Sam Wellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-wellman/) > [This is the deadening consensus that crosses party lines, that dominates our major media, and that is strangling the liberty and prosperity that were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/this-is-the-deadening-consensus-that-crosses-party-lines-that/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [Dissent and dissenters have no monopoly on freedom. They must tolerate opposition. They must accept dissent from their dissent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abe-fortas/dissent-and-dissenters-have-no-monopoly-on-freedom-they-must-tolerate/) [Abe Fortas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abe-fortas/) > [I have always marveled that so many religions exact such revenge against dissenters. It only weakens the appeal of their faith and contradicts any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/i-have-always-marveled-that-so-many-religions-exact-such-revenge/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [Those who begin coercive elimination of dissent soon find themselves exterminating dissenters. Compulsory unification of opinion achieves only the unanimity of the graveyard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/those-who-begin-coercive-elimination-of-dissent-soon-find-themselves/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by A. J. P. Taylor > [Like most of those who study history, he (Napoleon III) learned from the mistakes of the past how to make new ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/like-most-of-those-who-study-history-he-napoleon-iii-learned-from-the/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [Human blunders usually do more to shape history than human wickedness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/human-blunders-usually-do-more-to-shape-history-than-human-wickedness/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [If men are to respect each other for what they are, they must cease to respect each other for what they own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/if-men-are-to-respect-each-other-for-what-they-are-they-must-cease-to/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [We are apt to say that a foreign policy is successful only when the country, or at any rate the governing class, is united…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/we-are-apt-to-say-that-a-foreign-policy-is-successful-only-when-the/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [A racing tipster who only reached Hitler's level of accuracy would not do well for his clients.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/a-racing-tipster-who-only-reached-hitler-s-level-of-accuracy-would/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [ If there had been a strong democratic sentiment in Germany, Hitler would never have come to power . \[Germans\] deserved what they got when… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/if-there-had-been-a-strong-democratic-sentiment-in-germany-hitler/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [Freedom does not always win. This is one of the bitterest lessons of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/freedom-does-not-always-win-this-is-one-of-the-bitterest-lessons-of/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [There is nothing more agreeable in life than to make peace with the establishment and nothing more corrupting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/there-is-nothing-more-agreeable-in-life-than-to-make-peace-with-the/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [George VI in the conventional parlance was a Good King who sacrificed his life to his sense of duty. If we are to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/george-vi-in-the-conventional-parlance-was-a-good-king-who-sacrificed/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [One of the penalties of being president of the United States is that you must subsist for four years without drinking anything except Californian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/one-of-the-penalties-of-being-president-of-the-united-states-is-that/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [Perfect soldier, perfect gentleman never gave offence to anyone not even the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/perfect-soldier-perfect-gentleman-never-gave-offence-to-anyone-not/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [No war is inevitable until it breaks out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/no-war-is-inevitable-until-it-breaks-out/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [We learn nothing from history except the infinite variety of men's behaviour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/we-learn-nothing-from-history-except-the-infinite-variety-of-men-s/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [In my opinion, most of the great men of the past were only there for the beer - the wealth, prestige and grandeur that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/in-my-opinion-most-of-the-great-men-of-the-past-were-only-there-for/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [Conformity may give you a quiet life; it may even bring you to a University Chair. But all change in history, all advance, comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/conformity-may-give-you-a-quiet-life-it-may-even-bring-you-to-a/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) [Explore all 46 A. J. P. Taylor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) ## More Caves quotes > [When man of slender visits you / Nothing on earth that one can do / In well he’ll hide, or watery hole / And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-goldstein/when-man-of-slender-visits-you-nothing-on-earth-that-one-can-do-in/) [Jack Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-goldstein/) > [There is nothing to do, just be. Do nothing. Be. No climbing mountains and sitting in caves. I do not even say "be yourself"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/there-is-nothing-to-do-just-be-do-nothing-be-no-climbing-mountains/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [A man in a cave or in a camp, a nomad, will die with no more estate than the wolf or the horse leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-in-a-cave-or-in-a-camp-a-nomad-will-die-with-no-more-estate/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [(At the back of the cave, Phoebe placed her hand against one of the stones where a spring release opened an elevator door. Chris…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/at-the-back-of-the-cave-phoebe-placed-her-hand-against-one-of-the/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [There were doors that looked like large keyholes, others that resembled the entrances to caves, there were golden doors, some were padded and some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ende/there-were-doors-that-looked-like-large-keyholes-others-that/) [Michael Ende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ende/) > [Many of us didn't believe in the image of bin Laden as a wandering Old Man of the Mountains, living on plants and insects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/many-of-us-didn-t-believe-in-the-image-of-bin-laden-as-a-wandering/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [You know,” he said, “I wish you could see this cave.” “What’s it like?” He paused. “It’s...beautiful, really.” “Tell me.” And so Po described…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cashore/you-know-he-said-i-wish-you-could-see-this-cave-what-s-it-like-he/) [Kristin Cashore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cashore/) > [Do you know, I always imagine that the subway trains are dragons,' Rose said to Bear as they clung to his coat for support…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-doman/do-you-know-i-always-imagine-that-the-subway-trains-are-dragons-rose/) [Regina Doman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-doman/) > [Imagine an American Hans Christian Andersen, conceive of the Brothers Grimm living in Missouri, and you will approximate Howard Schwartz, a fable-maker and fable-gatherer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/imagine-an-american-hans-christian-andersen-conceive-of-the-brothers/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [There is no civilization that did not begin with art, Whether it was drawing a line in the sand, painting a cave or dancing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-is-no-civilization-that-did-not-begin-with-art-whether-it-was/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Some are nice and some aren't. Some are smart, and others are about as bright as a wet match in a dark cave. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/some-are-nice-and-some-aren-t-some-are-smart-and-others-are-about-as/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [Endure, put up with whatever comes your way, learn to overcome weakness and pain, push yourself to breaking point but never cave in. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-nadal/endure-put-up-with-whatever-comes-your-way-learn-to-overcome-weakness/) [Toni Nadal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-nadal/) > [I'm Andrea Thompson, and unless you've been living in a cave, you probably already know that](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-thompson/i-m-andrea-thompson-and-unless-you-ve-been-living-in-a-cave-you/) [Andrea Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-thompson/) > [There are lifetimes where one goes off into the Himalayas and meditate in a cave. But this is not really one of those lifetimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/there-are-lifetimes-where-one-goes-off-into-the-himalayas-and/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [As her sons have seen her: the mother in patriarchy: controlling, erotic, castrating, heart-suffering, guilt-ridden, and guilt-provoking; a marble brow, a huge breast, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/as-her-sons-have-seen-her-the-mother-in-patriarchy-controlling-erotic/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) [Browse all 558 Caves quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caves/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If there had been no troublemakers, no Dissenters, we should still be living in caves.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "A. J. P. 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