--- title: "5 Legitimacy Quotes By Malcolm Gladwell" description: "5 Legitimacy quotes by Malcolm Gladwell. Plus more from Malcolm Gladwell and more Legitimacy sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f39/malcolm-gladwell-348_legitimacy_the-excessive-use-of-force-creates-legit_177966.png" --- > [“The excessive use of force creates legitimacy problems, and force without legitimacy leads to defiance, not submission.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/the-excessive-use-of-force-creates-legitimacy-problems-and-force/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f39/malcolm-gladwell-348_legitimacy_the-excessive-use-of-force-creates-legit_177966.png) > [“This is called the “principle of legitimacy,” and legitimacy is based on three things. First of all, the people who are asked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/this-is-called-the-principle-of-legitimacy-and-legitimacy-is-based-on/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/malcolm-gladwell-348_legitimacy_this-is-called-the-principle-of-legitima_216589.jpg) > [“So why don’t Americans cheat? Because they think that their system is legitimate. People accept authority when they see that it treats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/so-why-don-t-americans-cheat-because-they-think-that-their-system-is/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/182/malcolm-gladwell-348_americans_so-why-don-t-americans-cheat-because-the_1227600.jpg) > [“...legitimacy is based on three things. First of all, the people who are asked to obey authority have to feel like they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/legitimacy-is-based-on-three-things-first-of-all-the-people-who-are/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd6/malcolm-gladwell-348_authority_legitimacy-is-based-on-three-things-firs_1920076.jpg) > [“When people in authority want the rest of us to behave, it matters - first and foremost - how they behave. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/when-people-in-authority-want-the-rest-of-us-to-behave-it-matters-2/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/malcolm-gladwell-348_legitimacy_when-people-in-authority-want-the-rest-o_2929857.jpg) ## More by Malcolm Gladwell > [When I go to my health club, and it's in the basement, you have to take the elevator down. And this drives me crazy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/when-i-go-to-my-health-club-and-it-s-in-the-basement-you-have-to-take/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/the-tipping-point-is-that-magic-moment-when-an-idea-trend-or-social/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [“The scholars who research happiness suggest that more money stops making people happier at a family income of around seventy-five thousand dollars a year.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/the-scholars-who-research-happiness-suggest-that-more-money-stops/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [We need to be clear when we venerate entrepreneurs what we are venerating.They are not moral leaders. If they were moral leaders, they wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/we-need-to-be-clear-when-we-venerate-entrepreneurs-what-we-are/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [“Some people look like they sound better than they actually sound, because they look confident and have good posture," once musician, a veteran of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/some-people-look-like-they-sound-better-than-they-actually-sound/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [A handicap is like trying to race and you have a ten pound weight stuck to your waist. That is a handicap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/a-handicap-is-like-trying-to-race-and-you-have-a-ten-pound-weight/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [“neighborhood was filled with engineers from Hewlett-Packard, then as now one of”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/neighborhood-was-filled-with-engineers-from-hewlett-packard-then-as/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [“People are ruined by challenged economic lives. But they are ruined by wealth as well because they lose their ambition and they lose their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/people-are-ruined-by-challenged-economic-lives-but-they-are-ruined-by/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [The single most important thing a city can do is provide a community where interesting, smart people want to live with their families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/the-single-most-important-thing-a-city-can-do-is-provide-a-community/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [ \[Norden\] said, with the Mark 15 Norden bombsight, he could drop a bomb into a pickle barrel at 20,000 feet. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/norden-said-with-the-mark-15-norden-bombsight-he-could-drop-a-bomb/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [The willingness to be self-critical in England is much greater than the willingness to be self-critical in America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/the-willingness-to-be-self-critical-in-england-is-much-greater-than/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [The conventional explanation for Jewish success, of course, is that Jews come from a literate, intellectual culture. They are famously "the people of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/the-conventional-explanation-for-jewish-success-of-course-is-that/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [“An archway to one side leads to a church, the Madonna del Carmine—Our Lady of Mount Carmine. Narrow”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/an-archway-to-one-side-leads-to-a-church-the-madonna-del-carmine-our/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [People are experience-rich and theory-poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/people-are-experience-rich-and-theory-poor/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [“Most psychologists believe that nature—genetics—accounts for about half of the reason why we tend to act the way we do. His point is simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/most-psychologists-believe-that-nature-genetics-accounts-for-about/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legitimacy/malcolm-gladwell/#itemlist", "name": "5 Legitimacy Quotes By Malcolm Gladwell", "numberOfItems": 5, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The excessive use of force creates legitimacy problems, and force without legitimacy leads to defiance, not submission.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Malcolm Gladwell" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/the-excessive-use-of-force-creates-legitimacy-problems-and-force/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f39/malcolm-gladwell-348_legitimacy_the-excessive-use-of-force-creates-legit_177966.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f39/malcolm-gladwell-348_legitimacy_the-excessive-use-of-force-creates-legit_177966.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f39/malcolm-gladwell-348_legitimacy_the-excessive-use-of-force-creates-legit_177966.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The excessive use of force creates legitimacy problems, and force without legitimacy leads to defiance, not…” — Malcolm Gladwell", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“This is called the “principle of legitimacy,” and legitimacy is based on three things. 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