---
title: "1 Purpose Government Quotes By Derrick Jensen"
description: "1 Purpose Government quotes by Derrick Jensen. Plus more from Derrick Jensen and more Purpose Government sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3a/derrick-jensen-2824_believe_surely-by-now-there-can-be-few-here-who_857143.png"
---

> [Surely by now there can be few here who still believe the purpose of government is to protect us from the destructive activities of corporations. At last most of us must understand that the opposite is true: that the primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/surely-by-now-there-can-be-few-here-who-still-believe-the-purpose-of/)

[Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3a/derrick-jensen-2824_believe_surely-by-now-there-can-be-few-here-who_857143.png)

## Other authors on Purpose Government

## More by Derrick Jensen

> [The global industrial economy is the engine for massive environmental degradation and massive human (and nonhuman) impoverishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/the-global-industrial-economy-is-the-engine-for-massive-environmental/)

[Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/)

> [“In sum, one of the primary things I learned was how to kill time. I learned also to wish away my life. I learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/in-sum-one-of-the-primary-things-i-learned-was-how-to-kill-time-i/)

[Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/)

> [“I had broken the most basic commandment of our culture: Thou shalt pretend there is nothing wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/i-had-broken-the-most-basic-commandment-of-our-culture-thou-shalt/)

[Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/)

> [“Someone asked me once at a talk why I so stress the positive with my students yet am such an unstinting critic of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/someone-asked-me-once-at-a-talk-why-i-so-stress-the-positive-with-my/)

[Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/)

> [If the world is presented as resources to be exploited, then, more than likely, you're going to exploit the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/if-the-world-is-presented-as-resources-to-be-exploited-then-more-than/)

[Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/)

> [It's no wonder we don't defend the land where we live. We don't live here. We live in television programs and movies and books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/it-s-no-wonder-we-don-t-defend-the-land-where-we-live-we-don-t-live/)

[Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/)

> [“ISOLATION DOES STRANGE THINGS to a person’s mind. This is true for any social creature, human or otherwise. Monkeys taken from their mothers at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/isolation-does-strange-things-to-a-person-s-mind-this-is-true-for-any/)

[Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/)

> [My great-grandmother grew up in a sod house in Nebraska. When she was a tiny girl - in other words, only four human generations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/my-great-grandmother-grew-up-in-a-sod-house-in-nebraska-when-she-was/)

[Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/)

> [Where will you drive your own picket stake? Where will you choose to make your stand? Give me a threshold, a specific point at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/where-will-you-drive-your-own-picket-stake-where-will-you-choose-to/)

[Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/)

> [“So often, environmentalists and others working to slow the destruction are capable of plainly describing the problems (Who wouldn’t be? The problems are neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/so-often-environmentalists-and-others-working-to-slow-the-destruction/)

[Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/)

> [Forests precede us and deserts dog our heels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/forests-precede-us-and-deserts-dog-our-heels/)

[Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/)

> [“The condition of alienation, of being asleep, of being unconscious, of being out of one’s mind, is the condition of the normal man. Society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/the-condition-of-alienation-of-being-asleep-of-being-unconscious-of/)

[Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/)

> [So many indigenous people have said to me that the fundamental difference between Western and indigenous ways of being is that even the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/so-many-indigenous-people-have-said-to-me-that-the-fundamental/)

[Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/)

> [When dams were erected on the Columbia, salmon battered themselves against the concrete, trying to return home. I expect no less from us. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/when-dams-were-erected-on-the-columbia-salmon-battered-themselves/)

[Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/)

> [People say 'what do you mean' when you talk about 'bringing down civilization.' What I really mean is depriving the rich of the ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/people-say-what-do-you-mean-when-you-talk-about-bringing-down/)

[Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose-government/derrick-jensen/#itemlist",
            "name": "1 Purpose Government Quotes By Derrick Jensen",
            "numberOfItems": 1,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Surely by now there can be few here who still believe the purpose of government is to protect us from the destructive activities of corporations. At last most of us must understand that the opposite is true: that the primary purpose of government is to protect those who run the economy from the outrage of injured citizens.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Derrick Jensen"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/surely-by-now-there-can-be-few-here-who-still-believe-the-purpose-of/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3a/derrick-jensen-2824_believe_surely-by-now-there-can-be-few-here-who_857143.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3a/derrick-jensen-2824_believe_surely-by-now-there-can-be-few-here-who_857143.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3a/derrick-jensen-2824_believe_surely-by-now-there-can-be-few-here-who_857143.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Surely by now there can be few here who still believe the purpose of government is to protect us from the…” — Derrick Jensen",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose-government/derrick-jensen/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose-government/derrick-jensen/",
            "name": "Purpose Government Quotes by Derrick Jensen",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose-government/derrick-jensen/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3a/derrick-jensen-2824_believe_surely-by-now-there-can-be-few-here-who_857143.png"
            },
            "description": "1 Purpose Government quotes by Derrick Jensen. Plus more from Derrick Jensen and more Purpose Government sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose-government/derrick-jensen/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose-government/derrick-jensen/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Purpose Government",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose-government/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "Derrick Jensen",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose-government/derrick-jensen/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```