Want Quotes by Eric Hoffer

19 Want quotes by Eric Hoffer

Eric Hoffer distills the complex interplay between individual yearning and collective movements into 19 sharp observations. His words prompt reflection on how desire shapes societies and the motivations behind collective action.

Rate this collection: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet

Men weary as much of not doing the things they want to do as of doing the things they do not want…

Eric Hoffer

Image

We can never have enough of that which we really do not want.

Eric Hoffer

Image

Far more critical than what we know or what we don't know is what we don't want to know.

Eric Hoffer

Image

He who has nothing and wants something is less frustrated than he who has something and wants more.

Eric Hoffer

Image

Far more crucial than what we know or do not know is what we do not want to know.

Eric Hoffer

Image

We can never have enough of that which we do not want.

Eric Hoffer

Image

The oppressed want above all to imitate their oppressors; they want to retaliate.

Eric Hoffer

Image

Far more crucial than what we know or do not know is what we do not want to know. One often obtains…

Eric Hoffer

Image

Often, the thing we pursue most passionately is but a substitute for the one thing we really want and cannot have.

Eric Hoffer

Image

It is doubtful if the oppressed ever fight for freedom. They fight for pride and power - power to oppress others. The…

Eric Hoffer

Image

Our frustration is greater when we have much and want more than when we have nothing and want some. We are less…

Eric Hoffer

Image

When the weak want to give an impression of strength they hint menacingly at their capacity for evil. It is by its…

Eric Hoffer

Image

To some, freedom means the opportunity to do what they want to do; to most it means not to do what they…

Eric Hoffer

Image

Take man's most fantastic invention- God. Man invents God in the image of his longings, in the image of what he wants…

Eric Hoffer

Image

Freedom means freedom from forces and circumstances which would turn man into a thing, which would impose on man the passivity and…

Eric Hoffer

Image

To the frustrated, freedom from responsibility is more attractive than freedom from restraint. They are eager to barter their independence for relief…

Eric Hoffer

Image

The sick in soul insist that it is humanity that is sick, and they are the surgeons to operate on it. They…

Eric Hoffer

Image

We never say so much as when we do not quite know what we want to say. We need few words when…

Eric Hoffer

Image

The education explosion is producing a vast number of people who want to live significant, important lives but lack the ability to…

Eric Hoffer

Image

Other authors on Want

More by Eric Hoffer

The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…

Eric Hoffer

Image

When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.

Eric Hoffer

Image

“We lie the loudest when we lie to ourselves.”

Eric Hoffer

Image

Our originality shows itself most strikingly not in what we wholly originate but in what we do with that which we borrow from others.

Eric Hoffer

Image

The creative mind is the playful mind. Philosophy is the play and dance of ideas.

Eric Hoffer

Image

It is also plausible that those movements with the greatest inner contradiction and between profession and practice - that is to say with a…

Eric Hoffer

Image

The best part of the art of living is to know how to grow old gracefully.

Eric Hoffer

Image

“In the alchemy of man's soul almost all noble attributes--courage, honor, love, hope, faith, duty, loyalty, etc.--can be transmuted into ruthlessness. Compassion alone stands…

Eric Hoffer

Image

The act of self-denial seems to confer on us the right to be harsh and merciless toward others. The impression somehow prevails that the…

Eric Hoffer

Image

A nation without dregs and malcontents, is orderly, decent, peaceful and pleasant, but perhaps without the seed of things to come

Eric Hoffer

Image

Compassion alone stands apart from the continuous traffic between good and evil proceeding within us.

Eric Hoffer

Image

There are many who find a good alibi far more attractive than an achievement. For an achievement does not settle anything permanently. We still…

Eric Hoffer

Image

A war is not won if the defeated enemy has not been turned into a friend.

Eric Hoffer

Image

Man is the only creature that strives to surpass himself, and yearns for the impossible.

Eric Hoffer

Image

This food-and-shelter theory concerning man's efforts is without insight. The desire for praise is more imperative than the desire for food and shelter

Eric Hoffer

Image