--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The purpose of a writer is to keep…" description: "\"The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.\" — Albert Camus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/albert-camus-47_civilization_the-purpose-of-a-writer-is-to-keep-civil_1225070.jpg" --- # The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from… ![“The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.” quote by Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/albert-camus-47_civilization_the-purpose-of-a-writer-is-to-keep-civil_1225070.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/albert-camus-47_civilization_the-purpose-of-a-writer-is-to-keep-civil_1225070.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/albert-camus-47_civilization_the-purpose-of-a-writer-is-to-keep-civil_1225070.jpg) > “The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.” [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers act as a safeguard, using literature to critique and prevent societal self‑destruction. **In simple terms:** Writers protect society through critical storytelling. Key Takeaway Support writers who challenge harmful norms. Themes literature ethics society responsibility resistance Mood thoughtful concerned Type philosophical activist When to use this quote - political discourse - education - public debate - media analysis Key Concepts existentialism civilizational critique social commentary Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities do writers hold? - Can literature truly halt societal decline? A Different Perspective Not all writers have the platform or influence to effect change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Civilization Destroying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization-destroying-3767008/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Destroying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroying/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Purpose Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose-writer-1708090/) [Writer Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-civilization-2086316/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.” ― Albert Camus”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/the-purpose-of-a-writer-is-to-keep-civilization-from-destroying/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) > [“If one adds a word to a blank sheet of paper but it's left on its own it means nothing. If it’s joined by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kemp/if-one-adds-a-word-to-a-blank-sheet-of-paper-but-it-s-left-on-its-own/) [Daniel Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kemp/) > [“The purpose of a writer is to keep civilisation from destroying itself." (Interview, New York Post Magazine , September 14, 1958)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-malamud/the-purpose-of-a-writer-is-to-keep-civilisation-from-destroying/) [Bernard Malamud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-malamud/) > [The wicked will run to the iron bridge, but it will collapse under their weight. The righteous will cross the paper bridge, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/the-wicked-will-run-to-the-iron-bridge-but-it-will-collapse-under/) [Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/) > [The purpose of a writer is to be read, and the criticism which would destroy the power of pleasing must be blown aside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-purpose-of-a-writer-is-to-be-read-and-the-criticism-which-would/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [I think the purpose of the writer is to help us see. The writer is someone who can perhaps have the joy of helping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-galeano/i-think-the-purpose-of-the-writer-is-to-help-us-see-the-writer-is/) [Eduardo Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-galeano/) > [“I started out hoping to remind people at some point in the novel that we should be loving and kind. But then the theme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hickman/i-started-out-hoping-to-remind-people-at-some-point-in-the-novel-that/) [Patricia Hickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hickman/) > [“A Word If one adds a word to a blank sheet of paper but leaves it on its own it means nothing. If it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kemp/a-word-if-one-adds-a-word-to-a-blank-sheet-of-paper-but-leaves-it-on/) [Daniel Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kemp/) > [My purpose as a writer is to communicate in such a way as to challenge the thinking of readers and touch their hearts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-alcorn/my-purpose-as-a-writer-is-to-communicate-in-such-a-way-as-to/) [Randy Alcorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-alcorn/) > [Each generation doubtless feels called upon to reform the world. Mine knows that it will not reform it, but its task is perhaps even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/each-generation-doubtless-feels-called-upon-to-reform-the-world-mine/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [There is nothing abstract about pain. It is specific, it is real, and, when it is intense, it is world destroying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/there-is-nothing-abstract-about-pain-it-is-specific-it-is-real-and/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“Cultures that do not wish to exist cannot be dissuaded from destroying themselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-p-goldman/cultures-that-do-not-wish-to-exist-cannot-be-dissuaded-from/) [David P. Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-p-goldman/) > [Our civilization survives in the complacency of cowardly or malignant minds -- a sacrifice to the vanity of aging adolescents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/our-civilization-survives-in-the-complacency-of-cowardly-or-malignant/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. I've been trying to say for I don't know how many months now that the traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-is-a-different-ball-of-wax-i-ve-been-trying-to-say-for-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) ## More by Albert Camus > [“The whole town rushed outside to celebrate this crowded minute when the time of suffering had ended and the time of forgetting had not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-whole-town-rushed-outside-to-celebrate-this-crowded-minute-when/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Generally, I like all islands. There, it is easier to rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/generally-i-like-all-islands-there-it-is-easier-to-rule/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Being is good, but getting rich is better… If the gods had only the riches of men's adoration, they would be as poor as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/being-is-good-but-getting-rich-is-better-if-the-gods-had-only-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“Having been, not only mutilated in our country, wounded in our very flesh, but also divested of our most beautiful images, for you gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/having-been-not-only-mutilated-in-our-country-wounded-in-our-very/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I've seen of enough of people who die for an idea. I don't believe in heroism; I know it's easy and I've learned it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-ve-seen-of-enough-of-people-who-die-for-an-idea-i-don-t-believe-in/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The best are led to make greater demands upon themselves. As for those who succumb, they did not deserve to survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-best-are-led-to-make-greater-demands-upon-themselves-as-for-those/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“Then he asked me if I wasn’t interested in a change of life. I said that people never change their lives, that in any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/then-he-asked-me-if-i-wasn-t-interested-in-a-change-of-life-i-said/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Life is meaningless, but worth living, provided you recognize it's meaningless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/life-is-meaningless-but-worth-living-provided-you-recognize-it-s/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Thinking of the future, establishing aims for oneself, having preferences-all this presupposes a belief in freedom, even if one occasionally ascertains that one doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/thinking-of-the-future-establishing-aims-for-oneself-having/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I explained to him, however, that my nature was such that my physical needs often got in the way of my feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-explained-to-him-however-that-my-nature-was-such-that-my-physical/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-only-way-to-deal-with-an-unfree-world-is-to-become-so-absolutely/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“We love people not because for good they did for us, but for good we did for them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/we-love-people-not-because-for-good-they-did-for-us-but-for-good-we/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [You have so much inside you, and the noblest happiness of all. Don’t just wait for a man to come along. That’s the mistake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/you-have-so-much-inside-you-and-the-noblest-happiness-of-all-don-t/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The desire for possession is insatiable, to such a point that it can survive even love itself. To love, therefore, is to sterilize the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-desire-for-possession-is-insatiable-to-such-a-point-that-it-can/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) [Explore all 1,600 Albert Camus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) ## More Civilization quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/) [Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/) > [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“The voice in the head that never stops speaking becomes a civilization that is obsessed with form and therefore knows nothing of the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-voice-in-the-head-that-never-stops-speaking-becomes-a/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [We released 400,000 classified documents, the most extraordinary history of a war to ever have been released in our civilization. Those documents cover 109,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/we-released-400-000-classified-documents-the-most-extraordinary/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Whenever we touch nature we get clean. People who have got dirty through too much civilization take a walk in the woods, or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/whenever-we-touch-nature-we-get-clean-people-who-have-got-dirty/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/the-invention-of-gunpowder-and-the-constant-improvement-of-firearms/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“The mission is, not to replace old world mindlessness with new world mindlessness, but to put an end to all forms of brainless authoritarianism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-mission-is-not-to-replace-old-world-mindlessness-with-new-world/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Once we allow ourselves to be disobedient to the test of an accountant's profit, we have begun to change our civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/once-we-allow-ourselves-to-be-disobedient-to-the-test-of-an/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-josiah-brewer/our-laws-and-our-institutions-must-necessarily-be-based-upon-and/) [David Josiah Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-josiah-brewer/) [Browse all 4,084 Civilization quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Albert Camus" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-purpose-of-a-writer-is-to-keep-civilization-from-destroying-itself/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Civilization" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-purpose-of-a-writer-is-to-keep-civilization-from-destroying-itself/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/albert-camus-47_civilization_the-purpose-of-a-writer-is-to-keep-civil_1225070.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/albert-camus-47_civilization_the-purpose-of-a-writer-is-to-keep-civil_1225070.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/albert-camus-47_civilization_the-purpose-of-a-writer-is-to-keep-civil_1225070.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.” — Albert Camus", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "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": "Albert Camus", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The purpose of a writer is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-purpose-of-a-writer-is-to-keep-civilization-from-destroying-itself/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-purpose-of-a-writer-is-to-keep-civilization-from-destroying-itself/#breadcrumb" }, { "@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 } } ] } ```