--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The English never abolish anything. They…" description: "\"The English never abolish anything. They put it in cold storage.\" — Alfred North Whitehead" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ce/alfred-north-whitehead-836_abolish_the-english-never-abolish-anything-they_598685.png" --- # The English never abolish anything. They put it in cold… ![“The English never abolish anything. They put it in cold storage.” quote by Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ce/alfred-north-whitehead-836_abolish_the-english-never-abolish-anything-they_598685.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ce/alfred-north-whitehead-836_abolish_the-english-never-abolish-anything-they_598685.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ce/alfred-north-whitehead-836_abolish_the-english-never-abolish-anything-they_598685.png) > “The English never abolish anything. They put it in cold storage.” [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker critiques British conservatism, suggesting they preserve outdated ideas rather than eliminate them. **In simple terms:** Britain keeps old ideas alive instead of discarding them. Key Takeaway Question what traditions truly serve. Themes tradition conservatism change politics Mood critical reflective Type philosophical political When to use this quote - policy reform - organizational change - cultural critique Key Concepts cultural inertia historical preservation Questions to Reflect On - Which "cold storage" ideas need revisiting? - How to balance heritage with innovation? A Different Perspective Preserving the past may hinder progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [English](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [HANDKERCHIEF: Cold Storage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/handkerchief-cold-storage/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [OBLIVION, n. Cold storage for high hopes. A place where ambitious authors meet their works without pride and their betters without envy. A dormitory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/oblivion-n-cold-storage-for-high-hopes-a-place-where-ambitious/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [A library is thought in cold storage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-library-is-thought-in-cold-storage/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Tape allows for a clean sweep of data that simply doesn't need to be on any form of disk but still needs to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-arthur-crump/tape-allows-for-a-clean-sweep-of-data-that-simply-doesn-t-need-to-be/) [George Arthur Crump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-arthur-crump/) > [To help producers serve larger institutional customers like schools and hospitals, USDA has helped fund new regional infrastructure like cold storage warehouses, commercial kitchens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-vilsack/to-help-producers-serve-larger-institutional-customers-like-schools/) [Tom Vilsack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-vilsack/) > [If food was no longer obliged to make intercontinental journeys, but stayed part of a system in which it can be consumed over short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-petrini/if-food-was-no-longer-obliged-to-make-intercontinental-journeys-but/) [Carlo Petrini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-petrini/) > [A currency designed for long-term storage and investment doesn't do so well at encouraging transactions and exchange in the moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/a-currency-designed-for-long-term-storage-and-investment-doesn-t-do/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [Digiphrenia - how technology lets us be in more than one place - and self - at the same time. Drone pilots suffer more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/digiphrenia-how-technology-lets-us-be-in-more-than-one-place-and-self/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [The human brain had a vast memory storage. It made us curious and very creative. Those were the characteristics that gave us an advantage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/the-human-brain-had-a-vast-memory-storage-it-made-us-curious-and-very/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [It's funny, I don't really feel that nostalgic. 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Our digital photos practically upload and post themselves on Facebook, and our most deleted e-mails tend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/digital-media-are-biased-toward-replication-and-storage-our-digital/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [We did have one work where it looked like the fibreglass was discolouring, but it turned out it was reacting to the foam it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-piccinini/we-did-have-one-work-where-it-looked-like-the-fibreglass-was/) [Patricia Piccinini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-piccinini/) ## More by Alfred North Whitehead > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Philosophy begins in wonder. And, at the end, when philosophic thought has done its best, the wonder remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/philosophy-begins-in-wonder-and-at-the-end-when-philosophic-thought/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The pursuit of mathematics is a divine madness of the human spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-pursuit-of-mathematics-is-a-divine-madness-of-the-human-spirit/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Without adventure all civilization is full of decay. Adventure rarely reaches its predetermined end. Columbus never reached China.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/without-adventure-all-civilization-is-full-of-decay-adventure-rarely/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Aristotle discovered all the half-truths which were necessary to the creation of science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/aristotle-discovered-all-the-half-truths-which-were-necessary-to-the/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [On the ostensible exactitude of certain branches of human knowledge, including mathematics. The exactness is a fake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/on-the-ostensible-exactitude-of-certain-branches-of-human-knowledge/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [It is this union of passionate interest in the detailed facts with equal devotion to abstract generalisation which forms the novelty in our present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/it-is-this-union-of-passionate-interest-in-the-detailed-facts-with/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Our minds are finite, and yet even in these circumstances of infinitude we are surrounded by possibilities that are infinite, and the purpose of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/our-minds-are-finite-and-yet-even-in-these-circumstances-of/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The many become one and are increased by one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-many-become-one-and-are-increased-by-one/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Art is the imposing of a pattern on experience, and our aesthetic enjoyment is recognition of the pattern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/art-is-the-imposing-of-a-pattern-on-experience-and-our-aesthetic/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The future belongs to those who can rise above the confines of the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-future-belongs-to-those-who-can-rise-above-the-confines-of-the/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Common sense is genius in homespun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/common-sense-is-genius-in-homespun/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Everyone is a philosopher. Not everyone is good at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/everyone-is-a-philosopher-not-everyone-is-good-at-it/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Do not teach too many subjects and what you teach, teach thoroughly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/do-not-teach-too-many-subjects-and-what-you-teach-teach-thoroughly/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking about them. Operations of thought are cavalry charges in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/civilization-advances-by-extending-the-number-of-important-operations/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) [Explore all 356 Alfred North Whitehead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) ## More Abolish quotes > [To be creative means to connect. It's to abolish the gap between the body, the mind and the soul, between science and art, between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nawal-el-saadawi/to-be-creative-means-to-connect-it-s-to-abolish-the-gap-between-the/) [Nawal El Saadawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nawal-el-saadawi/) > [I will not be a Democrat or a Republican. They are the problem, not the solution. We need to abolish political parties in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ventura/i-will-not-be-a-democrat-or-a-republican-they-are-the-problem-not-the/) [Jesse Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ventura/) > [Do not suppose that abuses are eliminated by destroying the object which is abused. Men can go wrong with wine and women. Shall we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/do-not-suppose-that-abuses-are-eliminated-by-destroying-the-object/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [Throughout the last century there were multiple attempts at giving Afghan women more autonomy, to change marriage laws, to abolish the practice of bride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/throughout-the-last-century-there-were-multiple-attempts-at-giving/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [But perhaps the next step isn't to, once again, expand the otherwise narrow definition of marriage but to altogether abolish the false distinction between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-kohn/but-perhaps-the-next-step-isn-t-to-once-again-expand-the-otherwise/) [Sally Kohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-kohn/) > [I know we can't abolish prejudice through laws, but we can set up guidelines for our actions by legislation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-we-can-t-abolish-prejudice-through-laws-but-we-can-set-up/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What we need is someone to abolish the House Of Lords, get rid of the Royal Family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boorman/what-we-need-is-someone-to-abolish-the-house-of-lords-get-rid-of-the/) [John Boorman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boorman/) > [There is not a right too long denied to which we do not aspire in order to achieve; there is not a wrong too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-gompers/there-is-not-a-right-too-long-denied-to-which-we-do-not-aspire-in/) [Samuel Gompers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-gompers/) > [Environmental scientists also show us clearly that from the environmental and ecological points of view that nuclear war is not preventable. The only way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tadatoshi-akiba/environmental-scientists-also-show-us-clearly-that-from-the/) Tadatoshi Akiba > [We should abolish 'work.' By that I mean abolishing the distinction between work and leisure, one of the greatest mistakes of the last century,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-zeldin/we-should-abolish-work-by-that-i-mean-abolishing-the-distinction/) [Theodore Zeldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-zeldin/) > [The Bolsheviks started not just on the killing of private property; they were trying to abolish money itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatoly-chubais/the-bolsheviks-started-not-just-on-the-killing-of-private-property/) [Anatoly Chubais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatoly-chubais/) > [Let us leave the EEC, abolish human rights laws, take TV sets, pool tables and phones out of prisons, bring back corporal and capital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-bates/let-us-leave-the-eec-abolish-human-rights-laws-take-tv-sets-pool/) [Ken Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-bates/) > [Government spending cannot create additional jobs. If the government provides the funds required by taxing the citizens or by borrowing from the public, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/government-spending-cannot-create-additional-jobs-if-the-government/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Liberty is to faction, what air is to fire, an aliment without which it instantly expires. But it could not be a less folly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/liberty-is-to-faction-what-air-is-to-fire-an-aliment-without-which-it/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [I know in London a Welsh hairdresser who has striven so vehemently to abolish his accent that he sounds like a man speaking with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/i-know-in-london-a-welsh-hairdresser-who-has-striven-so-vehemently-to/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) Browse all 300 Abolish quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The English never abolish anything. 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