--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The twentieth century ended with its…" description: "\"The twentieth century ended with its dreams in ruins. The notion of the community as a voluntary association of enlightened citizens has died forever. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b17/anonymous-1_association_the-twentieth-century-ended-with-its-dre_2206616.jpg" --- # The twentieth century ended with its dreams in ruins. The… ![“The twentieth century ended with its dreams in ruins. The notion of the community as a voluntary association of enlightened citizens has died forever. We realize how suffocatingly humane we've become, dedicated to moderation and the middle way. The suburbanization of the soul has overrun our…” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b17/anonymous-1_association_the-twentieth-century-ended-with-its-dre_2206616.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b17/anonymous-1_association_the-twentieth-century-ended-with-its-dre_2206616.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b17/anonymous-1_association_the-twentieth-century-ended-with-its-dre_2206616.jpg) > “The twentieth century ended with its dreams in ruins. The notion of the community as a voluntary association of enlightened citizens has died forever. We realize how suffocatingly humane we've become, dedicated to moderation and the middle way. The suburbanization of the soul has overrun our planet like the plague.” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author laments the loss of communal idealism, seeing modern society as overly moderate, homogenized, and spiritually stagnant. **In simple terms:** Modern society is overly moderate and stagnant. Key Takeaway Seek genuine community and purpose. Themes culture society modernity spirituality Mood reflective critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - community building - cultural criticism - personal development - urban planning Key Concepts alienation conformity urbanization Questions to Reflect On - How can we revive authentic communal bonds? - What role does moderation play in societal health? A Different Perspective Idealism may ignore practical constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Dedicated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dedicated/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Enlightened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightened/) [Middle way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-way/) [Moderation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moderation/) [Plague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plague/) [Ruins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruins/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Twentieth century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twentieth-century/) ## Related quotes > [The 20th century ended with a single surviving model of human progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/the-20th-century-ended-with-a-single-surviving-model-of-human-progress/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [As the 20th century ended, there were around 120 democracies in the world - and I can assure you more are on the way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/as-the-20th-century-ended-there-were-around-120-democracies-in-the/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [“It is the middle way between chaos and rigidity—the flow of independent voices linked together in harmony—that”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-the-middle-way-between-chaos-and-rigidity-the-flow-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ignorant people see life as either existence or non-existence, but wise men see it beyond both existence and non-existence to something that transcends them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ignorant-people-see-life-as-either-existence-or-non-existence-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Leadership is liberating people to do what is required of them in the most effective and humane way possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/leadership-is-liberating-people-to-do-what-is-required-of-them-in-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is in general good reason to suppose that in several respects the gods could all benefit from instruction by us human beings. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-in-general-good-reason-to-suppose-that-in-several-respects-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being connected to other people and learning about their lives exercises the muscle of empathy. Empathy is a key component to our sanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-connected-to-other-people-and-learning-about-their-lives/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“...that this monster, who is only one in form, has a heart so humane that he should not be persecuted for a deformity which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-this-monster-who-is-only-one-in-form-has-a-heart-so-humane-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [They hate kings, they hate priests, they hate soldiers, they hate sailors. They distrust men of science, they denounce the middle classes, they despair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-hate-kings-they-hate-priests-they-hate-soldiers-they-hate/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To be able to realize our own mistake, accept and try to fix it, is what makes us, more humane than the one that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-able-to-realize-our-own-mistake-accept-and-try-to-fix-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Accept who you are Because thats beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/accept-who-you-are-because-thats-beautiful/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Lest we forget: It is easy to be human, very hard to be humane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lest-we-forget-it-is-easy-to-be-human-very-hard-to-be-humane/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When it comes to animal agriculture, there is conventional, which is rally hideous, and 'compassionate' and 'certified humane' or whatever, which 'may' be 'slightly'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-it-comes-to-animal-agriculture-there-is-conventional-which-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Individually, we've taken the world on and won; together, we must take on the challenge of creating a new, peaceful, humane and competitive nation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/individually-we-ve-taken-the-world-on-and-won-together-we-must-take/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Peace does not mean an absence of conflicts; differences will always be there. Peace means solving these differences through peaceful means; through dialogue, education,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/peace-does-not-mean-an-absence-of-conflicts-differences-will-always/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Association quotes > [If you are poor, shun association with him who measures men with the yardstick of riches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/if-you-are-poor-shun-association-with-him-who-measures-men-with-the/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [So few men are really worth knowing, that it seems a shameful waste to let an anthropoid prejudice stand in the way of free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/so-few-men-are-really-worth-knowing-that-it-seems-a-shameful-waste-to/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [For rich children, it'd be very easy and convenient never to take any steps to build an identity outside of your association with your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-johnson/for-rich-children-it-d-be-very-easy-and-convenient-never-to-take-any/) [Jamie Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-johnson/) > [I am a member of that small, little group that covers - I'm a member of the White House correspondents association. I go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-am-a-member-of-that-small-little-group-that-covers-i-m-a-member-of/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Most of the more celebrated names among African-American authors, poets, and artists are known to the world because of their association with specific cultural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aberjhani/most-of-the-more-celebrated-names-among-african-american-authors/) [Aberjhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aberjhani/) > [While opponents label (Howard) Dean a throwback liberal, The New York Times recently noted that as governor, Dean cut income taxes, reformed welfare and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/while-opponents-label-howard-dean-a-throwback-liberal-the-new-york/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [Anarchism is a definite intellectual current in the life of our times, whose adherents advocate the abolition of economic monopolies and of all political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-rocker/anarchism-is-a-definite-intellectual-current-in-the-life-of-our-times/) [Rudolf Rocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-rocker/) > [The feedback that I get from my association with Gomez is heartwarming. It is very difficult for me to take anything but a positive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-astin/the-feedback-that-i-get-from-my-association-with-gomez-is/) [John Astin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-astin/) > [Public and private funds have been thrown around like confetti at a country fair, to close up and destroy clinics, hospitals, and scientific research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-fitzgerald/public-and-private-funds-have-been-thrown-around-like-confetti-at-a/) Benedict Fitzgerald > [ \[T\]here are, at bottom, basically two ways to order social affairs, Coercively, through the mechanisms of the state - what we can call political… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-crane/t-here-are-at-bottom-basically-two-ways-to-order-social-affairs/) [Ed Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-crane/) > [Whatever withdraws us from the power of our senses; whatever makes the past, the distant, or the future, predominate over the present, advances us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/whatever-withdraws-us-from-the-power-of-our-senses-whatever-makes-the/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The Stroke Association has produced leaflets that set out clearly the health risks associated with stroke that African-Caribbean people face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linford-christie/the-stroke-association-has-produced-leaflets-that-set-out-clearly-the/) [Linford Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linford-christie/) > [The regular division of the plane into congruent figures evoking an association in the observer with a familiar natural object is one of these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-escher/the-regular-division-of-the-plane-into-congruent-figures-evoking-an/) [M. C. Escher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-c-escher/) > [Marriage is an association of two persons for the purpose of making one the beneficiary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/marriage-is-an-association-of-two-persons-for-the-purpose-of-making/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [With a shiver of foreboding he saw his marriage becoming what most of the other marriages about him were: a dull association of material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/with-a-shiver-of-foreboding-he-saw-his-marriage-becoming-what-most-of/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) Browse all 863 Association quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The twentieth century ended with its dreams in ruins. The notion of the community as a voluntary association of enlightened citizens has died forever. We realize how suffocatingly humane we've become, dedicated to moderation and the middle way. The suburbanization of the soul has overrun our planet like the plague.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-twentieth-century-ended-with-its-dreams-in-ruins-the-notion-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Association" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-twentieth-century-ended-with-its-dreams-in-ruins-the-notion-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b17/anonymous-1_association_the-twentieth-century-ended-with-its-dre_2206616.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b17/anonymous-1_association_the-twentieth-century-ended-with-its-dre_2206616.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b17/anonymous-1_association_the-twentieth-century-ended-with-its-dre_2206616.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The twentieth century ended with its dreams in ruins. The notion of the community as a voluntary association…” — Anonymous", "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": "Anonymous", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The twentieth century ended with its...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-twentieth-century-ended-with-its-dreams-in-ruins-the-notion-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-twentieth-century-ended-with-its-dreams-in-ruins-the-notion-of/#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 } } ] } ```