--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The crisis creates situations which are…" description: "\"“The crisis creates situations which are dangerous in the short run, since the various strata of the population are not all capable of orienting themse..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f0/antonio-gramsci-12150_class-struggle_the-crisis-creates-situations-which-are_1840807.jpg" --- # The crisis creates situations which are dangerous in the… ![“The crisis creates situations which are dangerous in the short run, since the various strata of the population are not all capable of orienting themselves equally swiftly, or of reorganizing with the same rhythm. The traditional ruling class, which has numerous trained cadres, changes men and…” quote by Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f0/antonio-gramsci-12150_class-struggle_the-crisis-creates-situations-which-are_1840807.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f0/antonio-gramsci-12150_class-struggle_the-crisis-creates-situations-which-are_1840807.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f0/antonio-gramsci-12150_class-struggle_the-crisis-creates-situations-which-are_1840807.jpg) > ““The crisis creates situations which are dangerous in the short run, since the various strata of the population are not all capable of orienting themselves equally swiftly, or of reorganizing with the same rhythm. The traditional ruling class, which has numerous trained cadres, changes men and programmes and, with greater speed than is achieved by the subordinate classes, reabsorbs the control that was slipping from its grasp. Perhaps it may make sacrifices, and expose itself to an uncertain future by demagogic promises; but it retains power, reinforces it for the time being, and uses it to crush its adversary and disperse his leading cadres, who cannot be be very numerous or highly trained.”” [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Crises allow ruling elites to quickly reassert control, while subordinate groups struggle to adapt at the same pace, often leading to repression of dissent. **In simple terms:** Crises help elites regain power while others lag. Key Takeaway Recognize power dynamics in crises. Themes politics power crisis control repression Mood tense critical Type political analytical When to use this quote - political upheaval - social movements - revolutionary periods - labor strikes - policy shifts Key Concepts hegemony state social stratification elite theory Questions to Reflect On - How do marginalized groups counter rapid elite consolidation? - What mechanisms enable swift adaptation among subalterns? A Different Perspective Elite advantage may be overstated; grassroots can also mobilize rapidly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cadres Changes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cadres-changes-2348447/) [Class struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class-struggle/) [Crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crisis/) [Crisis Creates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crisis-creates-2348445/) [Hegemony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hegemony/) [Organizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organizing/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Ruling class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruling-class/) [Trained Cadres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trained-cadres-2348446/) [Uncertain future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uncertain-future/) ## Related quotes > [The history of mankind is a history of the subjugation and exploitation of a great majority of people by an elite few by what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-crane/the-history-of-mankind-is-a-history-of-the-subjugation-and/) [Ed Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-crane/) > [Most people move actually into high performance in a crisis because that creates the kind of focus that creates high performance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-allen/most-people-move-actually-into-high-performance-in-a-crisis-because/) [David Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-allen/) > [A crisis creates the opportunity to dip deep into the reservoirs of our very being, to rise to levels of confidence, strength, and resolve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-m-huntsman-sr/a-crisis-creates-the-opportunity-to-dip-deep-into-the-reservoirs-of/) [Jon M. Huntsman Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-m-huntsman-sr/) > [Crisis creates leverage to change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-rauner/crisis-creates-leverage-to-change/) [Bruce Rauner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-rauner/) > [Crisis creates opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-rauner/crisis-creates-opportunity/) [Bruce Rauner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-rauner/) > [The philosophy of praxis does not aim at the peaceful resolution of existing contradictions in history and society, but is the very theory of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/the-philosophy-of-praxis-does-not-aim-at-the-peaceful-resolution-of/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [“When one considers American history as a whole, it is hard to think of any very long period in which it could be said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hofstadter/when-one-considers-american-history-as-a-whole-it-is-hard-to-think-of/) [Richard Hofstadter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hofstadter/) > [Religions often partake of the myth of progress that shields us from the terrors of an uncertain future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/religions-often-partake-of-the-myth-of-progress-that-shields-us-from/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [Everyone's future is uncertain life moves on very fast, girls come and go, while money is the same... Some people need and want loyalty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mccarty/everyone-s-future-is-uncertain-life-moves-on-very-fast-girls-come-and/) [Kevin Mccarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mccarty/) > [Auto repair, piloting, skiing, perhaps even management: these are skills that yield to application, hard work, and native talent. But forecasting an uncertain future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/auto-repair-piloting-skiing-perhaps-even-management-these-are-skills/) [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) > [“It is always a starkly private moment when a governor first apprehends his subject as a man—perhaps not as an equal, but at least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/it-is-always-a-starkly-private-moment-when-a-governor-first/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [“If there was one great benefit to the whole practice of art, it was to focus him in the “now,” where the ugly past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-mckenna/if-there-was-one-great-benefit-to-the-whole-practice-of-art-it-was-to/) [Christina McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-mckenna/) > [I like to define biology as the history of the earth and all its life - past, present, and future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/i-like-to-define-biology-as-the-history-of-the-earth-and-all-its-life/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [Religion often partakes of the myth of progress that shields us from the terrors of an uncertain future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/religion-often-partakes-of-the-myth-of-progress-that-shields-us-from/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [When the uncertain future becomes the past, the past in turn becomes uncertain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/when-the-uncertain-future-becomes-the-past-the-past-in-turn-becomes/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) ## More by Antonio Gramsci > [A social group can, indeed must, already exercise 'leadership' before winning governmental power (this is indeed one of the principal conditions for the winning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/a-social-group-can-indeed-must-already-exercise-leadership-before/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [I'm a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/i-m-a-pessimist-because-of-intelligence-but-an-optimist-because-of/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [All men are intellectuals, but not all men have in society the function of intellectuals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/all-men-are-intellectuals-but-not-all-men-have-in-society-the/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [How many times have I wondered if it is really possible to forge links with a mass of people when one has never had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/how-many-times-have-i-wondered-if-it-is-really-possible-to-forge/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [“The challenge of modernity is to live without illusions and without becoming disillusioned. I’m a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/the-challenge-of-modernity-is-to-live-without-illusions-and-without/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [The people themselves are not a homogeneous cultural collectivity but present numerous and variously combined cultural stratifications which, in their pure form, cannot always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/the-people-themselves-are-not-a-homogeneous-cultural-collectivity-but/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [Indifference is the dead weight of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/indifference-is-the-dead-weight-of-history/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [My practicality consists in this, in the knowledge that if you beat your head against the wall it is your head which breaks and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/my-practicality-consists-in-this-in-the-knowledge-that-if-you-beat/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [“We need to free ourselves from the habit of seeing culture as encyclopedia knowledge, and men as mere receptacles to be stuffed full of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/we-need-to-free-ourselves-from-the-habit-of-seeing-culture-as/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [The abolition of the class struggle does not mean the abolition of the need to struggle as a principle of development.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/the-abolition-of-the-class-struggle-does-not-mean-the-abolition-of/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [From the moment when a subordinate class becomes really independent and dominant, calling into being a new type of State, the need arises concretely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/from-the-moment-when-a-subordinate-class-becomes-really-independent/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [“Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/pessimism-of-the-intellect-optimism-of-the-will/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [What are the "maximum" limits of acceptance of the term "intellectual"?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/what-are-the-maximum-limits-of-acceptance-of-the-term-intellectual/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [This is really the common mentality of prisoners: they read with great attention all the articles that deal with illnesses and send away for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/this-is-really-the-common-mentality-of-prisoners-they-read-with-great/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [Before puberty the child's personality has not yet formed and it is easier to guide its life and make it acquire specific habits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/before-puberty-the-child-s-personality-has-not-yet-formed-and-it-is/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) [Explore all 49 Antonio Gramsci quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) ## More Class struggle quotes > [Starting from the very reasonable, but unfortunately revolutionary concept that social practices which threaten the continuation of life on Earth must be changed, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judi-bari/starting-from-the-very-reasonable-but-unfortunately-revolutionary/) [Judi Bari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judi-bari/) > [The class struggle necessarily leads to the dictatorship of the proletariat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/the-class-struggle-necessarily-leads-to-the-dictatorship-of-the/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [“As a battle cry against feudalism, the demand for democracy had a progressive character. As time went on, however, the metaphysics of natural law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/as-a-battle-cry-against-feudalism-the-demand-for-democracy-had-a/) [Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/) > [All history has been a history of class struggles between dominated classes at various stages of social development.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/all-history-has-been-a-history-of-class-struggles-between-dominated/) [Friedrich Engels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-engels/) > [The same old caveman feeling-greed, envy, violence, and mutual hate, which along the way assumed respectable pseudonyms like class struggle, racial struggle, mass struggle,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/the-same-old-caveman-feeling-greed-envy-violence-and-mutual-hate/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [“We in the West are accustomed to thinking that humans are all basically the same underneath our different cultural clothing, that the concerns the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-cushman/we-in-the-west-are-accustomed-to-thinking-that-humans-are-all/) [Philip Cushman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-cushman/) > [“The class struggle had a just motive, and Socialism at the beginning was in the right. What has happened is that instead of pursuing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-antonio-rivera/the-class-struggle-had-a-just-motive-and-socialism-at-the-beginning/) [José Antonio Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-antonio-rivera/) > [“Totalitarian politics—far from being simply antisemitic or racist or imperialist or communist—use and abuse their own ideological and political elements until the basis of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/totalitarian-politics-far-from-being-simply-antisemitic-or-racist-or/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [The Latin American Left, the criollos, direct descendents of Spaniards, they don't want to accept that they are the whites of Latin America. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bocafloja/the-latin-american-left-the-criollos-direct-descendents-of-spaniards/) [Bocafloja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bocafloja/) > [Wherever capitalism appears, in pursuit of its mission of exploitation, there will Socialism, fertilized by misery, watered by tears, and vitalized by agitation be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-v-debs/wherever-capitalism-appears-in-pursuit-of-its-mission-of-exploitation/) [Eugene V. Debs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-v-debs/) > [The Republican and Democratic parties, or, to be more exact, the Republican-Democratic party, represent the capitalist class in the class struggle. They are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-v-debs/the-republican-and-democratic-parties-or-to-be-more-exact-the/) [Eugene V. Debs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-v-debs/) > [“Have private property, capitalist exploitation and class rule ceased to exist? Or, have the propertied classes in a spell of patriotic fervour declared: in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosa-luxemburg/have-private-property-capitalist-exploitation-and-class-rule-ceased/) [Rosa Luxemburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosa-luxemburg/) > [“Actual class struggles apart, one of the aesthetic ways you could prove that there was a class system in America was by cogitating on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/actual-class-struggles-apart-one-of-the-aesthetic-ways-you-could/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [As the class struggle sharpens in the U.S. Marxism will come into its own as a great popular study.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-l-r-james/as-the-class-struggle-sharpens-in-the-u-s-marxism-will-come-into-its/) [C. L. R. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-l-r-james/) > [“My own outlook and my values had been formed long ago. I did not believe in dividing people into rigid classes, and I did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nien-cheng/my-own-outlook-and-my-values-had-been-formed-long-ago-i-did-not/) [Nien Cheng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nien-cheng/) [Browse all 153 Class struggle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class-struggle/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The crisis creates situations which are dangerous in the short run, since the various strata of the population are not all capable of orienting themselves equally swiftly, or of reorganizing with the same rhythm. The traditional ruling class, which has numerous trained cadres, changes men and programmes and, with greater speed than is achieved by the subordinate classes, reabsorbs the control that was slipping from its grasp. Perhaps it may make sacrifices, and expose itself to an uncertain future by demagogic promises; but it retains power, reinforces it for the time being, and uses it to crush its adversary and disperse his leading cadres, who cannot be be very numerous or highly trained.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Antonio Gramsci" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/the-crisis-creates-situations-which-are-dangerous-in-the-short-run/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Class struggle" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/the-crisis-creates-situations-which-are-dangerous-in-the-short-run/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f0/antonio-gramsci-12150_class-struggle_the-crisis-creates-situations-which-are_1840807.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f0/antonio-gramsci-12150_class-struggle_the-crisis-creates-situations-which-are_1840807.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f0/antonio-gramsci-12150_class-struggle_the-crisis-creates-situations-which-are_1840807.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The crisis creates situations which are dangerous in the short run, since the various strata of the…” — Antonio Gramsci", "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": "Antonio Gramsci", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The crisis creates situations which are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/the-crisis-creates-situations-which-are-dangerous-in-the-short-run/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/the-crisis-creates-situations-which-are-dangerous-in-the-short-run/#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 } } ] } ```