--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Never before in human history have so few…" description: "\"Never before in human history have so few owed so much to so many, Mr. Jiabao. A handful of men in this country have trained the remaining 99.9 percent..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99d/aravind-adiga-4424_country_never-before-in-human-history-have-so-fe_2306519.png" --- # Never before in human history have so few owed so much to… ![“Never before in human history have so few owed so much to so many, Mr. Jiabao. A handful of men in this country have trained the remaining 99.9 percent—as strong, as talented, as inteligent in every way—to exist in perpetual servitude; a servitude so strong that you can put the key of his…” quote by Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99d/aravind-adiga-4424_country_never-before-in-human-history-have-so-fe_2306519.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99d/aravind-adiga-4424_country_never-before-in-human-history-have-so-fe_2306519.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99d/aravind-adiga-4424_country_never-before-in-human-history-have-so-fe_2306519.png) > “Never before in human history have so few owed so much to so many, Mr. Jiabao. A handful of men in this country have trained the remaining 99.9 percent—as strong, as talented, as inteligent in every way—to exist in perpetual servitude; a servitude so strong that you can put the key of his emancipation in a man's hands and he will throw it back at you with a curse.” [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He critiques a system where a tiny elite controls the masses, noting that even when offered liberation, the oppressed may reject it due to deep‑rooted servitude. **In simple terms:** A few powerful people dominate and the oppressed may resist freedom. Key Takeaway Question how power structures shape collective mindset. Themes power inequality servitude resistance Mood critical somber Type political analytical When to use this quote - political reform - labor movements - education initiatives - community organizing Key Concepts economic disparity psychology of oppression elite control Questions to Reflect On - Why might people cling to familiar oppression? - What can empower marginalized groups to accept change? A Different Perspective The view may overlook individual agency and varied motivations among the oppressed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Curse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curse/) [Emancipation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emancipation/) [Emancipation Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emancipation-man-3569489/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Keys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keys/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Owed Mr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/owed-mr-5464153/) [Perpetual Servitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perpetual-servitude-5464151/) [Servitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/servitude/) [Servitude Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/servitude-strong-5464152/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) [Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong/) [Trained Remaining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trained-remaining-5464154/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [The emancipation of man is the emancipation of labor and the emancipation of labor is the freeing of that basic majority of workers who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/the-emancipation-of-man-is-the-emancipation-of-labor-and-the/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [People who care about each other enjoy doing things for one another. They don't consider it servitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-landers/people-who-care-about-each-other-enjoy-doing-things-for-one-another/) [Ann Landers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-landers/) > [God cannot approve of a system of servitude, in which the master is guilty of assuming absolute power - of assuming God's place and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerrit-smith/god-cannot-approve-of-a-system-of-servitude-in-which-the-master-is/) [Gerrit Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerrit-smith/) > [ One has freedom as the principal means of action; the other has servitude. Their . . . paths \[are\] diverse; nevertheless, each seems called… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/one-has-freedom-as-the-principal-means-of-action-the-other-has/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Whereas, Slavery, throughout its entire existence in the United States is none other than a most barbarous, unprovoked, and unjustifiable War of one portion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brown/whereas-slavery-throughout-its-entire-existence-in-the-united-states/) [John Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brown/) > [The will to domination is a ravenous beast. There are never enough warm bodies to satiate its monstrous hunger. Once alive, this beast grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/the-will-to-domination-is-a-ravenous-beast-there-are-never-enough/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [“Enslavement to God signifies liberation from all other forms of servitude, and although modern man may think that he is liberated, he is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-w-flood/enslavement-to-god-signifies-liberation-from-all-other-forms-of/) [Donald W. Flood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-w-flood/) > [God give you pardon from gratitude and other mild forms of servitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-creeley/god-give-you-pardon-from-gratitude-and-other-mild-forms-of-servitude/) [Robert Creeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-creeley/) > [“Your realm is an insane place. In Volaria, no-one goes hungry, slaves are no use when they starve. Those freeborn too lazy or lacking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-ryan/your-realm-is-an-insane-place-in-volaria-no-one-goes-hungry-slaves/) [Anthony Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-ryan/) > [There will be in the next generation or so a pharmacological method of making people love their servitude and producing dictatorship without tears, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/there-will-be-in-the-next-generation-or-so-a-pharmacological-method/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [As political and economic freedom diminishes, sexual freedom tends correspondingly to increase. And the dictator will do well to encourage that freedom...it will help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/as-political-and-economic-freedom-diminishes-sexual-freedom-tends/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [ The heart becomes sick, as the body becomes sick, and its remedy is al-Tawbah (repentance) and protection \[from transgression\]. It becomes rusty as a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-qayyim-al-jawziyya/the-heart-becomes-sick-as-the-body-becomes-sick-and-its-remedy-is-al/) [Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-qayyim-al-jawziyya/) > [Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/crouch-down-and-lick-the-hands-which-feed-you-may-your-chains-sit/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [This is servitude, To serve th'unwise, or him who hath rebelled Against his worthier, as thine now serve thee, Thyself not free, but to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/this-is-servitude-to-serve-th-unwise-or-him-who-hath-rebelled-against/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [My days – the blossom of my youth and the flower of my manhood – have been darkened by the dreariness of servitude. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-o-connell/my-days-the-blossom-of-my-youth-and-the-flower-of-my-manhood-have/) [Daniel O'Connell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-o-connell/) ## More by Aravind Adiga > [Columbia University, where I went to study in 1993, insisted its undergraduates learn a foreign language, so I discovered French.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/columbia-university-where-i-went-to-study-in-1993-insisted-its/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [What keeps India safe really is the heroism of millions of poor Indians who every day reject the allure of terrorism. What keeps India…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/what-keeps-india-safe-really-is-the-heroism-of-millions-of-poor/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“Every day, on the roads of Delhi, some chauffeur is driving an empty car with a black suitcase sitting on the backseat. 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I have woken up, and the rest of you are sleeping, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/you-ask-are-you-a-man-or-a-demon-neither-i-say-i-have-woken-up-and/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [I’ve lived in several countries and been a disaster everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/i-ve-lived-in-several-countries-and-been-a-disaster-everywhere/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [Neither. I am just one who has woken up while the rest of you are still sleeping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/neither-i-am-just-one-who-has-woken-up-while-the-rest-of-you-are/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“People in this country are still waiting for the war of their freedom to come from somewhere else, from the jungles, from the mountains,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/people-in-this-country-are-still-waiting-for-the-war-of-their-freedom/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“These people were building homes for the rich, but they lived in tents covered with blue tarpaulin sheets, and partitioned into lanes by lines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/these-people-were-building-homes-for-the-rich-but-they-lived-in-tents/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“And then he realized that the thing that was blocking his passage was cleared, and he was falling; his body had begun its short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/and-then-he-realized-that-the-thing-that-was-blocking-his-passage-was/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“When it comes to work - hurry, hurry, hurry. When it comes to payment - delay, delay, delay. Caste, religion, family background nothing. Talent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/when-it-comes-to-work-hurry-hurry-hurry-when-it-comes-to-payment/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“There was a fierce jam on the road to Gurgaon. Every five minutes the traffic would tremble - we'd move a foot - hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/there-was-a-fierce-jam-on-the-road-to-gurgaon-every-five-minutes-the/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“From the advertisement, his eyes moved up the skywalk, the zigzagging metal bridge that connected various locations in the neighborhood to the Banda train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/from-the-advertisement-his-eyes-moved-up-the-skywalk-the-zigzagging/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [It's amazing. The moment you show cash, everyone knows your language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/it-s-amazing-the-moment-you-show-cash-everyone-knows-your-language/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“Even here, in the weight machine of a train station, they try to hoodwink us. Here, on the threshold of a man's freedom, just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/even-here-in-the-weight-machine-of-a-train-station-they-try-to/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) [Explore all 111 Aravind Adiga quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) ## More Country quotes > [I love playing for my country, getting the support. 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