--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The word 'We' is as lime poured over men…" description: "\"The word 'We' is as lime poured over men, which sets and hardens to stone, and crushes all beneath it, and that which is white and that which is black ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/ayn-rand-59_steal_the-word-we-is-as-lime-poured-over-men-w_2681993.jpg" --- # The word 'We' is as lime poured over men, which sets and… ![“The word 'We' is as lime poured over men, which sets and hardens to stone, and crushes all beneath it, and that which is white and that which is black are lost equally in the grey of it. It is the word by which the depraved steal the virtue of the good, by which the weak steal the might of the…” quote by Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/ayn-rand-59_steal_the-word-we-is-as-lime-poured-over-men-w_2681993.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/ayn-rand-59_steal_the-word-we-is-as-lime-poured-over-men-w_2681993.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/ayn-rand-59_steal_the-word-we-is-as-lime-poured-over-men-w_2681993.jpg) > “The word 'We' is as lime poured over men, which sets and hardens to stone, and crushes all beneath it, and that which is white and that which is black are lost equally in the grey of it. It is the word by which the depraved steal the virtue of the good, by which the weak steal the might of the strong, by which the fools steal the wisdom of the sages.” [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The concept of “We” erodes individuality, forcing people into a homogenized, oppressive collective that destroys both virtue and wisdom. **In simple terms:** Collective identity suppresses individuality and truth. Key Takeaway Resist groupthink and protect personal integrity. Themes individualism collectivism power morality identity Mood critical reflective Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political movements - corporate cultures - social media groups - educational institutions Key Concepts philosophy political theory psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does group identity shape your values? - When can collective action be positive? A Different Perspective The quote may overgeneralize the negative aspects of community without acknowledging its benefits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [“The word "We" is as lime poured over men, which sets and hardens to stone, and crushes all beneath it, and that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/the-word-we-is-as-lime-poured-over-men-which-sets-and-hardens-to/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“For the word "We" must never be spoken, save by one's choice and as a second thought. This word must never be placed first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/for-the-word-we-must-never-be-spoken-save-by-one-s-choice-and-as-a/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Beware of the man who will not engage in idle conversation; he is planning to steal your walking stick or water your stock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-emerson/beware-of-the-man-who-will-not-engage-in-idle-conversation-he-is/) William Emerson > [“Having no applicable skills, in any possible area whatsoever, effectively makes me the master of redundancy. But that info is obsolete, like my insults…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-advise/having-no-applicable-skills-in-any-possible-area-whatsoever/) Will Advise > [“The schizophrenic in the sleeping bag with a live chicken and a can of tomato soup spilling onto the sidewalk had no right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/the-schizophrenic-in-the-sleeping-bag-with-a-live-chicken-and-a-can/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“You give a guy a license to steal, you've got to expect him to use it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sterling/you-give-a-guy-a-license-to-steal-you-ve-got-to-expect-him-to-use-it/) [Bruce Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-sterling/) > [“Life doesn’t make sense. It’s against the law for somebody to steal your bike but apparently it doesn’t matter if somebody tries to steal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-stratton/life-doesn-t-make-sense-it-s-against-the-law-for-somebody-to-steal/) [Allan Stratton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-stratton/) > [I think I probably have the philosophy of a poor man. You know, like maybe I'd steal the pennies off a dead man's eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cassavetes/i-think-i-probably-have-the-philosophy-of-a-poor-man-you-know-like/) [John Cassavetes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cassavetes/) > [Only two kinds of people exit in this world, those who steal and those who are stolen from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ciel-phantomhive/only-two-kinds-of-people-exit-in-this-world-those-who-steal-and-those/) [Ciel Phantomhive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ciel-phantomhive/) > [I looked at Randy White... I looked at Klecko. I looked at Gino Marchetti. I looked at a lot of players. Bob Lilly. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howie-long/i-looked-at-randy-white-i-looked-at-klecko-i-looked-at-gino-marchetti/) [Howie Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howie-long/) > [“Don't put your life in someone's hands They bound to steal it away Don't hide your mistakes 'Cause they'll find you, burn you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/three-days-grace/don-t-put-your-life-in-someone-s-hands-they-bound-to-steal-it-away/) [Three Days Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/three-days-grace/) > [Every now and then we could steal somebody else's stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-kooper/every-now-and-then-we-could-steal-somebody-else-s-stuff/) [Al Kooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-kooper/) > [“The fact that I can get away with something is the very reason why I shouldn’t do it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/the-fact-that-i-can-get-away-with-something-is-the-very-reason-why-i/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [Put plainly, China seems determined to steal its way up the economic ladder, at our expense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-a-wray/put-plainly-china-seems-determined-to-steal-its-way-up-the-economic/) [Christopher A. Wray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-a-wray/) > [ “\[..\] we human beings are ready and willing to steal something that does not explicitly reference monetary value - that is, something that lacks… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/we-human-beings-are-ready-and-willing-to-steal-something-that-does/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) ## More by Ayn Rand > [There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-white-lies-there-is-only-the-blackest-of-destruction-and/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [She watched the prairies the rivers, the towns slipping past at an untouchable distance below - and she noted that the sense of detachment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-watched-the-prairies-the-rivers-the-towns-slipping-past-at-an/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“This was reality, she thought, this sense of clear outlines, of purpose, of lightness, of hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-was-reality-she-thought-this-sense-of-clear-outlines-of-purpose/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [A “collective” mind does not exist. It is merely the sum of endless numbers of individual minds. If we have an endless number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/a-collective-mind-does-not-exist-it-is-merely-the-sum-of-endless/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Lobbying' is the activity of attempting to influence legislation by privately influencing the legislators. It is the result and creation of a mixed economy-of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/lobbying-is-the-activity-of-attempting-to-influence-legislation-by/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“She moved her hand and let it rest against his. He did not withdraw his fingers and he did not pretend indifference. She bent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-moved-her-hand-and-let-it-rest-against-his-he-did-not-withdraw/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [This miracle of me is mine to own and keep, and mine to guard, and mine to use, and mine to kneel before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-miracle-of-me-is-mine-to-own-and-keep-and-mine-to-guard-and-mine/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“There was still one response, the greatest, that she had missed. She thought: To find a feeling that would hold, as their sum, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-was-still-one-response-the-greatest-that-she-had-missed-she/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Inflation is not caused by the actions of private citizens, but by the government: by an artificial expansion of the money supply required to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/inflation-is-not-caused-by-the-actions-of-private-citizens-but-by-the/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“We are fornicating in the sight of six billion people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-fornicating-in-the-sight-of-six-billion-people/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“She was fifteen when it occurred to her for the first time that women did not run railroads and that people might object. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-was-fifteen-when-it-occurred-to-her-for-the-first-time-that-women/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Fransisco, you're some kind of very high nobility, aren't you?" He answered, "Not yet. The reason my family has lasted for such a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/fransisco-you-re-some-kind-of-very-high-nobility-aren-t-you-he/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Have you felt it too? Have you seen how your best friends love everything about you- except the things that count? And your most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/have-you-felt-it-too-have-you-seen-how-your-best-friends-love/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Every coercive monopoly was created by government intervention into the economy: by special privileges, such as franchises or subsidies, which closed the entry of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/every-coercive-monopoly-was-created-by-government-intervention-into/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [We are all brothers under the skin - and I, for one, would be willing to skin humanity to prove it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-all-brothers-under-the-skin-and-i-for-one-would-be-willing-to/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) [Explore all 1,777 Ayn Rand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## More Steal quotes > [ “\[..\] we human beings are ready and willing to steal something that does not explicitly reference monetary value - that is, something that lacks… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/we-human-beings-are-ready-and-willing-to-steal-something-that-does/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [Put plainly, China seems determined to steal its way up the economic ladder, at our expense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-a-wray/put-plainly-china-seems-determined-to-steal-its-way-up-the-economic/) [Christopher A. Wray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-a-wray/) > [“The fact that I can get away with something is the very reason why I shouldn’t do it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/the-fact-that-i-can-get-away-with-something-is-the-very-reason-why-i/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [Every now and then we could steal somebody else's stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-kooper/every-now-and-then-we-could-steal-somebody-else-s-stuff/) [Al Kooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-kooper/) > [“Don't put your life in someone's hands They bound to steal it away Don't hide your mistakes 'Cause they'll find you, burn you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/three-days-grace/don-t-put-your-life-in-someone-s-hands-they-bound-to-steal-it-away/) [Three Days Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/three-days-grace/) > [I looked at Randy White... I looked at Klecko. I looked at Gino Marchetti. I looked at a lot of players. Bob Lilly. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howie-long/i-looked-at-randy-white-i-looked-at-klecko-i-looked-at-gino-marchetti/) [Howie Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howie-long/) > [Only two kinds of people exit in this world, those who steal and those who are stolen from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ciel-phantomhive/only-two-kinds-of-people-exit-in-this-world-those-who-steal-and-those/) [Ciel Phantomhive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ciel-phantomhive/) > [I think I probably have the philosophy of a poor man. You know, like maybe I'd steal the pennies off a dead man's eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cassavetes/i-think-i-probably-have-the-philosophy-of-a-poor-man-you-know-like/) [John Cassavetes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cassavetes/) > [“Life doesn’t make sense. It’s against the law for somebody to steal your bike but apparently it doesn’t matter if somebody tries to steal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-stratton/life-doesn-t-make-sense-it-s-against-the-law-for-somebody-to-steal/) [Allan Stratton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-stratton/) > [“You give a guy a license to steal, you've got to expect him to use it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sterling/you-give-a-guy-a-license-to-steal-you-ve-got-to-expect-him-to-use-it/) [Bruce Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-sterling/) > [“The schizophrenic in the sleeping bag with a live chicken and a can of tomato soup spilling onto the sidewalk had no right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/the-schizophrenic-in-the-sleeping-bag-with-a-live-chicken-and-a-can/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Having no applicable skills, in any possible area whatsoever, effectively makes me the master of redundancy. But that info is obsolete, like my insults…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-advise/having-no-applicable-skills-in-any-possible-area-whatsoever/) Will Advise > [Beware of the man who will not engage in idle conversation; he is planning to steal your walking stick or water your stock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-emerson/beware-of-the-man-who-will-not-engage-in-idle-conversation-he-is/) William Emerson > [I spent a lot of time drawing and writing little comic books, and my mom was a rapper, so I would steal her instrumentals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-thee-stallion/i-spent-a-lot-of-time-drawing-and-writing-little-comic-books-and-my/) [Megan Thee Stallion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-thee-stallion/) > [“If you don't take inventory of your blessings, ingratitude will try to steal them from you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/if-you-don-t-take-inventory-of-your-blessings-ingratitude-will-try-to/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) Browse all 885 Steal quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The word 'We' is as lime poured over men, which sets and hardens to stone, and crushes all beneath it, and that which is white and that which is black are lost equally in the grey of it. 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