--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hierarchy is a toxic inheritance from…" description: "\"“Hierarchy is a toxic inheritance from previous eras that we keep reproducing as a matter of our social reproduction, but that does not mean it is an e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b1/bob-torres-29260_hierarchy_hierarchy-is-a-toxic-inheritance-from-pr_3134873.jpg" --- # Hierarchy is a toxic inheritance from previous eras that… ![“Hierarchy is a toxic inheritance from previous eras that we keep reproducing as a matter of our social reproduction, but that does not mean it is an essential, necessary, or unavoidable aspect of our humanity.” quote by Bob Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b1/bob-torres-29260_hierarchy_hierarchy-is-a-toxic-inheritance-from-pr_3134873.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b1/bob-torres-29260_hierarchy_hierarchy-is-a-toxic-inheritance-from-pr_3134873.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b1/bob-torres-29260_hierarchy_hierarchy-is-a-toxic-inheritance-from-pr_3134873.jpg) > ““Hierarchy is a toxic inheritance from previous eras that we keep reproducing as a matter of our social reproduction, but that does not mean it is an essential, necessary, or unavoidable aspect of our humanity.”” [Bob Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-torres/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hierarchy is a legacy system that persists through cultural transmission, not a biological necessity. **In simple terms:** Hierarchy is learned, not innate. Key Takeaway Question and redesign social structures. Themes social hierarchy culture change human nature Mood critical reflective Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - workplace - education - government - family - community Key Concepts sociology social reproduction power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How does hierarchy affect your daily interactions? - What alternatives can replace hierarchical models? A Different Perspective Changing deep-rooted hierarchies is slow and faces resistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hierarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hierarchy/) [Hierarchy Toxic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hierarchy-toxic-5560257/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Social Reproduction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-reproduction-5560259/) [Toxic Inheritance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/toxic-inheritance-5560258/) ## Related quotes > [“We need to challenge the hierarchy in our own lives, and begin living in a way that promotes mutuality. If we take this point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-torres/we-need-to-challenge-the-hierarchy-in-our-own-lives-and-begin-living/) [Bob Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-torres/) > [Our economic order is tightly woven around the exploitation of animals, and while it may seem easy to dismiss concern about animals as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-torres/our-economic-order-is-tightly-woven-around-the-exploitation-of/) [Bob Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-torres/) > [Every education system on Earth has the same hierarchy of subjects: at the top are mathematics and languages, then the humanities, and the bottom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-robinson/every-education-system-on-earth-has-the-same-hierarchy-of-subjects-at/) [Ken Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-robinson/) > [Love is the supreme form of communication. In the hierarchy of needs, love stands as the supreme developing agent of the humanity of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-montagu/love-is-the-supreme-form-of-communication-in-the-hierarchy-of-needs/) [Ashley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-montagu/) > [The discovery that heartbreak is indeed heartbreaking consoles us about our humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-discovery-that-heartbreak-is-indeed-heartbreaking-consoles-us/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [The 'human situation,' in all its guises, is what good films are all about, and technical skill counts for nothing if it is used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-dmytryk/the-human-situation-in-all-its-guises-is-what-good-films-are-all/) [Edward Dmytryk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-dmytryk/) > [A hard heart makes for hard judgments; a compassionate heart understands the humanity of the one we presume to judge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/a-hard-heart-makes-for-hard-judgments-a-compassionate-heart/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [One cannot deny the humanity of another without diminishing one's own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/one-cannot-deny-the-humanity-of-another-without-diminishing-one-s-own/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-must-not-lose-faith-in-humanity-humanity-is-like-an-ocean-if-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He is not humanity deified. He is not Godhead humanized. He is God. He is man. He is all that God is, and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/he-is-not-humanity-deified-he-is-not-godhead-humanized-he-is-god-he/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [“I now know that deep within the human concept is something dark, selfish, and completely willing to do whatever is necessary to support the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-west/i-now-know-that-deep-within-the-human-concept-is-something-dark/) [Melissa West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-west/) > [“Is there any holy beings like human beings?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/is-there-any-holy-beings-like-human-beings/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) ## More by Bob Torres > [If we're all led to believe that poverty is just a matter of laziness or stupidity or whatever other justifications we can come up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-torres/if-we-re-all-led-to-believe-that-poverty-is-just-a-matter-of-laziness/) [Bob Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-torres/) > [“Capitalism is marked by a division between classes, with one class holding private ownership of the means of production, and another class forced to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-torres/capitalism-is-marked-by-a-division-between-classes-with-one-class/) [Bob Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-torres/) > [“In her book Tangled Routes: Women, Work, and Globalization on the Tomato Trail, Deborah Barndt examines the seemingly simple tomato from its historic and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-torres/in-her-book-tangled-routes-women-work-and-globalization-on-the-tomato/) [Bob Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-torres/) > [“Much as we live in an economic and social order that is structured to exploit people, we live in one that is structured to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-torres/much-as-we-live-in-an-economic-and-social-order-that-is-structured-to/) [Bob Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-torres/) > [“We can argue about their intelligence (which we would likely define in human-centric terms anyway), their ability to understand human language, or even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-torres/we-can-argue-about-their-intelligence-which-we-would-likely-define-in/) [Bob Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-torres/) > [“What, then, is the solution to this moral schizophrenia we have about animals? According to Francione, we only have two choices: we either continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-torres/what-then-is-the-solution-to-this-moral-schizophrenia-we-have-about/) [Bob Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-torres/) > [“Just as humanity has extended this basic equal consideration to humans (including those who were once outside of our moral community), we must extend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-torres/just-as-humanity-has-extended-this-basic-equal-consideration-to/) [Bob Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-torres/) > [Inevitably, people tell me that poor folks are lazy or unintelligent, that they are somehow deserving of their poverty. However, if you begin to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-torres/inevitably-people-tell-me-that-poor-folks-are-lazy-or-unintelligent/) [Bob Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-torres/) > [Our economic order is tightly woven around the exploitation of animals, and while it may seem easy to dismiss concern about animals as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-torres/our-economic-order-is-tightly-woven-around-the-exploitation-of/) [Bob Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-torres/) > [“What we see in stark relief is that the production of goods is about social relationships.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-torres/what-we-see-in-stark-relief-is-that-the-production-of-goods-is-about/) [Bob Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-torres/) > [“Given that animals are nothing more than mere tools for the production of capital, the only way to abolish their exploitation is to challenge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-torres/given-that-animals-are-nothing-more-than-mere-tools-for-the/) [Bob Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-torres/) > [“We have created a false dichotomy between behaviors attributable to companion animals and those of other species that blinds us to the inherent worth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-torres/we-have-created-a-false-dichotomy-between-behaviors-attributable-to/) [Bob Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-torres/) > [“If we’re to be successful fighting oppression—whether based on race, class, species, or gender identity—we’re going to need to fight the heart of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-torres/if-we-re-to-be-successful-fighting-oppression-whether-based-on-race/) [Bob Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-torres/) > [“We need to challenge the hierarchy in our own lives, and begin living in a way that promotes mutuality. If we take this point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-torres/we-need-to-challenge-the-hierarchy-in-our-own-lives-and-begin-living/) [Bob Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-torres/) > [“Capitalism not only validates precapitalist notions of the domination of nature by man; it turns the plunder of nature into society’s law of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-torres/capitalism-not-only-validates-precapitalist-notions-of-the-domination/) [Bob Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-torres/) [Explore all 18 Bob Torres quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-torres/) ## More Hierarchy quotes > [We became Homo sapiens not that long ago, from the scientific perspective, and we've retained a lot of our beast nature. We've done all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangechi-mutu/we-became-homo-sapiens-not-that-long-ago-from-the-scientific/) [Wangechi Mutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangechi-mutu/) > [Love is the supreme form of communication. In the hierarchy of needs, love stands as the supreme developing agent of the humanity of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-montagu/love-is-the-supreme-form-of-communication-in-the-hierarchy-of-needs/) [Ashley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-montagu/) > [In the hierarchy of the family, I'm just above the dog. But I like it that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jens-voigt/in-the-hierarchy-of-the-family-i-m-just-above-the-dog-but-i-like-it/) [Jens Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jens-voigt/) > [The entire hierarchy of angels can best be described as an endlessly vast sphere of beings, who surround an unknowable centre-point, which is called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-godwin/the-entire-hierarchy-of-angels-can-best-be-described-as-an-endlessly/) [Malcolm Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-godwin/) > [If you want to hire great people and have them stay, you have to be run by ideas, not hierarchy. The best ideas have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/if-you-want-to-hire-great-people-and-have-them-stay-you-have-to-be/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [Once you have hierarchy you need rules to protect and administer it, and then you need law and the enforcement of the rules, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-p-young/once-you-have-hierarchy-you-need-rules-to-protect-and-administer-it/) [William P. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-p-young/) > [“The lowly have small ambitions, and are satisfied with small indulgences. They need not get fair treatment. They need only think that they do... ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/the-lowly-have-small-ambitions-and-are-satisfied-with-small/) [Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/) > [“One way or another, we spend our whole lives being conditioned into accepting some line or order, some position of domination or subjection. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-james/one-way-or-another-we-spend-our-whole-lives-being-conditioned-into/) [Cliff James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-james/) > [“Hierarchy was like breathing: the only time you thought about it was when something went wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lynn-barnes/hierarchy-was-like-breathing-the-only-time-you-thought-about-it-was/) [Jennifer Lynn Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lynn-barnes/) > [I see anarchism as the theoretical ideal to which we are all gradually evolving to a point where everybody can tell the truth to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-see-anarchism-as-the-theoretical-ideal-to-which-we-are-all/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [The flatter the corporate hierarchy, the more likely it is that employees will communicate bad news and act upon it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/the-flatter-the-corporate-hierarchy-the-more-likely-it-is-that/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [patriarchal academic hierarchies in science and technology are now overspecialized and abstract, perhaps because they have systematically excluded women, as well as minorities, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazel-henderson/patriarchal-academic-hierarchies-in-science-and-technology-are-now/) [Hazel Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazel-henderson/) > [“Daimonology has no hierarchy, but only the spell of universal anarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-william-brown/daimonology-has-no-hierarchy-but-only-the-spell-of-universal-anarchy/) [Carl William Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-william-brown/) > [I was telling somebody just the other day, there's technically such a hierarchy in this business. You have film, that's the ideal; then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hale/i-was-telling-somebody-just-the-other-day-there-s-technically-such-a/) [Tony Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hale/) > [Every education system on Earth has the same hierarchy of subjects: at the top are mathematics and languages, then the humanities, and the bottom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-robinson/every-education-system-on-earth-has-the-same-hierarchy-of-subjects-at/) [Ken Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-robinson/) [Browse all 508 Hierarchy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hierarchy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Hierarchy is a toxic inheritance from previous eras that we keep reproducing as a matter of our social reproduction, but that does not mean it is an essential, necessary, or unavoidable aspect of our humanity.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bob Torres" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-torres/hierarchy-is-a-toxic-inheritance-from-previous-eras-that-we-keep/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hierarchy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-torres/hierarchy-is-a-toxic-inheritance-from-previous-eras-that-we-keep/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b1/bob-torres-29260_hierarchy_hierarchy-is-a-toxic-inheritance-from-pr_3134873.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b1/bob-torres-29260_hierarchy_hierarchy-is-a-toxic-inheritance-from-pr_3134873.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b1/bob-torres-29260_hierarchy_hierarchy-is-a-toxic-inheritance-from-pr_3134873.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Hierarchy is a toxic inheritance from previous eras that we keep reproducing as a matter of our social…” — Bob Torres", "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": "Bob Torres", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-torres/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Hierarchy is a toxic inheritance from...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-torres/hierarchy-is-a-toxic-inheritance-from-previous-eras-that-we-keep/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-torres/hierarchy-is-a-toxic-inheritance-from-previous-eras-that-we-keep/#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 } } ] } ```