--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: War is grounded in the notion of triumph…" description: "\"War is grounded in the notion of triumph and defeat. It is zero-sum.\" — Bruce Jackson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/485/bruce-jackson-17743_defeat_war-is-grounded-in-the-notion-of-triumph_557288.jpg" --- # War is grounded in the notion of triumph and defeat. It is… ![“War is grounded in the notion of triumph and defeat. It is zero-sum.” quote by Bruce Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/485/bruce-jackson-17743_defeat_war-is-grounded-in-the-notion-of-triumph_557288.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/485/bruce-jackson-17743_defeat_war-is-grounded-in-the-notion-of-triumph_557288.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/485/bruce-jackson-17743_defeat_war-is-grounded-in-the-notion-of-triumph_557288.jpg) > “War is grounded in the notion of triumph and defeat. It is zero-sum.” [Bruce Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-jackson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. War is portrayed as a competition where one side wins and the other loses, implying a zero‑sum outcome. **In simple terms:** War is seen as win‑lose. Key Takeaway Recognize war’s complex motives beyond simple victory. Themes conflict power politics Mood critical analytical Type theoretical political When to use this quote - policy making - military planning - peace negotiations Key Concepts strategic theory zero‑sum thinking Questions to Reflect On - Can war ever be mutually beneficial? - What alternatives exist to zero‑sum thinking? A Different Perspective Not all conflicts are strictly zero‑sum; some yield mutual benefits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Defeat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defeat/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Triumph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triumph/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [Not in the clamor of the crowded street, not in the shouts and plaudits of the throng, but in ourselves, are triumph and defeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/not-in-the-clamor-of-the-crowded-street-not-in-the-shouts-and/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [An intellectual challenge presents itself? I am in bliss. Instantly, it brings forth the notion of triumph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-petit/an-intellectual-challenge-presents-itself-i-am-in-bliss-instantly-it/) [Philippe Petit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-petit/) > [In ourselves are triumph and defeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/in-ourselves-are-triumph-and-defeat/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [Not in the shouts and plaudits of the throng, but in ourselves, are triumph and defeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/not-in-the-shouts-and-plaudits-of-the-throng-but-in-ourselves-are/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [It is almost as easy to be enervated by triumph as by defeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lerner/it-is-almost-as-easy-to-be-enervated-by-triumph-as-by-defeat/) [Max Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lerner/) > [What I do with my kids is - and I think they probably do ignore us - is No Alcohol. If they're drunk they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/what-i-do-with-my-kids-is-and-i-think-they-probably-do-ignore-us-is/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [I wasn't one to go out and buy a new car and stereo system and expensive clothes. My mom helped keep me grounded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-applegate/i-wasn-t-one-to-go-out-and-buy-a-new-car-and-stereo-system-and/) [Christina Applegate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-applegate/) > [I have an amazing wife, Tia, and an amazing son, Cree, and I'm a family man first and they keep me grounded. They're my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-hardrict/i-have-an-amazing-wife-tia-and-an-amazing-son-cree-and-i-m-a-family/) [Cory Hardrict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-hardrict/) > [Working in Hollywood can be tumultuous, with incredible highs and lows and you need to be grounded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wood/working-in-hollywood-can-be-tumultuous-with-incredible-highs-and-lows/) [Douglas Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wood/) > [On the road, I try to maintain my connections with friends and family as much as I possibly can. That keeps me pretty grounded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noelle-scaggs/on-the-road-i-try-to-maintain-my-connections-with-friends-and-family/) [Noelle Scaggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noelle-scaggs/) > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [I have a really grounded group of friends, and they like me no matter what. I think it's really important to know who your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-guthy/i-have-a-really-grounded-group-of-friends-and-they-like-me-no-matter/) [Jackson Guthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-guthy/) > [“But, he continues, if you need something to hold on to until you feel grounded, I make a pretty good anchor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kasie-west/but-he-continues-if-you-need-something-to-hold-on-to-until-you-feel/) [Kasie West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kasie-west/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The strains and stresses suffered by the individual in society are grounded in the normal functioning of that society (and of the individual!) rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-marcuse/the-strains-and-stresses-suffered-by-the-individual-in-society-are/) [Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/) ## More by Bruce Jackson > [War is big and there are only so many reporters and only so many places for their words and images to appear. Choices are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-jackson/war-is-big-and-there-are-only-so-many-reporters-and-only-so-many/) [Bruce Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-jackson/) > [Which suggests something about media and war: it's not just that events happen and the media documents and presents them. There is a third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-jackson/which-suggests-something-about-media-and-war-it-s-not-just-that/) [Bruce Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-jackson/) > [Television broadcasts have, in the main, been more suggestive, less specific, more distant in their images than the print press: often you knew that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-jackson/television-broadcasts-have-in-the-main-been-more-suggestive-less/) [Bruce Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-jackson/) > [First, those images help us understand the general and specific magnitude of disaster caused by the tsunami. The huge outpouring of aid would not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-jackson/first-those-images-help-us-understand-the-general-and-specific/) [Bruce Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-jackson/) > [All too often, academic departments defend their territory with the passion of cornered animals, though with far less justification.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-jackson/all-too-often-academic-departments-defend-their-territory-with-the/) [Bruce Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-jackson/) > [When friends and lovers die and your world gets quieter; that's when the silence comes closer; that's when next isn't the least bit theoretical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-jackson/when-friends-and-lovers-die-and-your-world-gets-quieter-that-s-when/) [Bruce Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-jackson/) > [Documentary films are created in an inverted funnel of declining possibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-jackson/documentary-films-are-created-in-an-inverted-funnel-of-declining/) [Bruce Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-jackson/) > [The media bring our wars home, but only rarely have they been able to do it in complete freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-jackson/the-media-bring-our-wars-home-but-only-rarely-have-they-been-able-to/) [Bruce Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-jackson/) > [All governments in all wars have used all the means at their disposal to put their own motives, decisions and actions, and the actions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-jackson/all-governments-in-all-wars-have-used-all-the-means-at-their-disposal/) [Bruce Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-jackson/) > [The media is not at all homogeneous in the way it tells us about war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-jackson/the-media-is-not-at-all-homogeneous-in-the-way-it-tells-us-about-war/) [Bruce Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-jackson/) > [The web continues to be a source of important photographs you see nowhere else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-jackson/the-web-continues-to-be-a-source-of-important-photographs-you-see/) [Bruce Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-jackson/) > [The mainstream media showed, for example, no blood and guts resulting from the 9/11 attacks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-jackson/the-mainstream-media-showed-for-example-no-blood-and-guts-resulting/) [Bruce Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-jackson/) > [Filmmakers who use narrators pay a price for taking the easy way: narrated films date far more quickly than films without narrators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-jackson/filmmakers-who-use-narrators-pay-a-price-for-taking-the-easy-way/) [Bruce Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-jackson/) > [Bridges become frames for looking at the world around us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-jackson/bridges-become-frames-for-looking-at-the-world-around-us/) [Bruce Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-jackson/) > [The key fact missed most often by social scientists utilizing documentary films for data, is this: documentary films are not found or reported things;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-jackson/the-key-fact-missed-most-often-by-social-scientists-utilizing/) [Bruce Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-jackson/) [Explore all 36 Bruce Jackson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-jackson/) ## More Defeat quotes > [A poor self-image is the magnifying glass that can transform a trivial mistake or an imperfection into an overwhelming symbol of personal defeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-d-burns/a-poor-self-image-is-the-magnifying-glass-that-can-transform-a/) [David D. Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-d-burns/) > [Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/even-though-you-can-t-expect-to-defeat-the-absurdity-of-the-world-you/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [The devil has been defeated, stop trying to defeat him. What we have left is the fight of faith, and it's a good fight!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-oyakhilome/the-devil-has-been-defeated-stop-trying-to-defeat-him-what-we-have/) [Chris Oyakhilome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-oyakhilome/) > [If Pete’s (Sampras) child is a girl, my son will like her; if he’s a boy, my son will defeat him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-agassi/if-pete-s-sampras-child-is-a-girl-my-son-will-like-her-if-he-s-a-boy/) [Andre Agassi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-agassi/) > [All our efforts to defeat poverty and pursue sustainable development will be in vain if environmental degradation and natural resource depletion continue unabated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/all-our-efforts-to-defeat-poverty-and-pursue-sustainable-development/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Defeat furnishes good material to the poets and the artists, but none of us care to have the glory of the conquered apply to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-glaspell/defeat-furnishes-good-material-to-the-poets-and-the-artists-but-none/) [Susan Glaspell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-glaspell/) > [“We don't have to defeat any individual but our own self.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avijeet-das/we-don-t-have-to-defeat-any-individual-but-our-own-self/) [Avijeet Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avijeet-das/) > [“Defeat is a disease, and victory is the cure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/defeat-is-a-disease-and-victory-is-the-cure/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The glow of victory and the harsh chill of defeat are two sides of the same coin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-lenartowicz/the-glow-of-victory-and-the-harsh-chill-of-defeat-are-two-sides-of/) Maria Lenartowicz > [After a big defeat, any player feels affected - it is about how long he needs to recover.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerardo-martino/after-a-big-defeat-any-player-feels-affected-it-is-about-how-long-he/) [Gerardo Martino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerardo-martino/) > [I have clearly said we faced terrorist enemies who use Islam to justify slaughtering innocent people and we have to stop them and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-have-clearly-said-we-faced-terrorist-enemies-who-use-islam-to/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [We know from this book entitled... What is it? Surrendered? Succumbed? I can never remember the title perform. And we learn from this book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/we-know-from-this-book-entitled-what-is-it-surrendered-succumbed-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [The ultimate aim of Karate lies not in victory or defeat, but in the perfection of the character of its participants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gichin-funakoshi/the-ultimate-aim-of-karate-lies-not-in-victory-or-defeat-but-in-the/) [Gichin Funakoshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gichin-funakoshi/) > [It has never been more critical that a leader step forward to accelerate our understanding of cancer - and champion the effort to finally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-dzau/it-has-never-been-more-critical-that-a-leader-step-forward-to/) Victor J. Dzau > [“It would seem no matter how progressive we get there are always those few who are backwards in their ways.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solange-nicole/it-would-seem-no-matter-how-progressive-we-get-there-are-always-those/) [Solange nicole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solange-nicole/) [Browse all 2,603 Defeat quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defeat/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "War is grounded in the notion of triumph and defeat. 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