--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People who don't know any better will…" description: "\"People who don't know any better will always be in the dark because the power lies in the hands of men who take good care that ordinary folk don't unde..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6d/cesare-pavese-1924_capitalist_people-who-don-t-know-any-better-will-al_1127959.jpg" --- # People who don't know any better will always be in the… ![“People who don't know any better will always be in the dark because the power lies in the hands of men who take good care that ordinary folk don't understand, in the hands, that is, of the government, of the clerical party, of the capitalists.” quote by Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6d/cesare-pavese-1924_capitalist_people-who-don-t-know-any-better-will-al_1127959.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6d/cesare-pavese-1924_capitalist_people-who-don-t-know-any-better-will-al_1127959.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6d/cesare-pavese-1924_capitalist_people-who-don-t-know-any-better-will-al_1127959.jpg) > “People who don't know any better will always be in the dark because the power lies in the hands of men who take good care that ordinary folk don't understand, in the hands, that is, of the government, of the clerical party, of the capitalists.” [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Knowledge is controlled by those in power, keeping the masses uninformed. **In simple terms:** Power hides truth from people. Key Takeaway Seek truth beyond official narratives. Themes power knowledge control politics Mood skeptical critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - media consumption - civic engagement - education - political activism Key Concepts sociology critical theory Questions to Reflect On - Who controls the information you receive? - How can you verify facts? A Different Perspective Not all power structures are malicious; some protect stability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Capitalists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalists/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) ## Related quotes > [Give ordinary folk the chance to buy the same things as rich people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/give-ordinary-folk-the-chance-to-buy-the-same-things-as-rich-people/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [The 'Rule of St. Benedict' makes it possible for ordinary folk to live lives of quite extraordinary value. The weak have a place to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basil-hume/the-rule-of-st-benedict-makes-it-possible-for-ordinary-folk-to-live/) [Basil Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basil-hume/) > [It has been a long fight to put the control of our economic system in the hands of the government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/it-has-been-a-long-fight-to-put-the-control-of-our-economic-system-in/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [Malayalis tend to be nostalgic about rustic storylines, pastoral themes and ordinary folk who lead a simple way of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/biju-menon/malayalis-tend-to-be-nostalgic-about-rustic-storylines-pastoral/) [Biju Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/biju-menon/) > [People who speak or act in an ordinary fashion are most likely to be those who have been the recipients of higher experiences. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/people-who-speak-or-act-in-an-ordinary-fashion-are-most-likely-to-be/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [Once you put yourself in the hands of the government, you could end up in Utah.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-o-donoghue/once-you-put-yourself-in-the-hands-of-the-government-you-could-end-up/) [Michael O'Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-o-donoghue/) > [Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-believe-it-is-only-great-power-that-can-hold-evil-in-check-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“After all of this, I was beginning to feel that the way people got news shouldn’t be in the hands of the government, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-forrest/after-all-of-this-i-was-beginning-to-feel-that-the-way-people-got/) [Bella Forrest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-forrest/) > [The world must be rather a rough place for clever people. Ordinary folk dislike them, and as for themselves, they hate each other most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/the-world-must-be-rather-a-rough-place-for-clever-people-ordinary/) [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) > [Change is not in the hands of government, not in the hands of a leader or guru, and not in the hands of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shari-arison/change-is-not-in-the-hands-of-government-not-in-the-hands-of-a-leader/) [Shari Arison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shari-arison/) > [“I believe Money is too important to leave in the hands of government officials.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziad-k-abdelnour/i-believe-money-is-too-important-to-leave-in-the-hands-of-government/) [Ziad K. Abdelnour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziad-k-abdelnour/) > [Every time that we try to lift a problem from our own shoulders, and shift that problem to the hands of the government, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/every-time-that-we-try-to-lift-a-problem-from-our-own-shoulders-and/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [We're supposed to live under capitalism, and capitalism is supposed to be competitive so you would expect that capitalists and entrepreneurs would like competition.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harvey/we-re-supposed-to-live-under-capitalism-and-capitalism-is-supposed-to/) [David Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harvey/) > [The more successful capitalists are in cutting their wage costs, the less money workers will have to buy back what those same capitalists produce.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-d-wolff/the-more-successful-capitalists-are-in-cutting-their-wage-costs-the/) [Richard D. Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-d-wolff/) > [Capitalists have done more good for society through their charitable giving, philanthropy and generosity than all their critics combined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cook/capitalists-have-done-more-good-for-society-through-their-charitable/) [James Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cook/) ## More by Cesare Pavese > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [In the mental disturbance and effort of writing, what sustains you is the certainty that on every page there is something left unsaid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/in-the-mental-disturbance-and-effort-of-writing-what-sustains-you-is/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Why does a man who is truly in love insist that this relationship must continue and be "lifelong"? Because life is pain and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/why-does-a-man-who-is-truly-in-love-insist-that-this-relationship/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [I thought of how many places there are in the world that belong in this way to someone, who has it in his blood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/i-thought-of-how-many-places-there-are-in-the-world-that-belong-in/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Now that I've seen what war is, what civil war is, I know that everybody, if one day it should end, ought to ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/now-that-i-ve-seen-what-war-is-what-civil-war-is-i-know-that/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [It had to happen to you, to concentrate your whole life on one point, and then discover that you can do anything except live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/it-had-to-happen-to-you-to-concentrate-your-whole-life-on-one-point/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [There is only one pleasure-that of being alive. All the rest is misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/there-is-only-one-pleasure-that-of-being-alive-all-the-rest-is-misery/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [But here's the worst part: the trick to life lies in hiding from those we hold most dear how much they mean to is;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/but-here-s-the-worst-part-the-trick-to-life-lies-in-hiding-from-those/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/traveling-is-a-brutality-it-forces-you-to-trust-strangers-and-to-lose/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [“Meanwhile we arrived at our lane and the sight of the olive tree rubbed me the wrong way. I began to see that no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/meanwhile-we-arrived-at-our-lane-and-the-sight-of-the-olive-tree/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Verrà la morte e avrà i tuoi occhi. (Death will come and it will have your eyes.)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/verr-la-morte-e-avr-i-tuoi-occhi-death-will-come-and-it-will-have/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [All our "most sacred affections " are merely prosaic habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/all-our-most-sacred-affections-are-merely-prosaic-habit/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [There comes a day when, for someone who has persecuted us, we feel only indifference, a weariness at his stupidity. Then we forgive him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/there-comes-a-day-when-for-someone-who-has-persecuted-us-we-feel-only/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [A consoling thought: what matters is not what we do, but the spirit in which we do it. Others suffer too; so much so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/a-consoling-thought-what-matters-is-not-what-we-do-but-the-spirit-in/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [One does not kill oneself for love of a woman, but because love - any love - reveals us in our nakedness, our misery,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/one-does-not-kill-oneself-for-love-of-a-woman-but-because-love-any/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) [Explore all 171 Cesare Pavese quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) ## More Capitalist quotes > [The popular mind often pictures gigantic flying machines speeding across the Atlantic carrying innumerable passengers in a way analogous to our modern steam ships.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-pickering/the-popular-mind-often-pictures-gigantic-flying-machines-speeding/) William Henry Pickering > [As the variable capital always stays in the hands of the capitalist in some form or other, it cannot be claimed in any way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/as-the-variable-capital-always-stays-in-the-hands-of-the-capitalist/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [Capitalists have done more good for society through their charitable giving, philanthropy and generosity than all their critics combined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cook/capitalists-have-done-more-good-for-society-through-their-charitable/) [James Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cook/) > [It is more than a little ironic that "capital accumulation" once a rather tendentious Marxian view of a supposed capitalist obsession, should have become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kuttner/it-is-more-than-a-little-ironic-that-capital-accumulation-once-a/) [Robert Kuttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kuttner/) > [When I was young, I worked for a capitalist twelve hours a day and I was always tired. Now I work for myself twenty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/when-i-was-young-i-worked-for-a-capitalist-twelve-hours-a-day-and-i/) [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) > [“Capitalist cycle of profit. The rancher sells a cow for profit. The butcher sells cuts for profit. The restaurant sells meals for profit. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/capitalist-cycle-of-profit-the-rancher-sells-a-cow-for-profit-the/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [For me, it is clear that we are currently in a period of structural crisis of capitalism going back to the 1970s, but deepening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bellamy-foster/for-me-it-is-clear-that-we-are-currently-in-a-period-of-structural/) [John Bellamy Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bellamy-foster/) > [As someone from the working class I was always interested in Russia and China and everything that related to the working class, even though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/as-someone-from-the-working-class-i-was-always-interested-in-russia/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [Will capitalist economies operate at full employment in the absence of routine intervention? Certainly not. Are deviations from full employment a social problem? Obviously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-yellen/will-capitalist-economies-operate-at-full-employment-in-the-absence/) [Janet Yellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-yellen/) > [Capitalism has created a situation called scarcity. And that scarcity is not natural, it's socially induced. Along with that sense of scarcity, or feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/capitalism-has-created-a-situation-called-scarcity-and-that-scarcity/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [... what we should be looking for is fresh ideas of how we make moral decisions about our dealings with one another, economic, social,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davis-mccaughey/what-we-should-be-looking-for-is-fresh-ideas-of-how-we-make-moral/) Davis McCaughey > [When you come from a family of communists and you go through your teenage rebellion, what's the best way of rebelling from a family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-browder/when-you-come-from-a-family-of-communists-and-you-go-through-your/) [Bill Browder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-browder/) > [The Enron scandal calls into question the integrity of the entire capitalist system, which previously we assumed was based on honest, straightforward greed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-achenbach/the-enron-scandal-calls-into-question-the-integrity-of-the-entire/) [Joel Achenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-achenbach/) > [Human beings were behaving as human beings and not as cogs in the capitalist machine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/human-beings-were-behaving-as-human-beings-and-not-as-cogs-in-the/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Beautiful women must think about their beauty as capitalists think about their investments or politicians about their majorities; it is all they have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/beautiful-women-must-think-about-their-beauty-as-capitalists-think/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) Browse all 968 Capitalist quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People who don't know any better will always be in the dark because the power lies in the hands of men who take good care that ordinary folk don't understand, in the hands, that is, of the government, of the clerical party, of the capitalists.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cesare Pavese" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/people-who-don-t-know-any-better-will-always-be-in-the-dark-because/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Capitalist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/people-who-don-t-know-any-better-will-always-be-in-the-dark-because/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6d/cesare-pavese-1924_capitalist_people-who-don-t-know-any-better-will-al_1127959.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6d/cesare-pavese-1924_capitalist_people-who-don-t-know-any-better-will-al_1127959.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6d/cesare-pavese-1924_capitalist_people-who-don-t-know-any-better-will-al_1127959.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People who don't know any better will always be in the dark because the power lies in the hands of men who…” — Cesare Pavese", "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": "Cesare Pavese", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "People who don't know any better...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/people-who-don-t-know-any-better-will-always-be-in-the-dark-because/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/people-who-don-t-know-any-better-will-always-be-in-the-dark-because/#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 } } ] } ```