---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every general increase of freedom is…"
description: "\"Every general increase of freedom is accompanied by some degeneracy, attributable to the same causes as the freedom.\" — Charles Horton Cooley"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b2/charles-horton-cooley-8362_causes_every-general-increase-of-freedom-is-acc_2273233.png"
---

#  Every general increase of freedom is accompanied by some…

![“Every general increase of freedom is accompanied by some degeneracy, attributable to the same causes as the freedom.” quote by Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b2/charles-horton-cooley-8362_causes_every-general-increase-of-freedom-is-acc_2273233.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b2/charles-horton-cooley-8362_causes_every-general-increase-of-freedom-is-acc_2273233.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b2/charles-horton-cooley-8362_causes_every-general-increase-of-freedom-is-acc_2273233.png)

> “Every general increase of freedom is accompanied by some degeneracy, attributable to the same causes as the freedom.”

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Freedom tends to bring both positive growth and negative decay due to the same underlying forces.

**In simple terms:** Freedom brings both good and bad effects.

Key Takeaway

Balance liberty with responsibility.

Themes

freedom degeneracy society

Mood

critical thoughtful

Type

analytical philosophical

When to use this quote

- policy making
- social reform
- education
- community building

Key Concepts

sociology political theory

Questions to Reflect On

- What safeguards prevent degeneracy in free societies?
- How can we nurture positive aspects of freedom?

A Different Perspective

Excessive freedom without safeguards can lead to chaos.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/)

## Related quotes

> [“We must learn to think again. America floats on a sea of misguided philosophies, all competing for equality while the values that provide true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karla-perry/we-must-learn-to-think-again-america-floats-on-a-sea-of-misguided/)

[Karla Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karla-perry/)

> [All men's instincts, all their impulses in life, are efforts to increase their freedom. Wealth and poverty, health and disease, culture and ignorance, labor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/all-men-s-instincts-all-their-impulses-in-life-are-efforts-to/)

[Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/)

> [“It is the government’s job to increase both freedom and security.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/it-is-the-government-s-job-to-increase-both-freedom-and-security/)

[Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/)

> [When I see the worsening degeneracy in our politicians, our media, our educators, and our intelligentsia, I can't help wondering if the day may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/when-i-see-the-worsening-degeneracy-in-our-politicians-our-media-our/)

[Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/)

> [Those who compare the age in which their lot has fallen with a golden age which exists only in imagination, may talk of degeneracy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/those-who-compare-the-age-in-which-their-lot-has-fallen-with-a-golden/)

[Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/)

> [The hippies had in mind something that they wanted, and were calling it freedom, but in the final analysis freedom is a purely negative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/the-hippies-had-in-mind-something-that-they-wanted-and-were-calling/)

[Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/)

> [The ruin of a State is generally preceded by an universal degeneracy of manners and contempt of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/the-ruin-of-a-state-is-generally-preceded-by-an-universal-degeneracy/)

[Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/)

> [Degeneracy follows every autocratic system of violence, for violence inevitably attracts moral inferiors. Time has proven that illustrious tyrants are succeeded by scoundrels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/degeneracy-follows-every-autocratic-system-of-violence-for-violence/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [Those who wallow around in the sickness of their immorality and degeneracy get very little joy out of life here and certainly not much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sterling-w-sill/those-who-wallow-around-in-the-sickness-of-their-immorality-and/)

[Sterling W Sill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sterling-w-sill/)

> [“Degeneracy is the only freedom fascism allows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-vassi/degeneracy-is-the-only-freedom-fascism-allows/)

Marco Vassi

> [But in all despotic governments, though a particular prince may favour arts and letter, there is a natural degeneracy of mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/but-in-all-despotic-governments-though-a-particular-prince-may-favour/)

[Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/)

> [“Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a nation, we began by declaring that 'all men are created equal.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/our-progress-in-degeneracy-appears-to-me-to-be-pretty-rapid-as-a/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/our-progress-in-degeneracy-appears-to-me-to-be-pretty-rapid/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [The defenders of decent society and the disciples of degeneracy are often the same people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-carr/the-defenders-of-decent-society-and-the-disciples-of-degeneracy-are/)

[Caleb Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-carr/)

> [“Your authority and my degeneracy are one in the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/your-authority-and-my-degeneracy-are-one-in-the-same/)

[Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/)

## More by Charles Horton Cooley

> [So far as discipline is concerned, freedom means not its absence but the use of higher and more rational forms as contrasted with those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/so-far-as-discipline-is-concerned-freedom-means-not-its-absence-but/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

> [To retire to the monastery, or the woods, or the sea, is to escape from the sharp suggestions that spur on ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/to-retire-to-the-monastery-or-the-woods-or-the-sea-is-to-escape-from/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

> [Each man must have his I; it is more necessary to him than bread; and if he does not find scope for it within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/each-man-must-have-his-i-it-is-more-necessary-to-him-than-bread-and/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

> [I is a militant social tendency, working to hold and enlarge its place in the general current of tendencies. So far as it can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/i-is-a-militant-social-tendency-working-to-hold-and-enlarge-its-place/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

> [“I am not what I think I am, and I am not what you think I am. I am what I think you think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/i-am-not-what-i-think-i-am-and-i-am-not-what-you-think-i-am-i-am-what/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

> [One should never criticize his own work except in a fresh and hopeful mood. The self-criticism of a tired mind is suicide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/one-should-never-criticize-his-own-work-except-in-a-fresh-and-hopeful/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

> [It happens from time to time in every complex and active society, that certain persons feel the complexity and insistence as a tangle, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/it-happens-from-time-to-time-in-every-complex-and-active-society-that/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

> [Since freedom is not a fixed thing that can be grasped and held once for all, but a growth, any particular society, such as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/since-freedom-is-not-a-fixed-thing-that-can-be-grasped-and-held-once/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

> [If we divine a discrepancy between a man's words and his character, the whole impression of him becomes broken and painful; he revolts the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/if-we-divine-a-discrepancy-between-a-man-s-words-and-his-character/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

> [To get away from one's working environment is, in a sense, to get away from one's self; and this is often the chief advantage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/to-get-away-from-one-s-working-environment-is-in-a-sense-to-get-away/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

> [In the days of witchcraft it used to be believed that if one person secretly made a waxen image of another and stuck pins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/in-the-days-of-witchcraft-it-used-to-be-believed-that-if-one-person/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

> [To persuade is more trouble than to dominate, and the powerful seldom take this trouble if they can avoid it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/to-persuade-is-more-trouble-than-to-dominate-and-the-powerful-seldom/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

> [The social self is simply any idea, or system of ideas, drawn from the communicative life, that the mind cherishes as its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/the-social-self-is-simply-any-idea-or-system-of-ideas-drawn-from-the/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

> [Form the habit of making decisions when your spirit is fresh...to let dark moods lead is like choosing cowards to command armies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/form-the-habit-of-making-decisions-when-your-spirit-is-fresh-to-let/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

> [The idea of freedom is quite in accord with a general, though vague, sentiment among us; it is an idea of fair play, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/the-idea-of-freedom-is-quite-in-accord-with-a-general-though-vague/)

[Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

[Explore all 81 Charles Horton Cooley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/)

## More Causes quotes

> [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/)

[David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/)

> [I pray that wherever we are and whatever duties we have in the priesthood of God, we will be united in the cause to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/i-pray-that-wherever-we-are-and-whatever-duties-we-have-in-the/)

[Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/)

> [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. I'm shaking my ass because I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/when-you-go-to-a-club-it-s-not-about-being-black-or-white-or-heavy-or/)

[Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/)

> [Many patients imagine that they have tried everything. True, they have used many remedies, but they have never had the cause of their infirmity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-d-palmer/many-patients-imagine-that-they-have-tried-everything-true-they-have/)

[Daniel D. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-d-palmer/)

> [Get out from that kitchen and rattle those pots and pans. Well, roll my breakfast cause I'm a hungry man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-joe-turner/get-out-from-that-kitchen-and-rattle-those-pots-and-pans-well-roll-my/)

[Big Joe Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-joe-turner/)

> [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/)

[Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/)

> [Jobs and money are never the primary cause of stress. Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. The real cause of all problems lie in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/jobs-and-money-are-never-the-primary-cause-of-stress-thinking/)

[Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/)

> [God hides Himself behind causes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-rollin/god-hides-himself-behind-causes/)

[Charles Rollin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-rollin/)

> [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/)

[Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/)

> [I don't wear rubbers cause you can't catch it twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-norton/i-don-t-wear-rubbers-cause-you-can-t-catch-it-twice/)

[Jim Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-norton/)

> [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/)

[Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/)

> [Well the first time I performed, my mom was like how she is now when sees me on stage – all red, smiling from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-brown/well-the-first-time-i-performed-my-mom-was-like-how-she-is-now-when/)

[Chris Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-brown/)

> [I love a lot of things, a whole lot of things / Like / My cousin comes to visit and you know he's from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eloise-greenfield/i-love-a-lot-of-things-a-whole-lot-of-things-like-my-cousin-comes-to/)

Eloise Greenfield

> [Many companies have long contended that stress in the home causes productivity loss in the market place.. and it does. But research now reveals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/many-companies-have-long-contended-that-stress-in-the-home-causes/)

[Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/)

> [The miracle drugs (neuroleptics) cause the worst plague of brain damage in medical history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-breggin/the-miracle-drugs-neuroleptics-cause-the-worst-plague-of-brain-damage/)

[Peter Breggin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-breggin/)

Browse all 9,070 Causes quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Every general increase of freedom is accompanied by some degeneracy, attributable to the same causes as the freedom.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Charles Horton Cooley"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/every-general-increase-of-freedom-is-accompanied-by-some-degeneracy/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Causes"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/every-general-increase-of-freedom-is-accompanied-by-some-degeneracy/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b2/charles-horton-cooley-8362_causes_every-general-increase-of-freedom-is-acc_2273233.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b2/charles-horton-cooley-8362_causes_every-general-increase-of-freedom-is-acc_2273233.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b2/charles-horton-cooley-8362_causes_every-general-increase-of-freedom-is-acc_2273233.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Every general increase of freedom is accompanied by some degeneracy, attributable to the same causes as the…” — Charles Horton Cooley",
                "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": "Charles Horton Cooley",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Every general increase of freedom is...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/every-general-increase-of-freedom-is-accompanied-by-some-degeneracy/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/every-general-increase-of-freedom-is-accompanied-by-some-degeneracy/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
