--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They need a social mechanism to make us…" description: "\"“They need a social mechanism to make us require conformity of one other, and the best way to do that is to provide a mechanism to make us punish our o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30c/charles-stross-896_conformity_they-need-a-social-mechanism-to-make-us_2688078.jpg" --- # They need a social mechanism to make us require conformity… ![“They need a social mechanism to make us require conformity of one other, and the best way to do that is to provide a mechanism to make us punish our own deviants.” quote by Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30c/charles-stross-896_conformity_they-need-a-social-mechanism-to-make-us_2688078.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30c/charles-stross-896_conformity_they-need-a-social-mechanism-to-make-us_2688078.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30c/charles-stross-896_conformity_they-need-a-social-mechanism-to-make-us_2688078.jpg) > ““They need a social mechanism to make us require conformity of one other, and the best way to do that is to provide a mechanism to make us punish our own deviants.”” [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A system that enforces conformity by encouraging self‑punishment of deviation. **In simple terms:** Conformity enforced through self‑punishment. Key Takeaway Beware mechanisms that make us police ourselves. Themes conformity social control psychology Mood cautious critical Type philosophical social commentary When to use this quote - workplace policies - online communities - authoritarian regimes - peer pressure Key Concepts self‑regulation norm enforcement Questions to Reflect On - How does self‑punishment affect group dynamics? - Can conformity be achieved without coercion? A Different Perspective May suppress individuality and creativity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conformity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformity/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) ## Related quotes > [To require conformity in the appreciation of sentiments or the interpretation of language, or uniformity of thought, feeling, or action, is a fundamental error…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josiah-warren/to-require-conformity-in-the-appreciation-of-sentiments-or-the/) [Josiah Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josiah-warren/) > [Behind every rational and irrational force in human society there is a social mechanism which determines where it is to appear and what forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-mannheim/behind-every-rational-and-irrational-force-in-human-society-there-is/) [Karl Mannheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-mannheim/) > [A lot of the strings that hold us like puppets are really inventions of our own minds. I'm not saying that there aren't armies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/a-lot-of-the-strings-that-hold-us-like-puppets-are-really-inventions/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [Officers conditioned to conformity in peacetime cannot be expected to behave boldly and flexibly in combat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-yingling/officers-conditioned-to-conformity-in-peacetime-cannot-be-expected-to/) Paul Yingling > [“Brontë was attempting to depict a character that adheres to the unchanging principles of her faith though she refused conformity to the particular practices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-swallow-prior/bront-was-attempting-to-depict-a-character-that-adheres-to-the/) [Karen Swallow Prior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-swallow-prior/) > [Seeds have the power to preserve species, to enhance cultural as well as genetic diversity, to counter economic monopoly and to check the advance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/seeds-have-the-power-to-preserve-species-to-enhance-cultural-as-well/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [The search for truth is a cooperative, unending endeavor. We can, and should, engage in it to the extent we can and encourage others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-search-for-truth-is-a-cooperative-unending-endeavor-we-can-and/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Alas, everything that men say to one another is alike; the ideas they exchange are almost always the same, in their conversation. But inside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-de-musset/alas-everything-that-men-say-to-one-another-is-alike-the-ideas-they/) [Alfred de Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/) > [“I lead with the knowingness that my reality conforms to my wishes and desires instantly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-s-baker/i-lead-with-the-knowingness-that-my-reality-conforms-to-my-wishes-and/) [Robin S. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-s-baker/) > [Ideation is not a synonym for innovation, conformity is not its simple antonym, and innovation is not the automatic consequence of "creative thinking.".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/ideation-is-not-a-synonym-for-innovation-conformity-is-not-its-simple/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [A self is a frightening thing to waste, it's the lens through which one's whole life is viewed, and few people are willing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/a-self-is-a-frightening-thing-to-waste-it-s-the-lens-through-which/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-shepherd-and-one-herd-everybody-wants-the-same-everybody-is-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The Chains of conformity click in tiresomely monotonous unison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-sweet/the-chains-of-conformity-click-in-tiresomely-monotonous-unison/) [Leonard Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-sweet/) > [“All to often, on the long road up, young leaders become servants of what is rather than shapers of what might be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/all-to-often-on-the-long-road-up-young-leaders-become-servants-of/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not/) Alexander Supertramp Chris McCandless ## More by Charles Stross > [We are Bay Aryans from Berkeley: prepare to be reengineered in an attractive range of color schemes for your safety and comfort!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/we-are-bay-aryans-from-berkeley-prepare-to-be-reengineered-in-an/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“Shut up. Stand up. Put this on. That’s right . . . if you were the kind of man who found it easy to do that kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/shut-up-stand-up-put-this-on-that-s-right-if-you-were-the-kind-of-man/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [Generating ideas isn't some mystical talent that you have to be born with: it's a skill you can develop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/generating-ideas-isn-t-some-mystical-talent-that-you-have-to-be-born/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [Any replacement to the current copyright position (life plus 70 years) needs to have an answer lined up for this, and similar, messy edge cases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/any-replacement-to-the-current-copyright-position-life-plus-70-years/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [Time is a corrosive fluid, dissolving motivation, destroying novelty, and leaching the joy from life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/time-is-a-corrosive-fluid-dissolving-motivation-destroying-novelty/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“- Toma un puro, Sherlock. - Lo siento; sólo echo humo cuando me enchufan a la red eléctrica.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/toma-un-puro-sherlock-lo-siento-s-lo-echo-humo-cuando-me-enchufan-a/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [I have no policy, for or against: only a personal style. Which is to say, I use them when I think it's appropriate to;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/i-have-no-policy-for-or-against-only-a-personal-style-which-is-to-say/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“To boldly go where no uploaded metahuman colony has gone before”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/to-boldly-go-where-no-uploaded-metahuman-colony-has-gone-before/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [I was raised thinking that moral and ethical standards are universals that apply equally to everyone. And these values aren't easily compatible with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/i-was-raised-thinking-that-moral-and-ethical-standards-are-universals/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [I don't like Amazon (wearing my author hat, not my customer hat).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/i-don-t-like-amazon-wearing-my-author-hat-not-my-customer-hat/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“Some say the Internet is for porn but you know that in truth the Internet is for spam.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/some-say-the-internet-is-for-porn-but-you-know-that-in-truth-the/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [If I forget, then it might as well never have happened. Memory is liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/if-i-forget-then-it-might-as-well-never-have-happened-memory-is/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“If he wakes the ancient sleeping horrors I am going to have to brief the private secretary and the Joint Intelligence Oversight Committee so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/if-he-wakes-the-ancient-sleeping-horrors-i-am-going-to-have-to-brief/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“Crawling eldritch horrors don’t get planning permission unless they’re Trump’s hairpiece.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/crawling-eldritch-horrors-don-t-get-planning-permission-unless-they/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“A historian who works for a bank: That’s not the most likely background for someone who capers around the cosmos having adventures, is it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/a-historian-who-works-for-a-bank-that-s-not-the-most-likely/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) [Explore all 331 Charles Stross quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) ## More Conformity quotes > [“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not/) Alexander Supertramp Chris McCandless > [“All to often, on the long road up, young leaders become servants of what is rather than shapers of what might be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/all-to-often-on-the-long-road-up-young-leaders-become-servants-of/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [The Chains of conformity click in tiresomely monotonous unison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-sweet/the-chains-of-conformity-click-in-tiresomely-monotonous-unison/) [Leonard Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-sweet/) > [No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-shepherd-and-one-herd-everybody-wants-the-same-everybody-is-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [A self is a frightening thing to waste, it's the lens through which one's whole life is viewed, and few people are willing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/a-self-is-a-frightening-thing-to-waste-it-s-the-lens-through-which/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [Ideation is not a synonym for innovation, conformity is not its simple antonym, and innovation is not the automatic consequence of "creative thinking.".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/ideation-is-not-a-synonym-for-innovation-conformity-is-not-its-simple/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [“I lead with the knowingness that my reality conforms to my wishes and desires instantly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-s-baker/i-lead-with-the-knowingness-that-my-reality-conforms-to-my-wishes-and/) [Robin S. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-s-baker/) > [Alas, everything that men say to one another is alike; the ideas they exchange are almost always the same, in their conversation. But inside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-de-musset/alas-everything-that-men-say-to-one-another-is-alike-the-ideas-they/) [Alfred de Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/) > [The search for truth is a cooperative, unending endeavor. We can, and should, engage in it to the extent we can and encourage others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-search-for-truth-is-a-cooperative-unending-endeavor-we-can-and/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Seeds have the power to preserve species, to enhance cultural as well as genetic diversity, to counter economic monopoly and to check the advance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/seeds-have-the-power-to-preserve-species-to-enhance-cultural-as-well/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“Brontë was attempting to depict a character that adheres to the unchanging principles of her faith though she refused conformity to the particular practices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-swallow-prior/bront-was-attempting-to-depict-a-character-that-adheres-to-the/) [Karen Swallow Prior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-swallow-prior/) > [Officers conditioned to conformity in peacetime cannot be expected to behave boldly and flexibly in combat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-yingling/officers-conditioned-to-conformity-in-peacetime-cannot-be-expected-to/) Paul Yingling > [The more civilized a nation, the more conformed its population, until that civilization's last age arrives, when multiplicity wages war with conformity. The former…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/the-more-civilized-a-nation-the-more-conformed-its-population-until/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/society-everywhere-is-in-conspiracy-against-the-manhood-of-every-one/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Deaths, births, and marriages, considering how much they are separately dependent on the freedom of the human will, should seem to be subject to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/deaths-births-and-marriages-considering-how-much-they-are-separately/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) [Browse all 937 Conformity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“They need a social mechanism to make us require conformity of one other, and the best way to do that is to provide a mechanism to make us punish our own deviants.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Stross" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/they-need-a-social-mechanism-to-make-us-require-conformity-of-one/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conformity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/they-need-a-social-mechanism-to-make-us-require-conformity-of-one/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30c/charles-stross-896_conformity_they-need-a-social-mechanism-to-make-us_2688078.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30c/charles-stross-896_conformity_they-need-a-social-mechanism-to-make-us_2688078.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30c/charles-stross-896_conformity_they-need-a-social-mechanism-to-make-us_2688078.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“They need a social mechanism to make us require conformity of one other, and the best way to do that is to…” — Charles Stross", "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 Stross", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“They need a social mechanism to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/they-need-a-social-mechanism-to-make-us-require-conformity-of-one/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/they-need-a-social-mechanism-to-make-us-require-conformity-of-one/#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 } } ] } ```