--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think most generations tend to learn…" description: "\"I think most generations tend to learn the lesson of war the hard way. There is a deep attraction to the empowerment. Freud is right: societies either ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c85/chris-hedges-2131_annihilation_i-think-most-generations-tend-to-learn-t_453810.png" --- # I think most generations tend to learn the lesson of war… ![“I think most generations tend to learn the lesson of war the hard way. There is a deep attraction to the empowerment. Freud is right: societies either become locked in a collective embrace of Eros, as individuals do, or a collective embrace of Thanatos, the death instinct. They swing between the…” quote by Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c85/chris-hedges-2131_annihilation_i-think-most-generations-tend-to-learn-t_453810.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c85/chris-hedges-2131_annihilation_i-think-most-generations-tend-to-learn-t_453810.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c85/chris-hedges-2131_annihilation_i-think-most-generations-tend-to-learn-t_453810.png) > “I think most generations tend to learn the lesson of war the hard way. There is a deep attraction to the empowerment. Freud is right: societies either become locked in a collective embrace of Eros, as individuals do, or a collective embrace of Thanatos, the death instinct. They swing between the two. The notion that societies are naturally prone toward self-preservation is wrong. Self-annihilation can be deeply addictive, intoxicating, enticing. So I take a darker view of human nature, that war is probably always going to be with us. I think history bears me out.” [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) ## 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 an addictive, self‑destructive force that societies oscillate toward, contradicting the belief that self‑preservation dominates human nature. **In simple terms:** War is a compelling, self‑destructive cycle. Key Takeaway Recognize and resist the allure of conflict. Themes war human nature societal cycles self‑destruction history Mood somber reflective critical Type philosophical political analytical When to use this quote - political analysis - military strategy - peace activism - educational curricula - media commentary Key Concepts Freudian theory collective psyche Eros vs Thanatos addiction to violence Questions to Reflect On - What societal mechanisms can break the war‑attraction cycle? - How can individuals cultivate peace‑building habits? A Different Perspective War’s attraction can be mitigated by strong institutions and cultural narratives that promote peace. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Annihilation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/annihilation/) [Attraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attraction/) [Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) [Collectives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collectives/) [Embrace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embrace/) [Empowerment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empowerment/) [Empowerment Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empowerment-freud-3954472/) [Enticing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enticing/) [Eros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eros/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Generations Tend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations-tend-3954473/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Hard way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-way/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Instinct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instinct/) [Learn The Lesson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learn-the-lesson/) [Lessons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lessons/) [Locked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/locked/) [Notion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notion/) [Preservation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preservation/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self Annihilation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-annihilation-550029/) [Self preservation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-preservation/) [Societies Naturally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/societies-naturally-3954471/) [Swings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swings/) [Thanatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thanatos/) [Think Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-generations-863352/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Views](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/views/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [I don't think my success or me having the opportunity to have success is from our generation. I think it's from the generations before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-dash/i-don-t-think-my-success-or-me-having-the-opportunity-to-have-success/) [Damon Dash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-dash/) > [Everybody talks about the entitlement generation. There is no time I'd rather live in than now, and there is no generation I would more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/everybody-talks-about-the-entitlement-generation-there-is-no-time-i-d/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [Those who think only for a year, they sow food grains; those who think for a decade, they plant fruits; But those who think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/those-who-think-only-for-a-year-they-sow-food-grains-those-who-think/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [I think that the next two generations of Americans will be grappling with the very real specter of finding themselves living in a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-manning/i-think-that-the-next-two-generations-of-americans-will-be-grappling/) [Chelsea Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-manning/) > [ “I think of the five generations it will take before \[Mr. Perfect\]'s born, and I want to scream. I want someone now. I want… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-khoury/i-think-of-the-five-generations-it-will-take-before-mr-perfect-s-born/) [Jessica Khoury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-khoury/) > [“True deduction can only be obtained through a certain amount of self annihilation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-riggs/true-deduction-can-only-be-obtained-through-a-certain-amount-of-self/) [Joe Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-riggs/) > [We are the first species capable of self-annihilation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elon-musk/we-are-the-first-species-capable-of-self-annihilation/) [Elon Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elon-musk/) > [Perhaps the greatest reading pleasure has an element of self-annihilation. To be so engrossed that you barely know you exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/perhaps-the-greatest-reading-pleasure-has-an-element-of-self/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Unconditional love also includes—the ardent desire to be abused: at that point it is a defiance directed against itself, and out of its devotion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/unconditional-love-also-includes-the-ardent-desire-to-be-abused-at/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Love is not an idea, not a feeling, not a sensation, not a sentiment, not a passion, not even an emotion. It is becoming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/love-is-not-an-idea-not-a-feeling-not-a-sensation-not-a-sentiment-not/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [“Art can only progress towards its own self-annihilation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-appignanesi/art-can-only-progress-towards-its-own-self-annihilation/) [Richard Appignanesi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-appignanesi/) > [Writing a novel is an act of self-annihilation as much as self-discovery. You can kill whole appetites and flood whole depths while plumbing them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/writing-a-novel-is-an-act-of-self-annihilation-as-much-as-self/) [Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/) > [“self-annihilation is necessary for high art”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-sen/self-annihilation-is-necessary-for-high-art/) [Kunal Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-sen/) > [There is no birth, there is no death; there is no coming, there is no going; there is no same, there is no different;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/there-is-no-birth-there-is-no-death-there-is-no-coming-there-is-no/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [“Drug cartels have taken the driver’s seat, training our young men and women on how best to self destruct, while the larger community watches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oche-otorkpa/drug-cartels-have-taken-the-driver-s-seat-training-our-young-men-and/) [Oche Otorkpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oche-otorkpa/) ## More by Chris Hedges > [“the property that grounded the self in Romanticism was sincerity, and in modernism was authenticity, then in postmod ernism it is visibility.10”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/the-property-that-grounded-the-self-in-romanticism-was-sincerity-and/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [“Revolutionists who took part in uprisings in one part of the globe would often migrate to take part in uprisings in another. Francisco de…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/revolutionists-who-took-part-in-uprisings-in-one-part-of-the-globe/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [“Those captivated by the cult of celebrity do not examine voting records or compare verbal claims with written and published facts and reports. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/those-captivated-by-the-cult-of-celebrity-do-not-examine-voting/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [Positive psychology is to the corporate state what eugenics was to the Nazis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/positive-psychology-is-to-the-corporate-state-what-eugenics-was-to/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [“Hope has a cost. Hope is not comfortable or easy. Hope requires personal risk. It is not about the right attitude. Hope is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/hope-has-a-cost-hope-is-not-comfortable-or-easy-hope-requires/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [This too is a jihad. Yet we Americans find ourselves in the dangerous position of going to war not against a state but against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/this-too-is-a-jihad-yet-we-americans-find-ourselves-in-the-dangerous/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [Human beings can be redeemed. Empires cannot. Our refusal to face the truth about empire, our refusal to defy the multitudinous crimes and atrocities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/human-beings-can-be-redeemed-empires-cannot-our-refusal-to-face-the/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [I have seen children shot in El Salvador, Algeria, Guatemala, Sarajevo, but I have never before watched soldiers entice children like mice into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/i-have-seen-children-shot-in-el-salvador-algeria-guatemala-sarajevo/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [A democracy survives when its citizens have access to trustworthy and impartial sources of information, when it can discern lies from truth. Take this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/a-democracy-survives-when-its-citizens-have-access-to-trustworthy-and/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [It is the cult of self that is killing the United States. This cult has within it the classic traits of psychopaths: superficial charm,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/it-is-the-cult-of-self-that-is-killing-the-united-states-this-cult/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [“Our march toward self-annihilation has already obliterated ninety percent of the large fish in the oceans and wiped out half of the mature tropical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/our-march-toward-self-annihilation-has-already-obliterated-ninety/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [No real journalist makes $5 million a year... Those in power fear and dislike real journalists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/no-real-journalist-makes-5-million-a-year-those-in-power-fear-and/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [“Just remember,' a Marine Corps lieutenant colonel told me as he strapped his pistol belt under his arm before we crossed into Kuwait, 'that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/just-remember-a-marine-corps-lieutenant-colonel-told-me-as-he/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [Most of these who are thrust into combat soon find it impossible to maintain the mythic perception of war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/most-of-these-who-are-thrust-into-combat-soon-find-it-impossible-to/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [The imperial projects will continue, Wall Street will be unimpeded in its malfeasance and criminal activity, social programs will continue to be cut, maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/the-imperial-projects-will-continue-wall-street-will-be-unimpeded-in/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) [Explore all 183 Chris Hedges quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) ## More Annihilation quotes > [The heart that breaks open can contain the whole universe... All is registered in the 'boundless heart' of the bodhisattva. Through our deepest and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-macy/the-heart-that-breaks-open-can-contain-the-whole-universe-all-is/) [Joanna Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-macy/) > [The highest ideal of cure is the rapid, gentle and permanent restoration of health; that is, the lifting and annihilation of the disease in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-hahnemann/the-highest-ideal-of-cure-is-the-rapid-gentle-and-permanent/) [Samuel Hahnemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-hahnemann/) > [To fight is to face death once more, perhaps the total annihilation of their kind. But to run... is that not also a kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/to-fight-is-to-face-death-once-more-perhaps-the-total-annihilation-of/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [I'm not afraid of anything other than spiritual annihilation. Where your soul is sucked into the void.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crispian-mills/i-m-not-afraid-of-anything-other-than-spiritual-annihilation-where/) [Crispian Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crispian-mills/) > [“The breath had become as much a trick as breathing. Things were not dual merely, but multiple. I had become a cage of mirrors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-breath-had-become-as-much-a-trick-as-breathing-things-were-not/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [There were days when she was unhappy, she did not know why,--when it did not seem worthwhile to be glad or sorry, to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-chopin/there-were-days-when-she-was-unhappy-she-did-not-know-why-when-it-did/) [Kate Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-chopin/) > [I've crossed some kind of invisible line. I feel as if I've come to a place I never thought I'd have to come to.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/i-ve-crossed-some-kind-of-invisible-line-i-feel-as-if-i-ve-come-to-a/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [We travel together, passengers on a little spaceship, dependent on it's vulnerable reserves of air and soil, all committed, for our safety, to it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson/we-travel-together-passengers-on-a-little-spaceship-dependent-on-it-s/) [Adlai E. Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson/) > [Liberty is to faction, what air is to fire, an aliment without which it instantly expires. But it could not be a less folly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/liberty-is-to-faction-what-air-is-to-fire-an-aliment-without-which-it/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [Today I will once more be a prophet. If the international Jewish financiers, inside and outside Europe, succeed in plunging the nations once more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/today-i-will-once-more-be-a-prophet-if-the-international-jewish/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [“The edge of total annihilation wasn't the worst place to hide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-rocha/the-edge-of-total-annihilation-wasn-t-the-worst-place-to-hide/) [Kit Rocha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-rocha/) > [To hope is to give yourself to the future - and that commitment to the future is what makes the present inhabitable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/to-hope-is-to-give-yourself-to-the-future-and-that-commitment-to-the/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [Annihilation is an absurdity in terms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-palissy/annihilation-is-an-absurdity-in-terms/) [Bernard Palissy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-palissy/) > [Love is scary because it pulls you in with an intense force, a supermassive black hole which looks like nothing from the outside but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/love-is-scary-because-it-pulls-you-in-with-an-intense-force-a/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [I have issued the command, and I'll have anybody who utters but one word of criticism executed by a firing squad, that our war…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/i-have-issued-the-command-and-i-ll-have-anybody-who-utters-but-one/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) [Browse all 244 Annihilation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/annihilation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think most generations tend to learn the lesson of war the hard way. There is a deep attraction to the empowerment. Freud is right: societies either become locked in a collective embrace of Eros, as individuals do, or a collective embrace of Thanatos, the death instinct. They swing between the two. The notion that societies are naturally prone toward self-preservation is wrong. Self-annihilation can be deeply addictive, intoxicating, enticing. So I take a darker view of human nature, that war is probably always going to be with us. I think history bears me out.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Chris Hedges" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/i-think-most-generations-tend-to-learn-the-lesson-of-war-the-hard-way/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Annihilation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/i-think-most-generations-tend-to-learn-the-lesson-of-war-the-hard-way/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c85/chris-hedges-2131_annihilation_i-think-most-generations-tend-to-learn-t_453810.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c85/chris-hedges-2131_annihilation_i-think-most-generations-tend-to-learn-t_453810.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c85/chris-hedges-2131_annihilation_i-think-most-generations-tend-to-learn-t_453810.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think most generations tend to learn the lesson of war the hard way. There is a deep attraction to the…” — Chris Hedges", "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": "Chris Hedges", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think most generations tend to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/i-think-most-generations-tend-to-learn-the-lesson-of-war-the-hard-way/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/i-think-most-generations-tend-to-learn-the-lesson-of-war-the-hard-way/#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 } } ] } ```