--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My own view is that this planet is used…" description: "\"My own view is that this planet is used as a penal colony, lunatic asylum and dumping ground by a superior civilisation, to get rid of the undesirable ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/041/christopher-hitchens-117_civilisation_my-own-view-is-that-this-planet-is-used_456803.jpg" --- # My own view is that this planet is used as a penal colony… ![“My own view is that this planet is used as a penal colony, lunatic asylum and dumping ground by a superior civilisation, to get rid of the undesirable and unfit. I can't prove it, but you can't disprove it either.” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/041/christopher-hitchens-117_civilisation_my-own-view-is-that-this-planet-is-used_456803.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/041/christopher-hitchens-117_civilisation_my-own-view-is-that-this-planet-is-used_456803.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/041/christopher-hitchens-117_civilisation_my-own-view-is-that-this-planet-is-used_456803.jpg) > “My own view is that this planet is used as a penal colony, lunatic asylum and dumping ground by a superior civilisation, to get rid of the undesirable and unfit. I can't prove it, but you can't disprove it either.” [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests humanity is a waste repository for a superior civilization, implying we are discarded and controlled. **In simple terms:** Humans are treated as waste by a higher power. Key Takeaway Question the purpose and origins of humanity. Themes existentialism conspiracy anthropology Mood skeptical curious Type critical speculative When to use this quote - science fiction writing - philosophical debates - environmental activism Key Concepts social hierarchy colonialism ethics Questions to Reflect On - What evidence would change your view? - How does this belief affect your daily life? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilisation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilisation/) [Colony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colony/) [Planet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planet/) ## Related quotes > [The planet should not be used as a warehouse of resources to serve humanity's selfishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/the-planet-should-not-be-used-as-a-warehouse-of-resources-to-serve/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [The longer I live, the more convinced am I that this planet is used by other planets as a lunatic asylum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-longer-i-live-the-more-convinced-am-i-that-this-planet-is-used-by/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [It's humbling to realise that the developmental gulf between a miniscule ant colony and our modern human civilisation is only a tiny fraction of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/it-s-humbling-to-realise-that-the-developmental-gulf-between-a/) [Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/) > [“And I'll close by saying this. Because anti-Semitism is the godfather of racism and the gateway to tyranny and fascism and war, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/and-i-ll-close-by-saying-this-because-anti-semitism-is-the-godfather/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“There's a certain amount of ambiguity in my background, what with intermarriages and conversions, but under various readings of three codes which I don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-s-a-certain-amount-of-ambiguity-in-my-background-what-with/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“As he grew older, which was mostly in my absence, my firstborn son, Alexander, became ever more humorous and courageous. There came a time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/as-he-grew-older-which-was-mostly-in-my-absence-my-firstborn-son/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [English is big business and languages are dying as never before. Is there a connection? Is this another manifestation of McDonaldisation – the undesirable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-ryan/english-is-big-business-and-languages-are-dying-as-never-before-is/) [Patricia Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-ryan/) > [We do not believe in quotas. They would not only be undesirable, they would be illegal. There is legal protection for the autonomy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-willetts/we-do-not-believe-in-quotas-they-would-not-only-be-undesirable-they/) [David Willetts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-willetts/) > [Generous unemployment benefits can increase both structural and frictional unemployment. So government policies intended to help workers can have the undesirable side effect of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-krugman/generous-unemployment-benefits-can-increase-both-structural-and/) [Paul Krugman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-krugman/) > [I regard the effort to introduce women into colleges for young men as very undesirable, and for many reasons. That the two sexes should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-beecher/i-regard-the-effort-to-introduce-women-into-colleges-for-young-men-as/) [Catharine Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-beecher/) > [“Shifting attention away from an undesirable issue is an ideal practice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/shifting-attention-away-from-an-undesirable-issue-is-an-ideal-practice/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [well, young man," the judge began, what it biols down to this if the court so desires and if you belive that your home…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-pelzer/well-young-man-the-judge-began-what-it-biols-down-to-this-if-the/) [Dave Pelzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-pelzer/) > [“We’re not broken. We’re not in the wrong bodies. We’re not inadequate. We’re not lesser. We’re not unwanted. We’re not fraudulent. We’re not undesirable.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnostic-zetetic/we-re-not-broken-we-re-not-in-the-wrong-bodies-we-re-not-inadequate/) Agnostic Zetetic > [Once you understand the power of stimulus control, you can use it to your advantage by changing the stimuli in your environment and avoiding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/once-you-understand-the-power-of-stimulus-control-you-can-use-it-to/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) ## More by Christopher Hitchens > [“The spirit of our accurate and exact philosophy is outraged by conclusions that contradict each other so glaringly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-spirit-of-our-accurate-and-exact-philosophy-is-outraged-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Many governments employ torture but this was the first time that the element of Saturnalia and pornography in the process had been made so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/many-governments-employ-torture-but-this-was-the-first-time-that-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ It's \[Los Angeles\] mostly full of nonsense and delusion and egomania. 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Why are we praised by godly men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/gullibility-and-credulity-are-considered-undesireable-qualities-in/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's much worse to see a woman drunk than a man: I don't know quite why this is true but it just is. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-much-worse-to-see-a-woman-drunk-than-a-man-i-don-t-know-quite/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's true that obscenity is a matter of taste and in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-true-that-obscenity-is-a-matter-of-taste-and-in-the-eye-of-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I worked out early on to give up things I couldn't do well at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-worked-out-early-on-to-give-up-things-i-couldn-t-do-well-at-all/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Writing is what's important to me, and anything that helps me do that - or enhances and prolongs and deepens and sometimes intensifies argument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/writing-is-what-s-important-to-me-and-anything-that-helps-me-do-that/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) [Explore all 1,241 Christopher Hitchens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More Civilisation quotes > [The European talks of progress because by the aid of a few scientific discoveries he has established a society which has mistaken comfort for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/the-european-talks-of-progress-because-by-the-aid-of-a-few-scientific/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [In some ways, I lament the introduction of civilisation on such a huge scale, because it has given us a lot of room to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-harper/in-some-ways-i-lament-the-introduction-of-civilisation-on-such-a-huge/) [Roy Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-harper/) > [We are producing urban places which are disjointed and disconnected and not worthy of our civilisation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moshe-safdie/we-are-producing-urban-places-which-are-disjointed-and-disconnected/) [Moshe Safdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moshe-safdie/) > [“There is a great deal of ruin in a nation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/there-is-a-great-deal-of-ruin-in-a-nation/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [The slow rhythm of the body, the insistent rhythm of the wit, were they becoming irreconcilable in modern civilisation? The sedentary life, frustration and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-williamson/the-slow-rhythm-of-the-body-the-insistent-rhythm-of-the-wit-were-they/) [Henry Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-williamson/) > [The idea that war should be conducted within a moral framework may seem like a quaint medieval practice, but as speech separates humans from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-idea-that-war-should-be-conducted-within-a-moral-framework-may/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It crosses my mind that our generation may leave problems that are simply too hard for human society in the generations that follow. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-garnaut/it-crosses-my-mind-that-our-generation-may-leave-problems-that-are/) [Ross Garnaut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-garnaut/) > [“the march of civilisation has given the modern girl a vocabulary and an ability to use it which her grandmother never had”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse-2/the-march-of-civilisation-has-given-the-modern-girl-a-vocabulary-and/) [P. G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse-2/) > [But the ear, let us not forget, starts operating on the forty-fifth day of the pregnancy of a woman. Seven and a half months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-barenboim/but-the-ear-let-us-not-forget-starts-operating-on-the-forty-fifth-day/) [Daniel Barenboim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-barenboim/) > [I love fashion, beauty, glamour. 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