--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No society has gone the way of gulags or…" description: "\"No society has gone the way of gulags or concentration camps by following the path of Spinoza and Einstein and Jefferson and Thomas Paine\" — Christophe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ca/christopher-hitchens-117_camps_no-society-has-gone-the-way-of-gulags-or_1994366.jpg" --- # No society has gone the way of gulags or concentration… ![“No society has gone the way of gulags or concentration camps by following the path of Spinoza and Einstein and Jefferson and Thomas Paine” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ca/christopher-hitchens-117_camps_no-society-has-gone-the-way-of-gulags-or_1994366.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ca/christopher-hitchens-117_camps_no-society-has-gone-the-way-of-gulags-or_1994366.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ca/christopher-hitchens-117_camps_no-society-has-gone-the-way-of-gulags-or_1994366.jpg) > “No society has gone the way of gulags or concentration camps by following the path of Spinoza and Einstein and Jefferson and Thomas Paine” [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. Critiques the idea that societies can avoid atrocities by emulating Enlightenment thinkers, warning that rationalism alone cannot prevent oppression. **In simple terms:** Rationalism alone won’t stop oppression. Key Takeaway Beware blind faith in philosophy. Themes politics history philosophy Mood cautious critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - policy making - education reform - civil rights activism Key Concepts Enlightenment totalitarianism Questions to Reflect On - How can societies balance reason with vigilance? - What safeguards prevent rational ideas from becoming oppressive? A Different Perspective Philosophical ideas can be misused for control. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Camps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camps/) [Concentration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concentration/) [Concentration camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concentration-camp/) [Concentration Camps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concentration-camps/) [Following](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/following/) [Gone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gone/) [Gulags](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gulags/) [Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paine/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [Path Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path-spinoza-3473790/) [Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spinoza/) [Spinoza Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spinoza-einstein-1181361/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thomas-paine-913055/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Way Gulags](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-gulags-3473791/) ## Related quotes > [The crime of ingratitude has not yet stained, and I trust never will stain, our national character. You are considered by them as not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-monroe/the-crime-of-ingratitude-has-not-yet-stained-and-i-trust-never-will/) [James Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-monroe/) > [What created democracy was Thomas Paine and Shays' Rebellion, the suffragists and the abolitionists and on down through the populists and the labor movement,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-hightower/what-created-democracy-was-thomas-paine-and-shays-rebellion-the/) [Jim Hightower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-hightower/) > [“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it. —    Thomas Paine”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-james/those-who-expect-to-reap-the-blessings-of-freedom-must-like-men-2/) [Jessica James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-james/) > [He (Thomas Paine) saw oppression on every hand; injustice everywhere; hypocrisy at the altar; venality on the bench, tyranny on the throne; and with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/he-thomas-paine-saw-oppression-on-every-hand-injustice-everywhere/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [I have been lately introduced to the famous Thomas Paine, and like him very well. He is vain beyond all belief, but he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-been-lately-introduced-to-the-famous-thomas-paine-and-like-him/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The neglected pioneer of one revolution, the honoured victim of another, brave to the point of folly, and as humane as he was brave,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-noel-brailsford/the-neglected-pioneer-of-one-revolution-the-honoured-victim-of/) [Henry Noel Brailsford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-noel-brailsford/) > [“In 1881, being on a visit to Boston, my wife and I found ourselves in the Parker House with the Ingersoll 's, and went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moncure-daniel-conway/in-1881-being-on-a-visit-to-boston-my-wife-and-i-found-ourselves-in/) [Moncure Daniel Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moncure-daniel-conway/) > [“All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/all-national-institutions-of-churches-whether-jewish-christian-or/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [Thomas Paine needs no monument made with hands; he has erected a monument in the hearts of all lovers of liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-jackson/thomas-paine-needs-no-monument-made-with-hands-he-has-erected-a/) [Andrew Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-jackson/) > [“ Paine was a grand fellow — high—with the most splendid sense of justice. But he was a reasoner — not warm — not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/paine-was-a-grand-fellow-high-with-the-most-splendid-sense-of-justice/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [The great Jewish scientists and philosophers of the last few generations - Spinoza, Einstein, Freud, Robert Oppenheimer and others - were natives of Europe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ben-gurion/the-great-jewish-scientists-and-philosophers-of-the-last-few/) [David Ben-Gurion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ben-gurion/) > [“Like Spinoza, Einstein did not believe in a personal God who interacted with man. But they both believed that a divine design was reflected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/like-spinoza-einstein-did-not-believe-in-a-personal-god-who/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [Of all heroes , Spinoza was Einstein 's greatest. No one expressed more strongly then he a belief in the harmony , the beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-archibald-wheeler/of-all-heroes-spinoza-was-einstein-s-greatest-no-one-expressed-more/) [John Archibald Wheeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-archibald-wheeler/) > [“To begin with a summary of Paine’s astonishing life and career is to commence with a sense of wonder that he was ever able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/to-begin-with-a-summary-of-paine-s-astonishing-life-and-career-is-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ This huge and terrible industry \[the slave trade\] was blessed by all churches and for a long time aroused absolutely no religious protest. .… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/this-huge-and-terrible-industry-the-slave-trade-was-blessed-by-all/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## 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. They think they'll be young and beautiful forever, even though most of them… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-los-angeles-mostly-full-of-nonsense-and-delusion-and-egomania/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [To be against rationalization is not the same as to be opposed to reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/to-be-against-rationalization-is-not-the-same-as-to-be-opposed-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ \[Religion\] attacks us in our deepest integrity - the core of our self-respect. Religion says that we would not know right from wrong, we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/religion-attacks-us-in-our-deepest-integrity-the-core-of-our-self/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“In the very recent past, we have seen the Church of Rome befouled by its complicity with the unpardonable sin of child rape, or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/in-the-very-recent-past-we-have-seen-the-church-of-rome-befouled-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's surprising to me how many of my friends send Christmas cards, or holiday cards, including my atheist and secular friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-surprising-to-me-how-many-of-my-friends-send-christmas-cards-or/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Suppose there were groups of secularists at hospitals who went round the terminally ill and urged them to adopt atheism: 'Don't be a mug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/suppose-there-were-groups-of-secularists-at-hospitals-who-went-round/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [There are, after all, atheists who say they wish the fable were true but are unable to suspend the requisite disbelief, or who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-are-after-all-atheists-who-say-they-wish-the-fable-were-true/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“It isn’t so long since a test of Anglican orthodoxy was applied to anyone seeking to study or teach at Oxford and Cambridge universities.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-isn-t-so-long-since-a-test-of-anglican-orthodoxy-was-applied-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Gullibility and credulity are considered undesireable qualities in every department of human life - except religion ... 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 Camps quotes > [Humanitarian goods and people must flow in both directions. Gaza cannot and must not be allowed to remain a prison camp.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cameron/humanitarian-goods-and-people-must-flow-in-both-directions-gaza/) [David Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cameron/) > [The surprise of an army is now next to an impossibility. ... Prearranged surprises are rare and difficult because in order to plan one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/the-surprise-of-an-army-is-now-next-to-an-impossibility-prearranged/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) > [In high school, I was performing "forensics." You take a section of a play and portray all the characters. I even went to camp…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-silverman/in-high-school-i-was-performing-forensics-you-take-a-section-of-a/) [Allison Silverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-silverman/) > [As far as I know, the question of whether and how it could be strategically or morally justified was never the subject of open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-far-as-i-know-the-question-of-whether-and-how-it-could-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's often frustrating when you're a war reporter and you're covering these places that far away. You're frustrated by making stories that people can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-rowley/it-s-often-frustrating-when-you-re-a-war-reporter-and-you-re-covering/) [Rick Rowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-rowley/) > [A man in a cave or in a camp, a nomad, will die with no more estate than the wolf or the horse leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-in-a-cave-or-in-a-camp-a-nomad-will-die-with-no-more-estate/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The troops were occasionally occupied in pursuing scattered bands going north or south, and on three occasions the large camp of Sitting Bull ventured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-a-miles/the-troops-were-occasionally-occupied-in-pursuing-scattered-bands/) [Nelson A. Miles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-a-miles/) > [I try to leave my work at the door when I leave the set. It's almost like summer camp. You go in hard, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dano/i-try-to-leave-my-work-at-the-door-when-i-leave-the-set-it-s-almost/) [Paul Dano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dano/) > [When I was seventeen, I worked as a counsellor at a co-ed sleep-away camp for eight weeks. I loved it but it could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/when-i-was-seventeen-i-worked-as-a-counsellor-at-a-co-ed-sleep-away/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [When we criticize in Iran the actions of the government, the fundamentalists say that we and the Bush Administration are in the same camp.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirin-ebadi/when-we-criticize-in-iran-the-actions-of-the-government-the/) [Shirin Ebadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirin-ebadi/) > [If writing with a goal - whether it be evangelistic, apologetic, or didactic - implies propaganda, then all recorded history is propaganda. . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-copan/if-writing-with-a-goal-whether-it-be-evangelistic-apologetic-or/) [Paul Copan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-copan/) > [ \[10 Things I Hate About You\] was the most fun I ever had making a movie. Everyone got along really, really well from day… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krumholtz/10-things-i-hate-about-you-was-the-most-fun-i-ever-had-making-a-movie/) [David Krumholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krumholtz/) > [I can see that I imagine all kinds of rejection that never happens. I can see that I beg and plead for love that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-can-see-that-i-imagine-all-kinds-of-rejection-that-never-happens-i/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [I admire the Elsie Tanners and Barbara Windsors of the world: people who have crawled back from the abyss. I'm quite camp in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-eclair/i-admire-the-elsie-tanners-and-barbara-windsors-of-the-world-people/) [Jenny Eclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-eclair/) > [Wouldn't that be funny, if the oil rebels were playing U2 in their jungle camps, and the government soldiers were playing U2 in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cleave/wouldn-t-that-be-funny-if-the-oil-rebels-were-playing-u2-in-their/) [Chris Cleave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cleave/) [Browse all 918 Camps quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camps/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "No society has gone the way of gulags or concentration camps by following the path of Spinoza and Einstein and Jefferson and Thomas Paine", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christopher Hitchens" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/no-society-has-gone-the-way-of-gulags-or-concentration-camps-by/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Camps" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/no-society-has-gone-the-way-of-gulags-or-concentration-camps-by/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ca/christopher-hitchens-117_camps_no-society-has-gone-the-way-of-gulags-or_1994366.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ca/christopher-hitchens-117_camps_no-society-has-gone-the-way-of-gulags-or_1994366.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ca/christopher-hitchens-117_camps_no-society-has-gone-the-way-of-gulags-or_1994366.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“No society has gone the way of gulags or concentration camps by following the path of Spinoza and Einstein…” — Christopher Hitchens", "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": "Christopher Hitchens", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "No society has gone the way...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/no-society-has-gone-the-way-of-gulags-or-concentration-camps-by/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/no-society-has-gone-the-way-of-gulags-or-concentration-camps-by/#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 } } ] } ```