--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is only through difference that…" description: "\"“It is only through difference that progress can be made. What threatens us right now is probably what we may call over-communication--that is, the ten..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b9/claude-levi-strauss-8995_creativity_it-is-only-through-difference-that-progr_800049.jpg" --- # It is only through difference that progress can be made… ![“It is only through difference that progress can be made. What threatens us right now is probably what we may call over-communication--that is, the tendency to know exactly in one point of the world what is going on in all other parts of the world. In order for a culture to be really itself and to…” quote by Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b9/claude-levi-strauss-8995_creativity_it-is-only-through-difference-that-progr_800049.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b9/claude-levi-strauss-8995_creativity_it-is-only-through-difference-that-progr_800049.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b9/claude-levi-strauss-8995_creativity_it-is-only-through-difference-that-progr_800049.jpg) > ““It is only through difference that progress can be made. What threatens us right now is probably what we may call over-communication--that is, the tendency to know exactly in one point of the world what is going on in all other parts of the world. In order for a culture to be really itself and to produce something, the culture and its members must be convinced of their originality and even, to some extent, of their superiority over the others; it is only under conditions of under-communication that it can produce anything. We are now threatened with the prospect of our being only consumers, able to consume anything from any point in the world and from any culture, but of losing all originality.”” [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Progress needs diversity; over‑communication erodes cultural originality and creativity. **In simple terms:** Difference fuels progress; too much sharing kills originality. Key Takeaway Encourage distinct local cultures and limit global homogenization. Themes culture originality communication globalization creativity Mood reflective concerned Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - media policy - education curricula - artistic production - community building Key Concepts cultural identity information overload creative autonomy Questions to Reflect On - How can societies balance global exchange with preserving uniqueness? - What mechanisms protect cultural originality? A Different Perspective Over‑communication can also spread harmful ideas quickly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Communication Produce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication-produce-6128095/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Culture Losing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture-losing-6128094/) [Progress Threatens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress-threatens-6128093/) [Right now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-now/) [Superiority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superiority/) [World Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-culture-392998/) ## Related quotes > [Believe it or not, entertainment is part of our American diplomacy, it is part of what makes us exceptional, part of what makes us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/believe-it-or-not-entertainment-is-part-of-our-american-diplomacy-it/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“Game worlds are much more than the sum of the pictures and sounds that portray them. A game world can have a culture, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-adams/game-worlds-are-much-more-than-the-sum-of-the-pictures-and-sounds/) [Ernest Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-adams/) > [I don't think the world is particularly responsive to - our world, the culture we are in, to art right now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-busch/i-don-t-think-the-world-is-particularly-responsive-to-our-world-the/) [Frederick Busch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-busch/) > [To speak a language is to take on a world, a culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/to-speak-a-language-is-to-take-on-a-world-a-culture/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [The world's culture is changing, adapting. People are keeping what's good in a culture, and sweeping out the rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgie-anne-geyer/the-world-s-culture-is-changing-adapting-people-are-keeping-what-s/) [Georgie Anne Geyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgie-anne-geyer/) > [Even though the world as a whole progresses, youth must always start again from the beginning, and as individuals go through the epochs of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/even-though-the-world-as-a-whole-progresses-youth-must-always-start/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Hollywood, America's greatest modern contribution to world culture, is a business, a religion, an art form, and a state of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/hollywood-america-s-greatest-modern-contribution-to-world-culture-is/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [“Whenever new knowledge of a transforming nature permeates the race, the standard of world culture rises.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell/whenever-new-knowledge-of-a-transforming-nature-permeates-the-race/) [Walter Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell/) > [There's never been a culture without poetry in the history of the world. In every culture, in every language there is expressive play, expressive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/there-s-never-been-a-culture-without-poetry-in-the-history-of-the/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [ In this Western world that we have, culture risks being \[only\] a form of entertainment. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirin-neshat/in-this-western-world-that-we-have-culture-risks-being-only-a-form-of/) [Shirin Neshat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirin-neshat/) > [We do not birth our children into the world of nature. We birth our children into the world of culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-do-not-birth-our-children-into-the-world-of-nature-we-birth-our/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Australia was a very different world and culture from the one I left in Europe. Life was much more spread out. People drove everywhere.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreja-pejic/australia-was-a-very-different-world-and-culture-from-the-one-i-left/) [Andreja Pejic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreja-pejic/) > [The whole world recognizes Russia's cultural achievements. It is impossible to imagine the world culture without Russian culture, without our music and literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/the-whole-world-recognizes-russia-s-cultural-achievements-it-is/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [It’s trite to say that the world has gotten smaller in the age of globalization, but my travels have told me that it’s wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-spinrad/it-s-trite-to-say-that-the-world-has-gotten-smaller-in-the-age-of/) [Norman Spinrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-spinrad/) > [I think we are evolving rapidly into one world culture. It's certainly one world economy. With billions of people online, I think we'll appreciate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/i-think-we-are-evolving-rapidly-into-one-world-culture-it-s-certainly/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) ## More by Claude Levi-Strauss > [Our students wanted to know everything: but only the newest theory seemed to them worth bothering with. Knowing nothing of the intellectual achievements of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/our-students-wanted-to-know-everything-but-only-the-newest-theory/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [While I complain of being able to glimpse no more than the shadow of the past, I may be insensitive to reality as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/while-i-complain-of-being-able-to-glimpse-no-more-than-the-shadow-of/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [Civilization has ceased to be that delicate flower which was preserved and painstakingly cultivated in one or two sheltered areas of a soil rich…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/civilization-has-ceased-to-be-that-delicate-flower-which-was/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [These facts make the creator of music a being like the gods, and make music itself the supreme mystery of human knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/these-facts-make-the-creator-of-music-a-being-like-the-gods-and-make/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [Being human signifies, for each one of us, belonging to a class, a society, a country, a continent and a civilization; and for us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/being-human-signifies-for-each-one-of-us-belonging-to-a-class-a/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [“For mile after mile the same melodic phrase rose up in my memory. I simply couldn’t get free of it. Each time it had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/for-mile-after-mile-the-same-melodic-phrase-rose-up-in-my-memory-i/) [Claude Lévi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [Anthropology found its Galileo in Rivers, its Newton in Mauss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/anthropology-found-its-galileo-in-rivers-its-newton-in-mauss/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [The scientist is not a person who gives the right answers, he is one who asks the right questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/the-scientist-is-not-a-person-who-gives-the-right-answers-he-is-one/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [Natural man did not precede society, nor is he outside it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/natural-man-did-not-precede-society-nor-is-he-outside-it/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [“For everything is history: What was said yesterday is history, what was said a minute ago is history. But, above all, one is led…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/for-everything-is-history-what-was-said-yesterday-is-history-what-was/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [In the old days, people used to risk their lives in India or in the Americas in order to bring back products which now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/in-the-old-days-people-used-to-risk-their-lives-in-india-or-in-the/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [The musical emotion springs precisely from the fact that at each moment the composer withholds or adds more or less than the listener anticipates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/the-musical-emotion-springs-precisely-from-the-fact-that-at-each/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [Scientific knowledge advances haltingly and is stimulated by contention and doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/scientific-knowledge-advances-haltingly-and-is-stimulated-by/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [Understanding arises from reducing one type of reality into another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/understanding-arises-from-reducing-one-type-of-reality-into-another/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [All the essentials of humanity's artistic treasures can be found in New York.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/all-the-essentials-of-humanity-s-artistic-treasures-can-be-found-in/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) [Explore all 62 Claude Levi-Strauss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) ## More Creativity quotes > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“The Soviet “creative intelligentsia” - that is, people accustomed to thinking one thing, saying another and doing a third - is as a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-amalrik/the-soviet-creative-intelligentsia-that-is-people-accustomed-to/) [Andrei Amalrik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-amalrik/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [You don't get lucky. You create lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-don-t-get-lucky-you-create-lucky/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“You are the end of beauty and creativity one must have created so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/you-are-the-end-of-beauty-and-creativity-one-must-have-created-so-far/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“I believe in magic. As a writer, I create them on blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnia-kemmer/i-believe-in-magic-as-a-writer-i-create-them-on-blank-paper/) [Sonnia Kemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnia-kemmer/) > [Creativity is like chasing chickens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-niemann/creativity-is-like-chasing-chickens/) [Christoph Niemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-niemann/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. It's a time when you really get to do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/you-always-hear-actors-say-theater-is-my-first-love-and-it-is-it-s-a/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [Create an environment for people to fail, to learn, and to grow. Their creativity and productivity will increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/create-an-environment-for-people-to-fail-to-learn-and-to-grow-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 13,625 Creativity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is only through difference that progress can be made. What threatens us right now is probably what we may call over-communication--that is, the tendency to know exactly in one point of the world what is going on in all other parts of the world. 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