--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What society doesn't realize is that in…" description: "\"What society doesn't realize is that in the past, ordinary people respected learning. They respected books, and they don't now, or not very much. That ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a84/doris-lessing-501_book_what-society-doesn-t-realize-is-that-in_1494798.png" --- # What society doesn't realize is that in the past, ordinary… ![“What society doesn't realize is that in the past, ordinary people respected learning. They respected books, and they don't now, or not very much. That whole respect for serious literature and learning has disappeared.” quote by Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a84/doris-lessing-501_book_what-society-doesn-t-realize-is-that-in_1494798.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a84/doris-lessing-501_book_what-society-doesn-t-realize-is-that-in_1494798.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a84/doris-lessing-501_book_what-society-doesn-t-realize-is-that-in_1494798.png) > “What society doesn't realize is that in the past, ordinary people respected learning. They respected books, and they don't now, or not very much. That whole respect for serious literature and learning has disappeared.” [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society has lost respect for learning and books, which were once valued. **In simple terms:** People no longer respect learning as before. Key Takeaway Revive respect for education. Themes education literature culture Mood concerned reflective Type critical inspirational When to use this quote - school curricula - public libraries - book clubs - media campaigns Key Concepts respect historical shift knowledge erosion Questions to Reflect On - Why has respect for books declined? - How can we encourage learning today? A Different Perspective Changing attitudes is slow and complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Learning Disappeared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning-disappeared-5466895/) [Learning Respected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning-respected-5466893/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Ordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary/) [Ordinary people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-people/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Realizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realizing/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Respect Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect-literature-1314308/) [Respected Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respected-learning-5466894/) [Serious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serious/) [Society Doesn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society-doesn/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) ## Related quotes > [There was a time when young people respected learning and literature and now they don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/there-was-a-time-when-young-people-respected-learning-and-literature/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I have respect for literature. 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