--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For two decades the state has been taking…" description: "\"For two decades the state has been taking liberties, and these liberties were once ours.\" — E. P. Thompson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88d/e-p-thompson-27932_been_for-two-decades-the-state-has-been-takin_3064379.png" --- # For two decades the state has been taking liberties, and… ![“For two decades the state has been taking liberties, and these liberties were once ours.” quote by E. P. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88d/e-p-thompson-27932_been_for-two-decades-the-state-has-been-takin_3064379.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88d/e-p-thompson-27932_been_for-two-decades-the-state-has-been-takin_3064379.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88d/e-p-thompson-27932_been_for-two-decades-the-state-has-been-takin_3064379.png) > “For two decades the state has been taking liberties, and these liberties were once ours.” [E. P. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-p-thompson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. State power erodes freedoms over time, reclaiming what was once public. **In simple terms:** State takes liberties from people. Key Takeaway Guard your freedoms. Themes politics history civil liberties Mood concerned critical Type political analytical When to use this quote - citizen activism - policy debate Key Concepts state power public rights historical analysis Questions to Reflect On - What liberties are most at risk today? - How can citizens resist encroachment? A Different Perspective Power can become oppressive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Been](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/been/) [Decades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decades/) [Decades State](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decades-state-5154147/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Liberties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberties/) [Liberties Liberties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberties-liberties-1563255/) [Once](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/once/) [Ours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ours/) [State](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/state/) [State Taking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/state-taking-5154146/) [Taking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taking/) [Taking Liberties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taking-liberties-1770569/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Were](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/were/) ## Related quotes > [When under siege, if we do not stand for our liberties and for the liberties of those who are unable to stand for themselves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-huelskamp/when-under-siege-if-we-do-not-stand-for-our-liberties-and-for-the/) [Tim Huelskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-huelskamp/) > [I began taking liberties a long time ago; now it is standard practice for most directors to ignore the rules.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo-antonioni/i-began-taking-liberties-a-long-time-ago-now-it-is-standard-practice/) [Michelangelo Antonioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo-antonioni/) > [I contend that in the kind of nonfiction I write, and that other people also pursue, anything is permissible provided the reader knows what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-least-heat-moon/i-contend-that-in-the-kind-of-nonfiction-i-write-and-that-other/) [William Least Heat-Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-least-heat-moon/) > [Freedom is poetry, taking liberties with words, breaking the rules of normal speech, violating common sense. 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He's not here to do ours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/we-are-here-to-do-god-s-work-he-s-not-here-to-do-ours/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [I am grateful that I live in a nation where most believe that one's punishment should fit their wrongdoing and that ours is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-rose/i-am-grateful-that-i-live-in-a-nation-where-most-believe-that-one-s/) [Pete Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-rose/) > [“You deicde, and you make our night what you want. Brilliant and ours. Stupid and theirs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-phillips/you-deicde-and-you-make-our-night-what-you-want-brilliant-and-ours/) [Arthur Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-phillips/) ## More by E. P. Thompson > [I have become a prisoner of the peace movement. But you can't say that the termination is coming and then say that you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-p-thompson/i-have-become-a-prisoner-of-the-peace-movement-but-you-can-t-say-that/) [E. P. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-p-thompson/) > [This going into Europe will not turn out to be the thrilling mutual exchange supposed. It is more like nine middle-aged couples with failing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-p-thompson/this-going-into-europe-will-not-turn-out-to-be-the-thrilling-mutual/) [E. P. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-p-thompson/) > [Could I interrupt here, because there is an alternative explanation, which you are particularly well placed to examine. You know the argument that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-p-thompson/could-i-interrupt-here-because-there-is-an-alternative-explanation/) [E. P. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-p-thompson/) > [You know as a scientist that both were developed completely independently of each other in the laboratories. And only afterward were the political situations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-p-thompson/you-know-as-a-scientist-that-both-were-developed-completely/) [E. P. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-p-thompson/) > [I do not see class as a 'structure', nor even as a 'category', but as something which in fact happens (and can be shown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-p-thompson/i-do-not-see-class-as-a-structure-nor-even-as-a-category-but-as/) [E. P. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-p-thompson/) > [The missiles come first, and the justifications come second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-p-thompson/the-missiles-come-first-and-the-justifications-come-second/) [E. P. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-p-thompson/) > [We must not look at the past with the enormous condescension of posterity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-p-thompson/we-must-not-look-at-the-past-with-the-enormous-condescension-of/) [E. P. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-p-thompson/) > [I think that the U.S. does have this very much more open attitude, and I admire it very much and I think it's very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-p-thompson/i-think-that-the-u-s-does-have-this-very-much-more-open-attitude-and/) [E. P. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-p-thompson/) > [I don't care tuppence whether I'm forced into a leadership position or not. I'd much sooner not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-p-thompson/i-don-t-care-tuppence-whether-i-m-forced-into-a-leadership-position/) [E. P. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-p-thompson/) > [The readings of Soviet society are as many as the experts you speak to. In my view, it's a society that is overdue for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-p-thompson/the-readings-of-soviet-society-are-as-many-as-the-experts-you-speak/) [E. P. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-p-thompson/) > [There is not a thought that is being thought in the West or the East that is not active in some Indian mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-p-thompson/there-is-not-a-thought-that-is-being-thought-in-the-west-or-the-east/) [E. P. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-p-thompson/) > [There are no European voices at Geneva, there are no European voices at START.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-p-thompson/there-are-no-european-voices-at-geneva-there-are-no-european-voices/) [E. P. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-p-thompson/) > [I think you will find scientists that think like you in Germany and Britain, and you will find politicians that think like Weinberger. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-p-thompson/i-think-you-will-find-scientists-that-think-like-you-in-germany-and/) [E. P. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-p-thompson/) > [I am convinced that we are in a terminal process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-p-thompson/i-am-convinced-that-we-are-in-a-terminal-process/) [E. P. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-p-thompson/) > [The talk about balance, nuclear balance, seems to me to be metaphysical and doesn't seem to be real at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-p-thompson/the-talk-about-balance-nuclear-balance-seems-to-me-to-be-metaphysical/) [E. P. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-p-thompson/) [Explore all 20 E. P. 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