--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Most Americans would say that they…" description: "\"Most Americans would say that they disapproved of violence. But what they really mean is that they believe it should be the monopoly of the state.\" — E..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/714/edgar-friedenberg-25150_believe_most-americans-would-say-that-they-disap_1013123.png" --- # Most Americans would say that they disapproved of… ![“Most Americans would say that they disapproved of violence. But what they really mean is that they believe it should be the monopoly of the state.” quote by Edgar Friedenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/714/edgar-friedenberg-25150_believe_most-americans-would-say-that-they-disap_1013123.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/714/edgar-friedenberg-25150_believe_most-americans-would-say-that-they-disap_1013123.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/714/edgar-friedenberg-25150_believe_most-americans-would-say-that-they-disap_1013123.png) > “Most Americans would say that they disapproved of violence. But what they really mean is that they believe it should be the monopoly of the state.” [Edgar Friedenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-friedenberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Many claim to oppose violence, yet they often accept state‑sanctioned force as the only legitimate form. **In simple terms:** Violence is often delegated to the state. Key Takeaway Question the monopoly of state violence. Themes politics violence authority Mood critical reflective Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - public policy debates - activist organizing - legal reform Key Concepts social contract legitimacy power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Do you accept any form of state violence? - How can societies reduce reliance on force? A Different Perspective State violence can be justified as necessary for order. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Monopoly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monopoly/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) ## Related quotes > [Where a trust becomes a monopoly the state has an immediate right to interfere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/where-a-trust-becomes-a-monopoly-the-state-has-an-immediate-right-to/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [“It's always the same with these bogus equivalences: They start by pretending loftily to find no difference between aggressor and victim, and they end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-always-the-same-with-these-bogus-equivalences-they-start-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [At the end of the day, violence never really solves any problem...it just creates new ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-the-end-of-the-day-violence-never-really-solves-any-problem-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I know and understand the result of extreme violence in my own life, in my friends' lives, and so I know what violence really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salim-akil/i-know-and-understand-the-result-of-extreme-violence-in-my-own-life/) [Salim Akil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salim-akil/) > [Violence has not really been an issue. Even in my wildest hopes, I wasn't trying to get violence in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-hurwitz/violence-has-not-really-been-an-issue-even-in-my-wildest-hopes-i-wasn/) [Mitchell Hurwitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-hurwitz/) > [In some people's eyes, nudity is so much more dangerous than violence. I never really understood that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-skarsgard/in-some-people-s-eyes-nudity-is-so-much-more-dangerous-than-violence/) [Alexander Skarsgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-skarsgard/) > [“Sentiment is an echo of violence. It's not really a vital expression.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/sentiment-is-an-echo-of-violence-it-s-not-really-a-vital-expression/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [When you live in a city, as I do, where violence is really in the streets, and people die every day, there's nothing funny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/when-you-live-in-a-city-as-i-do-where-violence-is-really-in-the/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [It is a form of violence, to not see a being for who he or she really is. You think, "Oh, that's my son."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-kabat-zinn/it-is-a-form-of-violence-to-not-see-a-being-for-who-he-or-she-really/) [Jon Kabat-Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-kabat-zinn/) > [Sex and violence was never really my cup of tea; I was always more into sax and violins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wim-wenders/sex-and-violence-was-never-really-my-cup-of-tea-i-was-always-more/) [Wim Wenders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wim-wenders/) > [Now, I know there are many Americans who say, 'Get out of Afghanistan. Bring 'em all home.' And there are others who say, 'Put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/now-i-know-there-are-many-americans-who-say-get-out-of-afghanistan/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [“Americans may say they love our accents (I have been accused of sounding 'like Princess Di') but the more thoughtful ones resent and rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hitchens/americans-may-say-they-love-our-accents-i-have-been-accused-of/) [Peter Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hitchens/) > [The share of Americans who say race relations are bad in this country is the highest it's been in decades, much of it amplified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-holt/the-share-of-americans-who-say-race-relations-are-bad-in-this-country/) [Lester Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-holt/) > [“Their management and regulation of our lives spans the total spectrum of American experience, from their obtuse Imperial Measurement System, to their irregularity-strangled English…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoltan-istvan/their-management-and-regulation-of-our-lives-spans-the-total-spectrum/) [Zoltan Istvan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoltan-istvan/) > [The Americans say that we are ungrateful-but I ask them for heaven's sake, what should we be grateful to them for-for murdering our fathers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walker/the-americans-say-that-we-are-ungrateful-but-i-ask-them-for-heaven-s/) [David Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walker/) ## More by Edgar Friedenberg > [Adolescents tend to be passionate people, and passion is no less real because it is directed toward a hot-rod, a commercialized popular singer, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-friedenberg/adolescents-tend-to-be-passionate-people-and-passion-is-no-less-real/) [Edgar Friedenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-friedenberg/) > [Every major industrial society believes that it has a serious youth problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-friedenberg/every-major-industrial-society-believes-that-it-has-a-serious-youth/) [Edgar Friedenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-friedenberg/) > [Not only do most people accept violence if it is perpetuated by legitimate authority, they also regard violence against certain kinds of people as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-friedenberg/not-only-do-most-people-accept-violence-if-it-is-perpetuated-by/) [Edgar Friedenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-friedenberg/) > [Romance, like alcohol, should be enjoyed but must not be allowed to become necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-friedenberg/romance-like-alcohol-should-be-enjoyed-but-must-not-be-allowed-to/) [Edgar Friedenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-friedenberg/) > [Every major industrial society believes it has a serious youth problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-friedenberg/every-major-industrial-society-believes-it-has-a-serious-youth-problem/) [Edgar Friedenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-friedenberg/) > [No American is prepared to attend his own funeral without the services of highly skilled cosmeticians. Part of the American dream, after all, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-friedenberg/no-american-is-prepared-to-attend-his-own-funeral-without-the/) [Edgar Friedenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-friedenberg/) > [All weakness tends to corrupt, and impotence corrupts absolutely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-friedenberg/all-weakness-tends-to-corrupt-and-impotence-corrupts-absolutely/) [Edgar Friedenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-friedenberg/) > [What we must decide is how we are valuable rather than how valuable we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-friedenberg/what-we-must-decide-is-how-we-are-valuable-rather-than-how-valuable/) [Edgar Friedenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-friedenberg/) > [ The atmosphere \[in the school lunchroom\] is not quite that of a prison, because the students are permitted to talk quietly, under the frowning… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-friedenberg/the-atmosphere-in-the-school-lunchroom-is-not-quite-that-of-a-prison/) [Edgar Friedenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-friedenberg/) > [Canadians are more polite when they are being rude than Americans are when they are being friendly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-friedenberg/canadians-are-more-polite-when-they-are-being-rude-than-americans-are/) [Edgar Friedenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-friedenberg/) > [In a world as empirical as ours, a youngster who does not know what he is good at will not be sure what he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-friedenberg/in-a-world-as-empirical-as-ours-a-youngster-who-does-not-know-what-he/) [Edgar Friedenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-friedenberg/) > [Only science can hope to keep technology in some sort of moral order.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-friedenberg/only-science-can-hope-to-keep-technology-in-some-sort-of-moral-order/) [Edgar Friedenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-friedenberg/) > [What is learned in high school, or for that matter anywhere at all, depends far less on what is taught than on what one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-friedenberg/what-is-learned-in-high-school-or-for-that-matter-anywhere-at-all/) [Edgar Friedenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-friedenberg/) > [It is idle to talk of civil liberties to adults who were systematically taught in adolescence that they had none; and it is sheer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-friedenberg/it-is-idle-to-talk-of-civil-liberties-to-adults-who-were/) [Edgar Friedenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-friedenberg/) > [The teenager seems to have replaced the Communist as the appropriate target for public controversy and foreboding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-friedenberg/the-teenager-seems-to-have-replaced-the-communist-as-the-appropriate/) [Edgar Friedenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-friedenberg/) [Explore all 23 Edgar Friedenberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-friedenberg/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [That's why I don't generally talk about endorsements because I don't believe we have to tell people who to vote for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-iii/that-s-why-i-don-t-generally-talk-about-endorsements-because-i-don-t/) [Martin Luther King III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-iii/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. 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