--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Brecht once said: ‘All power comes from…" description: "\"“Brecht once said: ‘All power comes from the people. But where does it go?”\" — Edward Luce" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ec/edward-luce-10080_brecht_brecht-once-said-all-power-comes-from-th_2760206.jpg" --- # Brecht once said: ‘All power comes from the people. But… ![“Brecht once said: ‘All power comes from the people. But where does it go?” quote by Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ec/edward-luce-10080_brecht_brecht-once-said-all-power-comes-from-th_2760206.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ec/edward-luce-10080_brecht_brecht-once-said-all-power-comes-from-th_2760206.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ec/edward-luce-10080_brecht_brecht-once-said-all-power-comes-from-th_2760206.jpg) > ““Brecht once said: ‘All power comes from the people. But where does it go?”” [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Power originates from the people; its direction is uncertain and can be misused. **In simple terms:** People hold power, but its use is unclear. Key Takeaway Question where power goes. Themes politics power society Mood concerned critical Type analytical political When to use this quote - elections - policy making - activism - media analysis Key Concepts democracy authority misuse Questions to Reflect On - Who decides how power is used? - How can citizens ensure power serves them? A Different Perspective Power can be concentrated away from the people. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brecht/) [Brecht Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brecht-said-3163808/) [Comes People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comes-people-360803/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Power Comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-comes/) [Said Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said-power-1764388/) ## Related quotes > [“Convergence,” Tool said. “Power ever draws other power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/convergence-tool-said-power-ever-draws-other-power/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [Anyone who said power was not addictive had never really experienced it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/anyone-who-said-power-was-not-addictive-had-never-really-experienced/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [People used to ask me: 'Well, was it the power that attracted you to Bill Clinton?' And I said, well, how much power do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennifer-flowers/people-used-to-ask-me-well-was-it-the-power-that-attracted-you-to/) [Gennifer Flowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennifer-flowers/) > [“people confuse power with will because so few of them have the foggiest idea what they want. Absent any knowledge, will remains impotent. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/people-confuse-power-with-will-because-so-few-of-them-have-the/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [A man in a position of power over me used that said power to try and take advantage of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lili-reinhart/a-man-in-a-position-of-power-over-me-used-that-said-power-to-try-and/) [Lili Reinhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lili-reinhart/) > [“Hope comes not from the people around you, but from yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alegna-g-granados/hope-comes-not-from-the-people-around-you-but-from-yourself/) [Alegna G. Granados](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alegna-g-granados/) > [“All success comes through other people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/all-success-comes-through-other-people/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I am a very discreet human when it comes to other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/i-am-a-very-discreet-human-when-it-comes-to-other-people/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) > [It comes to this then: there always have been people like me and always will be, and generally they have been persecuted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-comes-to-this-then-there-always-have-been-people-like-me-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All authority comes from the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-davies/all-authority-comes-from-the-people/) [Michael Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-davies/) > [My inspiration comes from the people I may not know but see all around me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-damas/my-inspiration-comes-from-the-people-i-may-not-know-but-see-all/) [Jeanne Damas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-damas/) > [“It all comes down to people in the end. All the global policies and grand schemes. They all come down to what we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-h-cook/it-all-comes-down-to-people-in-the-end-all-the-global-policies-and/) [Thomas H. Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-h-cook/) > [God comes through all people, in the way that people experience themselves. The beautiful part about God is that God is trans-cultural, and tends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/god-comes-through-all-people-in-the-way-that-people-experience/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [Whenever a new president comes in, people that are used to the previous president wonder if he has the same capacity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/whenever-a-new-president-comes-in-people-that-are-used-to-the/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [Social change comes through people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watson/social-change-comes-through-people/) [Paul Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watson/) ## More by Edward Luce > [“Davos has become the emblem of a global elite that has lost its ability to listen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/davos-has-become-the-emblem-of-a-global-elite-that-has-lost-its/) [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) > [“By any numerical measure, humanity is becoming rapidly less poor. But between half and two-thirds of people in the West have been treading water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/by-any-numerical-measure-humanity-is-becoming-rapidly-less-poor-but/) [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) > [“Cowen detects conformism even in the liveliest Silicon Valley companies. Most of its denizens wear some variation on the casual hipster uniform and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/cowen-detects-conformism-even-in-the-liveliest-silicon-valley/) [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) > [“It would also require a conscious effort to look at the world from unfamiliar standpoints and admit that the West has no monopoly on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/it-would-also-require-a-conscious-effort-to-look-at-the-world-from/) [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) > [“Almost half of Americans would be unable to pay a $400 medical emergency bill without going into debt.67”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/almost-half-of-americans-would-be-unable-to-pay-a-400-medical/) [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) > [“In the US, the more liberal a city’s politics, the higher the rate of inequality.45”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/in-the-us-the-more-liberal-a-city-s-politics-the-higher-the-rate-of/) [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) > [“With chisels and pickaxes we made our tiny contributions to this orgy of historic vandalism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/with-chisels-and-pickaxes-we-made-our-tiny-contributions-to-this-orgy/) [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) > [“History tells us that inequality soars when societies develop.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/history-tells-us-that-inequality-soars-when-societies-develop/) [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) > [“the Toil Index – the number of working hours it takes a median worker to pay the median rent in one of America’s big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/the-toil-index-the-number-of-working-hours-it-takes-a-median-worker/) [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) > [“Today’s equivalent is probably ‘get an engineering degree’, but it will not necessarily be as lucrative. A third of Americans who graduated in STEM…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/today-s-equivalent-is-probably-get-an-engineering-degree-but-it-will/) [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) > [“Shortly afterwards Addis Ababa launched a crackdown on its opponents that resulted in hundreds of deaths. If America’s president was in two minds about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/shortly-afterwards-addis-ababa-launched-a-crackdown-on-its-opponents/) [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) > [“Émile Durkheim, the father of modern sociology, said that when societies hit a civilisational break the suicide rate soars.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/mile-durkheim-the-father-of-modern-sociology-said-that-when-societies/) [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) > [“In 1970 only about one in seven American families lived in neighbourhoods that were unambiguously ‘affluent’ or ‘poor’.40 By 2007 that number had risen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/in-1970-only-about-one-in-seven-american-families-lived-in/) [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) > [“M + D = C, Monopoly plus Discretion equals Corruption”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/m-d-c-monopoly-plus-discretion-equals-corruption/) [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) > [“No bourgeoisie, no democracy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/no-bourgeoisie-no-democracy/) [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) [Explore all 68 Edward Luce quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) ## More Brecht quotes > [“Brecht was a cynical bohemian bogey of the middle classes, but also much more than a mere provocateur. He developed and dramatized his political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/brecht-was-a-cynical-bohemian-bogey-of-the-middle-classes-but-also/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [“As a youth I enjoyed — indeed, like most of my contemporaries, revered — the agitprop plays of Brecht, and his indictments of Capitalism.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/as-a-youth-i-enjoyed-indeed-like-most-of-my-contemporaries-revered/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [While I don't script and I don't use other performers, I think my taste for underlying precision gives me something in common with Allan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-antin/while-i-don-t-script-and-i-don-t-use-other-performers-i-think-my/) [David Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-antin/) > [I was called up in the war and sent to a hospital. I dressed wounds, applied iodine, gave enemas, did blood transfusions. If the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/i-was-called-up-in-the-war-and-sent-to-a-hospital-i-dressed-wounds/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [“Bertolt Brecht: I would also like to be wise. In the old books it says what wisdom is: To shun the strife of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-thien/bertolt-brecht-i-would-also-like-to-be-wise-in-the-old-books-it-says/) [Madeleine Thien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-thien/) > [“Food comes first and then morality Bertolt brecht”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/food-comes-first-and-then-morality-bertolt-brecht/) [bertolt brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [I have great respect for Brecht, but his path is not mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-brook/i-have-great-respect-for-brecht-but-his-path-is-not-mine/) [Peter Brook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-brook/) > [“Subtle! Subtlety is bourgeois. Brecht us that when he popped drama’s cherry. He fucked drama until it stopped being subtle, like a lady, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-burr-gerrard/subtle-subtlety-is-bourgeois-brecht-us-that-when-he-popped-drama-s/) [David Burr Gerrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-burr-gerrard/) > [“Our ambitions were, nonetheless, what those of any sensible group of women at that time, perhaps at any modern time, ought to have been:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renata-adler/our-ambitions-were-nonetheless-what-those-of-any-sensible-group-of/) [Renata Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renata-adler/) > [The dilemma of Brechtian performance is that, for all of Brecht's emphasis on rationality and the undermining of theatrical illusion, the actor must convincingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-auslander/the-dilemma-of-brechtian-performance-is-that-for-all-of-brecht-s/) [Philip Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-auslander/) > [ I've never done a \[Berthold\] Brecht. In the 1960s when the Berliner Ensemble came over \[to England\] with Helene Weigel \[Brecht's second wife\], I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hurt/i-ve-never-done-a-berthold-brecht-in-the-1960s-when-the-berliner/) [John Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hurt/) > [Every work of art (unless it is a psuedo-intellectualist work, a work already comprised in some ideology that it merely illustrates, as with Brecht)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/every-work-of-art-unless-it-is-a-psuedo-intellectualist-work-a-work/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [In order to improve democracy, then, it's necessary to change the people, as Brecht ironically proposed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-badiou/in-order-to-improve-democracy-then-it-s-necessary-to-change-the/) [Alain Badiou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-badiou/) > [It would be inappropiate, undignified, at 38, to conduct friendships or love affairs with the ardour or intensity of a 22 year old. Falling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/it-would-be-inappropiate-undignified-at-38-to-conduct-friendships-or/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [I was interested in the ways that artists responded to totalitarianism - the Czech Jazz Section, Romanian absurdist theatre, Brecht's alienation effect. The anything-goes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-royle/i-was-interested-in-the-ways-that-artists-responded-to/) [Nicholas Royle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-royle/) [Browse all 30 Brecht quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brecht/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Brecht once said: ‘All power comes from the people. 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