--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Civilization has been a continuous…" description: "\"Civilization has been a continuous struggle of the individual or of groups of individuals against the State and even against \"society,\" that is, agains..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bc/emma-goldman-774_civilization_civilization-has-been-a-continuous-strug_2456191.png" --- # Civilization has been a continuous struggle of the… ![“Civilization has been a continuous struggle of the individual or of groups of individuals against the State and even against "society," that is, against the majority subdued and hypnotized by the State and State worship.” quote by Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bc/emma-goldman-774_civilization_civilization-has-been-a-continuous-strug_2456191.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bc/emma-goldman-774_civilization_civilization-has-been-a-continuous-strug_2456191.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bc/emma-goldman-774_civilization_civilization-has-been-a-continuous-strug_2456191.png) > “Civilization has been a continuous struggle of the individual or of groups of individuals against the State and even against "society," that is, against the majority subdued and hypnotized by the State and State worship.” [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society is a struggle between individuals and a dominating state that hypnotizes the majority. **In simple terms:** Individuals vs. oppressive state. Key Takeaway Question authority. Themes politics freedom power Mood critical defiant Type political philosophical When to use this quote - activism - policy debate - education curricula Key Concepts anarchism social control Questions to Reflect On - How does state power affect personal freedom? - What alternatives exist to majority rule? A Different Perspective May generalize complex dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Worship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worship/) ## Related quotes > [A civilization in which there is not a continuous controversy about important issues is on the way to totalitarianism and death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-civilization-in-which-there-is-not-a-continuous-controversy-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In a racially divided society, majority rule is not a reliable instrument of democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lani-guinier/in-a-racially-divided-society-majority-rule-is-not-a-reliable/) Lani Guinier > [We have this sacred cow in our society that what the majority of people want is right—but is it? Our populace can't really be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gerrold/we-have-this-sacred-cow-in-our-society-that-what-the-majority-of/) [David Gerrold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gerrold/) > [The important thing for the survival of the Thai society is that the majority of those who work, both in the government and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhumibol-adulyadej/the-important-thing-for-the-survival-of-the-thai-society-is-that-the/) [Bhumibol Adulyadej](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhumibol-adulyadej/) > [It is already possible to imagine a society in which the majority of the population, that is to say, its laborers, will have almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/it-is-already-possible-to-imagine-a-society-in-which-the-majority-of/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [The majority is not society, is not everyone. Majority coercion over the minority is still coercion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/the-majority-is-not-society-is-not-everyone-majority-coercion-over/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [There is the great, silent, continuous struggle: the struggle between the State and the Individual; between the State which demands and the individual who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benito-mussolini/there-is-the-great-silent-continuous-struggle-the-struggle-between/) [Benito Mussolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benito-mussolini/) > [For me, my continuous struggle with every project is, "Is it better than 'Pink?'"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angad-bedi/for-me-my-continuous-struggle-with-every-project-is-is-it-better-than/) [Angad Bedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angad-bedi/) > [“Get this; without a continuous struggle, your previous struggles will become a waste. Stay on and hold on until the success become evident.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/get-this-without-a-continuous-struggle-your-previous-struggles-will/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/change-does-not-roll-in-on-the-wheels-of-inevitability-but-comes-2/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [My whole life has been nothing more than a continuous struggle against Reaction and the death of art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/my-whole-life-has-been-nothing-more-than-a-continuous-struggle/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Complacency is a continuous struggle that we all have to fight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicklaus/complacency-is-a-continuous-struggle-that-we-all-have-to-fight/) [Jack Nicklaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicklaus/) > [If at times my productions do not express the conventionally beautiful, there is always an effort to express the universal beauty of man's continuous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-lawrence/if-at-times-my-productions-do-not-express-the-conventionally/) [Jacob Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-lawrence/) > [Revolution is only truly revolution if it is a continuous struggle-not just an external struggle against an enemy, but an inner struggle, fighting and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sukarno/revolution-is-only-truly-revolution-if-it-is-a-continuous-struggle/) [Sukarno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sukarno/) > [Wherever the Jew is found he is a problem, a source of unhappiness to himself and to those around him. Ever since he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-samuel/wherever-the-jew-is-found-he-is-a-problem-a-source-of-unhappiness-to/) [Maurice Samuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-samuel/) ## More by Emma Goldman > [Poor human nature, what horrible crimes have been committed in thy name! All wars are wars among thieves who are too cowardly to fight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/poor-human-nature-what-horrible-crimes-have-been-committed-in-thy/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [“Do not all theists insist that there can be no morality, no justice, honesty or fidelity without the belief in a Divine Power? Based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/do-not-all-theists-insist-that-there-can-be-no-morality-no-justice/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Lack of fairness to an opponent is essentially a sign of weakness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/lack-of-fairness-to-an-opponent-is-essentially-a-sign-of-weakness/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Do not all theists insist that there can be no morality, no justice, honesty or fidelity without the belief in a Divine Power? Based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/do-not-all-theists-insist-that-there-can-be-no-morality-no-justice-2/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Only when human sorrows are turned into a toy with glaring colors will baby people become interested - for a while at least. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/only-when-human-sorrows-are-turned-into-a-toy-with-glaring-colors/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [More pernicious than the power of a dictator is that of a class; the most terrible - the tyranny of a majority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/more-pernicious-than-the-power-of-a-dictator-is-that-of-a-class-the/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Love, the strongest and deepest element in all life, the harbinger of hope, of joy, of ecstasy; love, the definer of all laws, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/love-the-strongest-and-deepest-element-in-all-life-the-harbinger-of/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Whether our reformers admit it or not, the economic and social inferiority of women is responsible for prostitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/whether-our-reformers-admit-it-or-not-the-economic-and-social/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [The free expression of the hopes and aspirations of a people is the greatest and only safety in a sane society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/the-free-expression-of-the-hopes-and-aspirations-of-a-people-is-the/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Someone has said that it requires less mental effort to condemn than to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/someone-has-said-that-it-requires-less-mental-effort-to-condemn-than/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [The persecution of the innovator and protestant has always been inspired by fear on the part of constituted authority of having its infallibility questioned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/the-persecution-of-the-innovator-and-protestant-has-always-been/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Order derived through submission and maintained by terror is not much of a safe guaranty; yet that is the only "order" that governments have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/order-derived-through-submission-and-maintained-by-terror-is-not-much/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Today is the parent of tomorrow. The present casts its shadow far into the future. That is the law of life, individual and social.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/today-is-the-parent-of-tomorrow-the-present-casts-its-shadow-far-into/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Salvation lies in an energetic march onward towards a brighter and clearer future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/salvation-lies-in-an-energetic-march-onward-towards-a-brighter-and/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [The more hideous the mental contortions, the greater the delight and bravos of the mass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/the-more-hideous-the-mental-contortions-the-greater-the-delight-and/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) [Explore all 368 Emma Goldman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) ## More Civilization quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/) [Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/) > [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. 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Those documents cover 109,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/we-released-400-000-classified-documents-the-most-extraordinary/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Whenever we touch nature we get clean. People who have got dirty through too much civilization take a walk in the woods, or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/whenever-we-touch-nature-we-get-clean-people-who-have-got-dirty/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/the-invention-of-gunpowder-and-the-constant-improvement-of-firearms/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“The mission is, not to replace old world mindlessness with new world mindlessness, but to put an end to all forms of brainless authoritarianism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-mission-is-not-to-replace-old-world-mindlessness-with-new-world/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. 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