--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is this absurd assumption that the…" description: "\"There is this absurd assumption that the revitalisation of the public sphere is always a good thing. I think people tend to confuse 'civic' and 'civil,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f46/evgeny-morozov-2995_absurd_there-is-this-absurd-assumption-that-the_2175364.png" --- # There is this absurd assumption that the revitalisation of… ![“There is this absurd assumption that the revitalisation of the public sphere is always a good thing. I think people tend to confuse 'civic' and 'civil,' and they believe that everything that is done by citizens is necessarily a good thing because you build a network, an association.” quote by Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f46/evgeny-morozov-2995_absurd_there-is-this-absurd-assumption-that-the_2175364.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f46/evgeny-morozov-2995_absurd_there-is-this-absurd-assumption-that-the_2175364.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f46/evgeny-morozov-2995_absurd_there-is-this-absurd-assumption-that-the_2175364.png) > “There is this absurd assumption that the revitalisation of the public sphere is always a good thing. I think people tend to confuse 'civic' and 'civil,' and they believe that everything that is done by citizens is necessarily a good thing because you build a network, an association.” [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often equate any civic activity with positive outcomes, ignoring that not all citizen‑driven actions are beneficial. **In simple terms:** Not all public participation is good. Key Takeaway Critically assess civic initiatives. Themes civic engagement technology society Mood critical analytical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - policy making - community organizing - online forums - grassroots movements Key Concepts Public sphere theory digital activism Questions to Reflect On - What criteria should evaluate civic projects? - When does civic action become counterproductive? A Different Perspective Good intentions can mask harmful effects. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Assumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumption/) [Civic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civic/) [Civics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civics/) [Good things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-things/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“I believe citizens are beginning to realize that their birthright, a healthy ecosystem, has been stolen, and they want it back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-clover/i-believe-citizens-are-beginning-to-realize-that-their-birthright-a/) [Charles Clover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-clover/) > [I certainly think it's very important that writers as citizens - not necessarily as writers, but just as ordinary citizens - should talk about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-certainly-think-it-s-very-important-that-writers-as-citizens-not/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [I certainly think its very important that writers as citizens - not necessarily as writers, but just as ordinary citizens - should talk about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-certainly-think-its-very-important-that-writers-as-citizens-not/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [People who feel themselves to be exiles in this world are mightily inclined to believe themselves citizens of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/people-who-feel-themselves-to-be-exiles-in-this-world-are-mightily/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [“Trump’s political career would have been impossible without the degradation of the whole idea of the public sphere, which has been unfolding over decades.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/trump-s-political-career-would-have-been-impossible-without-the/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [If the social media platforms don't take the gatekeeping seriously they will kill the public sphere. If we don't get this right in 2020…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-ressa/if-the-social-media-platforms-don-t-take-the-gatekeeping-seriously/) [Maria Ressa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-ressa/) > [The bourgeois public sphere may be conceived above all as the sphere of private people come together as a public; they soon claimed the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/the-bourgeois-public-sphere-may-be-conceived-above-all-as-the-sphere/) [Jurgen Habermas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/) > [One of the genuine phenomenons over the past four decades has been the liberal community's steadfast insistence that God should be barred from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armstrong-williams/one-of-the-genuine-phenomenons-over-the-past-four-decades-has-been/) [Armstrong Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armstrong-williams/) > [Social media changed Chinese mindset. More and more Chinese intend to embrace freedom of speech and human rights as their birthright, not some imported…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-anti/social-media-changed-chinese-mindset-more-and-more-chinese-intend-to/) [Michael Anti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-anti/) > [women's entry into the public sphere can be seen not merely as the result of contemporary economic pressures, the high rate of divorce, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-helgesen/women-s-entry-into-the-public-sphere-can-be-seen-not-merely-as-the/) [Sally Helgesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-helgesen/) > [“The goal is all-out war on the public sphere and the public interest, whether in the form of antipollution regulations or programs for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/the-goal-is-all-out-war-on-the-public-sphere-and-the-public-interest/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [“Somehow Malaysia must find a way to create racially neutral space in the public sphere. This is not an easy task as most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/somehow-malaysia-must-find-a-way-to-create-racially-neutral-space-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The usage of the words "public" and "public sphere" betrays a multiplicity of concurrent meanings. Their origins go back to various historical phases and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/the-usage-of-the-words-public-and-public-sphere-betrays-a/) [Jurgen Habermas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/) > [Ability to disseminate one's ideas on the Internet is now a sine qua non of inclusion in the global public sphere. However, the Internet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeynep-tufekci/ability-to-disseminate-one-s-ideas-on-the-internet-is-now-a-sine-qua/) [Zeynep Tufekci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeynep-tufekci/) > [Facebook draws from the public and public-interest sphere, a simultaneously bold and modest step towards acknowledging that our new networked technologies deeply affect our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-zittrain/facebook-draws-from-the-public-and-public-interest-sphere-a/) [Jonathan Zittrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-zittrain/) ## More by Evgeny Morozov > [“If Amazon’s dream of a world without gatekeepers becomes reality, then the company itself will become a powerful gatekeeper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/if-amazon-s-dream-of-a-world-without-gatekeepers-becomes-reality-then/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [I spent two years in Palo Alto - what an awful, suffocating place for those of us who don't care about yoga, yogurts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/i-spent-two-years-in-palo-alto-what-an-awful-suffocating-place-for/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [For many oppositional movements, the Internet, while providing the opportunity to distribute information more quickly and cheaper, may have actually made their struggle more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/for-many-oppositional-movements-the-internet-while-providing-the/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [To fully absorb the lessons of the Internet, urge the Internet-centrists, we need to reshape our political and social institutions in its image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/to-fully-absorb-the-lessons-of-the-internet-urge-the-internet/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [As Barbara Streisand discovered, adopting a militaristic posture against a tech-savvy mob of civil libertarians is not going to be of much help: Many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/as-barbara-streisand-discovered-adopting-a-militaristic-posture/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [The Egyptian experience suggests that social media can greatly accelerate the death of already dying authoritarian regimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/the-egyptian-experience-suggests-that-social-media-can-greatly/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [In business, standards establish the rules of the game, creating path dependencies as investments are made and corresponding designs are set in stone and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/in-business-standards-establish-the-rules-of-the-game-creating-path/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [Military commanders do not want to be tried for war crimes, even if those crimes are committed online.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/military-commanders-do-not-want-to-be-tried-for-war-crimes-even-if/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [When we get the remote Russian village online, what will get people to the Internet is not going to be reports from Human Rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/when-we-get-the-remote-russian-village-online-what-will-get-people-to/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [ “To reject solutionism is to transcend the narrow-minded rationalistic mindset that recasts every instance of an efficiency deficit \[...\] as an obstacle that needs… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/to-reject-solutionism-is-to-transcend-the-narrow-minded-rationalistic/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [Information technology has been one of the leading drivers of globalization, and it may also become one of its major victims.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/information-technology-has-been-one-of-the-leading-drivers-of/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [Universities ought to be aware of the degree they would want to accept funding from governments like China to work on, say, face recognition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/universities-ought-to-be-aware-of-the-degree-they-would-want-to/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [“Thomas Friedman, the New York Times foreign affairs columnist, in his typical fashion, trivialized—and did much to popularize—the “dictator’s dilemma” fallacy by coining a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/thomas-friedman-the-new-york-times-foreign-affairs-columnist-in-his/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [If WikiLeaks were a for-profit company, determining its real value would be a nearly impossible task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/if-wikileaks-were-a-for-profit-company-determining-its-real-value/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [The implications are clear: Facebook wants to build an Internet where watching films, listening to music, reading books and even browsing is done not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/the-implications-are-clear-facebook-wants-to-build-an-internet-where/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) [Explore all 143 Evgeny Morozov quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is this absurd assumption that the revitalisation of the public sphere is always a good thing. 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