--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All in all it is difficult not to feel…" description: "\"“All in all it is difficult not to feel that pacifism, as it appears among a section of the intelligentsia, is secretly inspired by an admiration for p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c4/george-orwell-57_quote_all-in-all-it-is-difficult-not-to-feel-t_1984930.jpg" --- # All in all it is difficult not to feel that pacifism, as… ![“All in all it is difficult not to feel that pacifism, as it appears among a section of the intelligentsia, is secretly inspired by an admiration for power and successful cruelty.” quote by George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c4/george-orwell-57_quote_all-in-all-it-is-difficult-not-to-feel-t_1984930.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c4/george-orwell-57_quote_all-in-all-it-is-difficult-not-to-feel-t_1984930.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c4/george-orwell-57_quote_all-in-all-it-is-difficult-not-to-feel-t_1984930.jpg) > ““All in all it is difficult not to feel that pacifism, as it appears among a section of the intelligentsia, is secretly inspired by an admiration for power and successful cruelty.”” [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Pacifism can hide a desire for power, masquerading as moral opposition to cruelty. **In simple terms:** Some anti‑war stances may secretly seek control. Key Takeaway Scrutinize motives behind peace claims. Themes politics morality power pacifism Mood critical skeptical Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - political discourse - activism - peace movements Key Concepts ethical paradox psychology of ideology Questions to Reflect On - What evidence reveals hidden power motives? - Can peace be truly disinterested? A Different Perspective Not all pacifist arguments are purely altruistic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Feel Pacifism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-pacifism-3410358/) [Intelligentsia Secretly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligentsia-secretly-3410359/) [Pacifism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pacifism/) [Pacifism Appears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pacifism-appears-3410357/) [Section Intelligentsia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/section-intelligentsia-3410360/) ## Related quotes > [A large section of the intelligentsia seems wholly devoid of intelligence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/a-large-section-of-the-intelligentsia-seems-wholly-devoid-of/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [ “If \[pacifists\] imagine that one can somehow "overcome" the German army by lying on one's back, let them go on imagining it, but let… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-pacifists-imagine-that-one-can-somehow-overcome-the-german-army-by/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Creeds like pacifism or anarchism, which seem on the surface to imply a complete renunciation of power, rather encourage this habit of mind. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/creeds-like-pacifism-or-anarchism-which-seem-on-the-surface-to-imply/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Pacifism is objectively pro-Fascist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/pacifism-is-objectively-pro-fascist/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We believe half-instinctively that evil always defeats itself in the long run. Pacifism is founded largely on this belief. Don't resist evil, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/we-believe-half-instinctively-that-evil-always-defeats-itself-in-the/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Pacifism is a psychological curiosity rather than a political movement. Some of the extremer pacifists, starting out with a complete renunciation of violence, have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/pacifism-is-a-psychological-curiosity-rather-than-a-political/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“It is difficult to see how Gandhi's methods could be applied in a country where opponents of the regime disappear in the middle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-is-difficult-to-see-how-gandhi-s-methods-could-be-applied-in-a/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [ “The young officers who had come back \[from WW1\], hardened by their terrible experience and disgusted by the attitude of the younger generation to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-young-officers-who-had-come-back-from-ww1-hardened-by-their/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [ “Moreover \[pacifists\] do not as a rule condemn violence as such, but only violence used in defence of western countries” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/moreover-pacifists-do-not-as-a-rule-condemn-violence-as-such-but-only/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The majority of pacifists either belong to obscure religious sects or are simply humanitarians who object to taking life and prefer not to follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-majority-of-pacifists-either-belong-to-obscure-religious-sects-or/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Despotic governments can stand 'moral force' till the cows come home; what they fear is physical force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/despotic-governments-can-stand-moral-force-till-the-cows-come-home/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [ “The idea that you can somehow remain aloof from and superior to the struggle \[World War II\], while living on food which British sailors… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-idea-that-you-can-somehow-remain-aloof-from-and-superior-to-the/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“In foreign politics many intellectuals follow the principle that any faction backed by Britain must be in the wrong. As a result, ‘enlightened’ opinion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-foreign-politics-many-intellectuals-follow-the-principle-that-any/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Pacifism is a tenable position, provided that you are prepared to live with the consequences.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/pacifism-is-a-tenable-position-provided-that-you-are-prepared-to-live/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Since pacifists have more freedom of action in countries where traces of democracy survive, pacifism can act more effectively against democracy than for it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/since-pacifists-have-more-freedom-of-action-in-countries-where-traces/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More by George Orwell > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-was-given-out-that-the-animals-there-practised-cannibalism/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The actual writing would be easy. All he had to do was to transfer to paper the interminable restless monologue that had been running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-actual-writing-would-be-easy-all-he-had-to-do-was-to-transfer-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [He felt as though he were wandering in the forests of the sea bottom, lost in a monstrous world where he himself was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/he-felt-as-though-he-were-wandering-in-the-forests-of-the-sea-bottom/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“if you took 1 Corinthians, chapter thirteen, and in every verse wrote 'money' instead of 'charity', the chapter had ten times as much meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-took-1-corinthians-chapter-thirteen-and-in-every-verse-wrote/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Happiness can exist only in acceptance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/happiness-can-exist-only-in-acceptance/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-if-all-others-accepted-the-lie-which-the-party-imposed-if-all/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Whitman himself "accepted" a great deal that his contemporaries found unmentionable. For he is not only writing of the prairie, he also wanders through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/whitman-himself-accepted-a-great-deal-that-his-contemporaries-found/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“But I tell you, Winston, that reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Whatever the Party holds to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/but-i-tell-you-winston-that-reality-is-not-external-reality-exists-in/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“And the people under the sky were also very much the same...everywhere, all over the world, hundreds or thousands of millions of people just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-people-under-the-sky-were-also-very-much-the-same-everywhere/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/don-t-you-see-that-the-whole-aim-of-newspeak-is-to-narrow-the-range/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Windmill or no windmill, he said, life would go on as it had always gone on--that is, badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/windmill-or-no-windmill-he-said-life-would-go-on-as-it-had-always/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/man-is-the-only-creature-that-consumes-without-producing-he-does-not/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And the bigger the fall, the bigger the joke. It would be better fun to throw a custard pie at a bishop than at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-bigger-the-fall-the-bigger-the-joke-it-would-be-better-fun-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Any writer or journalist who wants to retain his integrity finds himself thwarted by the general drift of society rather than by active persecution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/any-writer-or-journalist-who-wants-to-retain-his-integrity-finds/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) [Explore all 1,657 George Orwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More Pacifism quotes > [“... it would be better for our country and the world in general, if at least the few people who were capable of thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-would-be-better-for-our-country-and-the-world-in-general-if-at/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“Nonviolence is the very essence of the gospels.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-iswolsky/nonviolence-is-the-very-essence-of-the-gospels/) [Helene Iswolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-iswolsky/) > [Pacifism as a mass movement aims to avoid suffering; pacifists often say that no cause is worth suffering or dying for. The ethos of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-michnik/pacifism-as-a-mass-movement-aims-to-avoid-suffering-pacifists-often/) [Adam Michnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-michnik/) > [I am not a terrorist, but neither am I a pacifist. I am simply a regular guy from the Palestinian street advocating only what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marwan-barghouti/i-am-not-a-terrorist-but-neither-am-i-a-pacifist-i-am-simply-a/) [Marwan Barghouti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marwan-barghouti/) > [“I think about something I once heard on the radio. About Abraham and Isaac." "I was afraid you'd say something like that." "You asked."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-kazinski/i-think-about-something-i-once-heard-on-the-radio-about-abraham-and/) [A.J. Kazinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-kazinski/) > [“Fugitive Peace (Sonnet 2219) In the opera of war, peace is fugitive - thinking soldiers are no good to state, either you kill without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/fugitive-peace-sonnet-2219-in-the-opera-of-war-peace-is-fugitive/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“It is night at the front, a shadow, a shot. The Jew who has just fired hears a moan... "And then, mother, the hair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-schwarz-bart/it-is-night-at-the-front-a-shadow-a-shot-the-jew-who-has-just-fired/) [Andre Schwarz-Bart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-schwarz-bart/) > [I really believe that Bob Dylan and others have speeded up the changes. Pacifism has found a voice at last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-really-believe-that-bob-dylan-and-others-have-speeded-up-the/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [Since pacifists have more freedom of action in countries where traces of democracy survive, pacifism can act more effectively against democracy than for it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/since-pacifists-have-more-freedom-of-action-in-countries-where-traces/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Pacifism is a tenable position, provided that you are prepared to live with the consequences.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/pacifism-is-a-tenable-position-provided-that-you-are-prepared-to-live/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The friends of Galtieri, Saddam Hussein, Mullah Omar and Milosevic make unconvincing defenders of humanitarian values, and it can be seen that their inept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-friends-of-galtieri-saddam-hussein-mullah-omar-and-milosevic-make/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I know there are some Christians who believe that war and their participation in it are morally wrong. While I respect their views and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-robertson/i-know-there-are-some-christians-who-believe-that-war-and-their/) [Pat Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-robertson/) > [I'm sort of exploring where pacifism and socialism come into conflict. How do you reconcile a passionate rejection of might and violence with an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/i-m-sort-of-exploring-where-pacifism-and-socialism-come-into-conflict/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [“I am not a committed pacifist. I would not hold that it is under all imaginable circumstances wrong to use violence, even though use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-am-not-a-committed-pacifist-i-would-not-hold-that-it-is-under-all/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [If peace is equated simply with the absence of war, it can become abject pacifism that turns the world over to the most ruthless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/if-peace-is-equated-simply-with-the-absence-of-war-it-can-become/) [Henry A. 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