--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For it is only by reconciling…" description: "\"“For it is only by reconciling contradictions that power can be retained indefinitely. In no other way could the ancient cycle be broken. If human equa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d46/george-orwell-57_human-equality_for-it-is-only-by-reconciling-contradict_2450317.jpg" --- # For it is only by reconciling contradictions that power… ![“For it is only by reconciling contradictions that power can be retained indefinitely. In no other way could the ancient cycle be broken. If human equality is to be forever averted—if the High, as we have called them, are to keep their places permanently—then the prevailing mental condition must be…” quote by George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d46/george-orwell-57_human-equality_for-it-is-only-by-reconciling-contradict_2450317.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d46/george-orwell-57_human-equality_for-it-is-only-by-reconciling-contradict_2450317.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d46/george-orwell-57_human-equality_for-it-is-only-by-reconciling-contradict_2450317.jpg) > ““For it is only by reconciling contradictions that power can be retained indefinitely. In no other way could the ancient cycle be broken. If human equality is to be forever averted—if the High, as we have called them, are to keep their places permanently—then the prevailing mental condition must be controlled insanity.”” [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. Power persists by reconciling contradictions and controlling public thought; without this, equality could be achieved. **In simple terms:** Power stays by managing contradictions and controlling minds. Key Takeaway Challenge narratives that sustain power. Themes politics psychology control inequality propaganda Mood critical skeptical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - media analysis - education reform - activist organizing - public discourse monitoring Key Concepts cognitive dissonance hegemony social control Questions to Reflect On - What contradictions do you see in current political rhetoric? - How can individuals resist mental manipulation? A Different Perspective Opposition can also use contradictions to maintain power. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contradictions Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradictions-power-564645/) [Controlled Insanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/controlled-insanity-564647/) [Equality Forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equality-forever-564646/) [Human equality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-equality/) [Indefinitely Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indefinitely-way-564649/) [Power Retained](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-retained-564648/) ## Related quotes > [If human equality is to be forever averted -- if the High, as we have called them, are to keep their places permanently --…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-human-equality-is-to-be-forever-averted-if-the-high-as-we-have/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Even the names of the four Ministries by which we are governed exhibit a sort of impudence in their deliberate reversal of the facts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/even-the-names-of-the-four-ministries-by-which-we-are-governed/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“If human equality is to be for ever averted — if the High, as we have called them, are to keep their places permanently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-human-equality-is-to-be-for-ever-averted-if-the-high-as-we-have/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [High school and equality are forever incompatible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharyn-mccrumb/high-school-and-equality-are-forever-incompatible/) [Sharyn McCrumb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharyn-mccrumb/) > [No advance in wealth, no softening of manners, no reform or revolution has ever brought human equality a millimeter nearer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/no-advance-in-wealth-no-softening-of-manners-no-reform-or-revolution/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [So much of my life had been under tight control. So much of Quinn's life had been wild insanity. What we needed now was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/so-much-of-my-life-had-been-under-tight-control-so-much-of-quinn-s/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [Quentin Tarantino is controlled insanity, I would say. He's very loud and fun. I don't think there's anybody on the planet like him that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-mcgowan/quentin-tarantino-is-controlled-insanity-i-would-say-he-s-very-loud/) [Rose McGowan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-mcgowan/) > [“These men always give the same answer-Islam is indestructible because it is founded on simplicity and justice. It has kept those Christian doctrines which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaire-belloc/these-men-always-give-the-same-answer-islam-is-indestructible-because/) [Hilaire Belloc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaire-belloc/) > [“Become the destroyer of sects - become the breaker of privileges – become the messenger of equality – become the prophet of goodness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/become-the-destroyer-of-sects-become-the-breaker-of-privileges-become/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“He talks about human equality, the rights of man, nothing but that. How about the rights of woman, I’d like to scream at him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/he-talks-about-human-equality-the-rights-of-man-nothing-but-that-how/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [We must recognize the full human equality of all our people - before God, before the law, and in the councils of government. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/we-must-recognize-the-full-human-equality-of-all-our-people-before/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [“The equality in political, industrial and social life which modern men must have in order to live, is not to be confounded with sameness.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/the-equality-in-political-industrial-and-social-life-which-modern-men/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/all-human-beings-are-born-free-and-equal-in-dignity-and-rights/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [Whether consciously or not, sexist God language undermines the human equality of women made in the divine image and likeness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-a-johnson/whether-consciously-or-not-sexist-god-language-undermines-the-human/) [Elizabeth A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-a-johnson/) > [ The typical white intellectual considers himself superior to ordinary white people for two contradictory reasons: a\] he constantly proclaims belief in human equality, but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-sailer/the-typical-white-intellectual-considers-himself-superior-to-ordinary/) [Steve Sailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-sailer/) ## 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. 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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 Human equality quotes > [ The typical white intellectual considers himself superior to ordinary white people for two contradictory reasons: a\] he constantly proclaims belief in human equality, but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-sailer/the-typical-white-intellectual-considers-himself-superior-to-ordinary/) [Steve Sailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-sailer/) > [Whether consciously or not, sexist God language undermines the human equality of women made in the divine image and likeness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-a-johnson/whether-consciously-or-not-sexist-god-language-undermines-the-human/) [Elizabeth A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-a-johnson/) > [All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/all-human-beings-are-born-free-and-equal-in-dignity-and-rights/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [“The equality in political, industrial and social life which modern men must have in order to live, is not to be confounded with sameness.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/the-equality-in-political-industrial-and-social-life-which-modern-men/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [We must recognize the full human equality of all our people - before God, before the law, and in the councils of government. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/we-must-recognize-the-full-human-equality-of-all-our-people-before/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [“He talks about human equality, the rights of man, nothing but that. How about the rights of woman, I’d like to scream at him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/he-talks-about-human-equality-the-rights-of-man-nothing-but-that-how/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [“Become the destroyer of sects - become the breaker of privileges – become the messenger of equality – become the prophet of goodness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/become-the-destroyer-of-sects-become-the-breaker-of-privileges-become/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“These men always give the same answer-Islam is indestructible because it is founded on simplicity and justice. It has kept those Christian doctrines which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaire-belloc/these-men-always-give-the-same-answer-islam-is-indestructible-because/) [Hilaire Belloc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaire-belloc/) > [Racism oppresses its victims, but also binds the oppressors, who sear their consciences with more and more lies until they become prisoners of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alveda-king/racism-oppresses-its-victims-but-also-binds-the-oppressors-who-sear/) [Alveda King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alveda-king/) > [“Even the names of the four Ministries by which we are governed exhibit a sort of impudence in their deliberate reversal of the facts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/even-the-names-of-the-four-ministries-by-which-we-are-governed/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Many Muslims in Saudi Arabia believe that the core values of Islam, namely acknowledgement of God's sovereignty and basic human equality before God, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-feldman/many-muslims-in-saudi-arabia-believe-that-the-core-values-of-islam/) [Noah Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-feldman/) > [When I speak of The Case for Equality I mean human equality; and that, of course, can only mean one thing: it means equality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/when-i-speak-of-the-case-for-equality-i-mean-human-equality-and-that/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [And this is the mission of the church--not civilization, but salvation--not better laws, purer legislation, social elevation, human equality and liberty, but first, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbott-eliot-kittredge/and-this-is-the-mission-of-the-church-not-civilization-but-salvation/) [Abbott Eliot Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbott-eliot-kittredge/) > [“Even today, in a period of decline, the average human being is physically better off than he was a few centuries ago. 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