--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In all the useful arts the world is…" description: "\"In all the useful arts the world is either standing still or going backwards.\" — George Orwell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/george-orwell-57_art_in-all-the-useful-arts-the-world-is-eith_1648029.jpg" --- # In all the useful arts the world is either standing still… ![“In all the useful arts the world is either standing still or going backwards.” quote by George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/george-orwell-57_art_in-all-the-useful-arts-the-world-is-eith_1648029.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/george-orwell-57_art_in-all-the-useful-arts-the-world-is-eith_1648029.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/george-orwell-57_art_in-all-the-useful-arts-the-world-is-eith_1648029.jpg) > “In all the useful arts the world is either standing still or going backwards.” [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. Progress requires innovation; otherwise society regresses. **In simple terms:** Without innovation, society falls back. Key Takeaway Promote creative advancement. Themes progress innovation stagnation Mood critical optimistic Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - technology development - policy reform - education reform Key Concepts economics philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What drives societal progress? - How can stagnation be overcome? A Different Perspective Innovation may be resisted by tradition. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Futuristic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/futuristic/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I was only seven but I remember thinking that everything in the world was standing still.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-hart/i-was-only-seven-but-i-remember-thinking-that-everything-in-the-world/) [Eva Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-hart/) > [Love is a condition where the world seems to be standing still, and it's you who are spinning on your axis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/love-is-a-condition-where-the-world-seems-to-be-standing-still-and-it/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [While other industries have suffered, the nonprofit arts world continues to build in strength while it encourages the growth of innumerable small businesses on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-slaughter/while-other-industries-have-suffered-the-nonprofit-arts-world/) [Louise Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-slaughter/) > [The division between the useful arts and the fine arts must not be understood in too absolute a manner. In the humblest work of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/the-division-between-the-useful-arts-and-the-fine-arts-must-not-be/) [Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/) > [“We have the liberal arts and we have the useful arts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/we-have-the-liberal-arts-and-we-have-the-useful-arts/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [It doesn't matter who's standing on the other side. I'm always going to play my game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goran-dragic/it-doesn-t-matter-who-s-standing-on-the-other-side-i-m-always-going/) [Goran Dragic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goran-dragic/) > [I'm happy that I'm at a moment where I'm not standing here going what do I do next?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-gilman/i-m-happy-that-i-m-at-a-moment-where-i-m-not-standing-here-going-what/) [Billy Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-gilman/) > [There's a difference between standing up and telling people what you're planning to do and standing up and going and accomplishing something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-stanley/there-s-a-difference-between-standing-up-and-telling-people-what-you/) [Paul Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-stanley/) > [“What do you call falling when the world is standing upside down?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/search-author/what-do-you-call-falling-when-the-world-is-standing-upside-down/) Search > [“The consequence of the transformation of the world into standing-reserve is that the earth is viewed as a resource, which humans dominate through technology.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bolt/the-consequence-of-the-transformation-of-the-world-into-standing/) [Barbara Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bolt/) > [The United States did not earn its reputation as leader of the free world by standing back and allowing darker forces to prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-quigley/the-united-states-did-not-earn-its-reputation-as-leader-of-the-free/) [Mike Quigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-quigley/) > [“The world could be standing still, and we'd all be just as dizzy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guadalupe-garcia-mccall/the-world-could-be-standing-still-and-we-d-all-be-just-as-dizzy/) [Guadalupe Garcia McCall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guadalupe-garcia-mccall/) > [In the past the need for a hierarchal form of society has been the doctrine specifically of the High. 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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 Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. 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You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In all the useful arts the world is either standing still or going backwards.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Orwell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-all-the-useful-arts-the-world-is-either-standing-still-or-going/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-all-the-useful-arts-the-world-is-either-standing-still-or-going/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/george-orwell-57_art_in-all-the-useful-arts-the-world-is-eith_1648029.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/george-orwell-57_art_in-all-the-useful-arts-the-world-is-eith_1648029.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/george-orwell-57_art_in-all-the-useful-arts-the-world-is-eith_1648029.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In all the useful arts the world is either standing still or going backwards.” — George Orwell", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "George Orwell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In all the useful arts the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-all-the-useful-arts-the-world-is-either-standing-still-or-going/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-all-the-useful-arts-the-world-is-either-standing-still-or-going/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```