--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The blind conviction that we have to do…" description: "\"The blind conviction that we have to do something about other people's reproductive behavior, and that we may have to do it whether they like it or not..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdd/germaine-greer-1521_assumption_the-blind-conviction-that-we-have-to-do_1642956.png" --- # The blind conviction that we have to do something about… ![“The blind conviction that we have to do something about other people's reproductive behavior, and that we may have to do it whether they like it or not, derives from the assumption that the world belongs to us, who have so expertly depleted its resources, rather than to them, who have not.” quote by Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdd/germaine-greer-1521_assumption_the-blind-conviction-that-we-have-to-do_1642956.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdd/germaine-greer-1521_assumption_the-blind-conviction-that-we-have-to-do_1642956.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdd/germaine-greer-1521_assumption_the-blind-conviction-that-we-have-to-do_1642956.png) > “The blind conviction that we have to do something about other people's reproductive behavior, and that we may have to do it whether they like it or not, derives from the assumption that the world belongs to us, who have so expertly depleted its resources, rather than to them, who have not.” [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques imposing reproductive control, arguing it's rooted in a belief that dominant groups own the world and its resources. **In simple terms:** Criticizes forced reproductive control as power abuse. Key Takeaway Question authority over bodies. Themes ethics power environment Mood critical thought‑provoking Type political ethical When to use this quote - policy debate - activism - education - healthcare Key Concepts colonialism resource depletion Questions to Reflect On - Who decides reproductive rights? - How can resources be shared fairly? A Different Perspective May overlook individual autonomy complexities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumption/) [Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Blind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind/) [Conviction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conviction/) [Depleted Resources](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depleted-resources-583853/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Reproductive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-reproductive-583854/) [Reproductive Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reproductive-behavior-583855/) [Resources](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resources/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World Belongs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-belongs/) ## Related quotes > [My parents raised me that you never ask people about their reproductive plans. “You don’t know their situation,” my mom would say. I considered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-fey/my-parents-raised-me-that-you-never-ask-people-about-their/) [Tina Fey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-fey/) > [“Most of its functions involve what some researchers call the “four Fs”: fighting, feeding, fleeing, and … reproductive behavior.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-medina/most-of-its-functions-involve-what-some-researchers-call-the-four-fs/) [John Medina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-medina/) > [The principle of the brotherhood of man is narcissistic... for the grounds for that love have always been the assumption that we ought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/the-principle-of-the-brotherhood-of-man-is-narcissistic-for-the/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [War is the admission of defeat in the face of conflicting interests: by war the issue is left to chance, and the tacit assumption…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/war-is-the-admission-of-defeat-in-the-face-of-conflicting-interests/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [There's a big, wonderful world out there for you. It belongs to you. It's exciting and stimulating and rewarding. Don't cheat yourselves out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-reagan/there-s-a-big-wonderful-world-out-there-for-you-it-belongs-to-you-it/) [Nancy Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-reagan/) > [Indigenous people believe that Man belongs to the World; civilized people believe that the World belongs to Man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/indigenous-people-believe-that-man-belongs-to-the-world-civilized/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [An elder is someone who understands that the world belongs to the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/an-elder-is-someone-who-understands-that-the-world-belongs-to-the-dead/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [“The world belongs to those who let go.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/the-world-belongs-to-those-who-let-go/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [“The world belongs to us, the wise ones, we declare...will we be pirates or captains, slumlords or godparents of time? Will we burn the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-safina/the-world-belongs-to-us-the-wise-ones-we-declare-will-we-be-pirates/) [Carl Safina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-safina/) > [Every moment when I am with you, you open up my life to a new paradise. I'm so happy that the world belongs to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-moment-when-i-am-with-you-you-open-up-my-life-to-a-new-paradise/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The world belongs to those who set out to conquer it armed with self confidence and good humour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-world-belongs-to-those-who-set-out-to-conquer-it-armed-with-self/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [The premise of the Taker story is 'the world belongs to man'. … The premise of the Leaver story is 'man belongs to the world'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/the-premise-of-the-taker-story-is-the-world-belongs-to-man-the/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [The world belongs to the articulate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/the-world-belongs-to-the-articulate/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [The world belongs to those who persevere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/the-world-belongs-to-those-who-persevere/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [The world belongs to those who think and act with it, who keep a finger on its pulse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ralph-inge/the-world-belongs-to-those-who-think-and-act-with-it-who-keep-a/) [William Ralph Inge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ralph-inge/) ## More by Germaine Greer > [You're only young once, but you can be immature forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/you-re-only-young-once-but-you-can-be-immature-forever/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [Is it too much to ask that women be spared the daily struggle for superhuman beauty in order to offer it to the caresses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/is-it-too-much-to-ask-that-women-be-spared-the-daily-struggle-for/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [“Female castration results in concentration of her feelings upon her male companion, and her impotence in confrontations with her own kind. Because all her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/female-castration-results-in-concentration-of-her-feelings-upon-her/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [Women have been charged with deviousness and duplicity since the dawn of civilization so they have never been able to pretend that their masks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/women-have-been-charged-with-deviousness-and-duplicity-since-the-dawn/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [“Psychologists cannot fix the world so they fix women.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/psychologists-cannot-fix-the-world-so-they-fix-women/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [Bras are a ludicrous invention; but if you make bralessness a rule, you're just subjecting yourself to yet another repression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/bras-are-a-ludicrous-invention-but-if-you-make-bralessness-a-rule-you/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [The essence of pleasure is spontaneity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/the-essence-of-pleasure-is-spontaneity/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [If a person loves only one other person, and is indifferent to his fellow men, his love is not love but a symbiotic attachment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/if-a-person-loves-only-one-other-person-and-is-indifferent-to-his/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [Gillard is as likeable as Rudd is charmless. She is self-deprecating; he is ludicrously vainglorious. She is a mistress of understatement; he is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/gillard-is-as-likeable-as-rudd-is-charmless-she-is-self-deprecating/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [“Liberty is terrifying but it is also exhilarating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/liberty-is-terrifying-but-it-is-also-exhilarating/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [It is often falsely assumed, even by feminists, that sexuality is the enemy of the female who really wants to develop these aspects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/it-is-often-falsely-assumed-even-by-feminists-that-sexuality-is-the/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [Women who were housewives, who were pretty miserable ... felt inspired by her book and their life changed. They didn't become megastars, but they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/women-who-were-housewives-who-were-pretty-miserable-felt-inspired-by/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [It is in our interests to let the police and their employers go on believing that the Underground is a conspiracy, because it increases…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/it-is-in-our-interests-to-let-the-police-and-their-employers-go-on/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [Rescuing women from their burden of unwarranted guilt is going to require 'educational practices and socializing agents' even more effective than the ones that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/rescuing-women-from-their-burden-of-unwarranted-guilt-is-going-to/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [Men have still not realized that letting women do so much of the work for so little reward makes a man in the house…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/men-have-still-not-realized-that-letting-women-do-so-much-of-the-work/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) [Explore all 232 Germaine Greer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) ## More Assumption quotes > [Next to the assumption of power was the responsibility of relinquishing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/next-to-the-assumption-of-power-was-the-responsibility-of/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [The risk of developing carcinoma of the lung increases steadily as the amount smoked increases. If the risk among non-smokers is taken as unity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doll/the-risk-of-developing-carcinoma-of-the-lung-increases-steadily-as/) [Richard Doll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-doll/) > [Fortunately, the mind is restless; when it uncovers a layer of its own deception, gives up an illusion, exposes a lie, it does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-chernin/fortunately-the-mind-is-restless-when-it-uncovers-a-layer-of-its-own/) [Kim Chernin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-chernin/) > [The possibility of saying anything about a thing rests on the assumption that it preserves its identity, or continues to be the same thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-knight/the-possibility-of-saying-anything-about-a-thing-rests-on-the/) [Frank Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-knight/) > [She spent hours drawing on her own, trying to perfect her craft. And when she got into music, she had that same diligence in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-joplin/she-spent-hours-drawing-on-her-own-trying-to-perfect-her-craft-and/) [Laura Joplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-joplin/) > [If they are, then the only ultimate truths are the particulars of concrete experience, and no postulate or general assumption is inherent in science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/if-they-are-then-the-only-ultimate-truths-are-the-particulars-of/) [Chauncey Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-wright/) > [If he's - the inference is that somehow he thinks slavery is a - is a noble institution I would - I would strongly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/if-he-s-the-inference-is-that-somehow-he-thinks-slavery-is-a-is-a/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Leadership, pure and simple, is the assumption of responsibility for the pursuit of excellence in group life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-selznick/leadership-pure-and-simple-is-the-assumption-of-responsibility-for/) [Philip Selznick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-selznick/) > [Humans suffer from self-centred notions as to the nature of life. Humans assume that alien life forms should conform to standards that match our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-perry/humans-suffer-from-self-centred-notions-as-to-the-nature-of-life/) [Steve Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-perry/) > [When I see a fan coming over, I can't help but make an assumption about what they want to talk about. A middle-aged American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-dormer/when-i-see-a-fan-coming-over-i-can-t-help-but-make-an-assumption/) [Natalie Dormer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-dormer/) > [The Bell curve is a fact of life. The blacks on average score 85 per cent on IQ and it is accurate, nothing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-kuan-yew/the-bell-curve-is-a-fact-of-life-the-blacks-on-average-score-85-per/) [Lee Kuan Yew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-kuan-yew/) > [Pussy Riot have certainly changed some people's assumptions about the role of political art and the relationship between the intelligentsia and the church. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/pussy-riot-have-certainly-changed-some-people-s-assumptions-about-the/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) [Browse all 1,277 Assumption quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumption/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The blind conviction that we have to do something about other people's reproductive behavior, and that we may have to do it whether they like it or not, derives from the assumption that the world belongs to us, who have so expertly depleted its resources, rather than to them, who have not.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Germaine Greer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/the-blind-conviction-that-we-have-to-do-something-about-other-people/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Assumption" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/the-blind-conviction-that-we-have-to-do-something-about-other-people/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdd/germaine-greer-1521_assumption_the-blind-conviction-that-we-have-to-do_1642956.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdd/germaine-greer-1521_assumption_the-blind-conviction-that-we-have-to-do_1642956.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdd/germaine-greer-1521_assumption_the-blind-conviction-that-we-have-to-do_1642956.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The blind conviction that we have to do something about other people's reproductive behavior, and that we…” — Germaine Greer", "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": "Germaine Greer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The blind conviction that we have...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/the-blind-conviction-that-we-have-to-do-something-about-other-people/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/the-blind-conviction-that-we-have-to-do-something-about-other-people/#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 } } ] } ```