--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Without communism ... our state lacks a…" description: "\"Without communism ... our state lacks a Wizard of Oz to terrify all the people all the time. So the state looks inward, at the true enemy, who turns ou..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f6/gore-vidal-466_communism_without-communism-our-state-lacks-a-wiza_2189754.jpg" --- # Without communism ... our state lacks a Wizard of Oz to… ![“Without communism ... our state lacks a Wizard of Oz to terrify all the people all the time. So the state looks inward, at the true enemy, who turns out to be - who else? the people of the United States.” quote by Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f6/gore-vidal-466_communism_without-communism-our-state-lacks-a-wiza_2189754.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f6/gore-vidal-466_communism_without-communism-our-state-lacks-a-wiza_2189754.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f6/gore-vidal-466_communism_without-communism-our-state-lacks-a-wiza_2189754.jpg) > “Without communism ... our state lacks a Wizard of Oz to terrify all the people all the time. So the state looks inward, at the true enemy, who turns out to be - who else? the people of the United States.” [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The state may create external threats, but ultimately the populace becomes its own adversary through fear and manipulation. **In simple terms:** People can become the enemy when fear is used against them. Key Takeaway Beware how fear can turn citizens against each other. Themes politics fear manipulation Mood cautious critical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - election cycles - media narratives - public policy - civil discourse Key Concepts social control psychology democracy Questions to Reflect On - What mechanisms can prevent fear from dividing a society? - How can citizens recognize manipulation? A Different Perspective Fear can also mobilize positive change if redirected. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Communism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communism/) [Communism State](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communism-state-2986707/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Inward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inward/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [State Lacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/state-lacks-4765029/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Terrify People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrify-people-2211325/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [United](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united/) [United states](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states/) [Wizard Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wizard-oz/) [Wizards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wizards/) ## Related quotes > [Baum (Writer of THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ) was a true educator, and those who read his Oz books are often made what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/baum-writer-of-the-wonderful-wizard-of-oz-was-a-true-educator-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [ “Communism is for us not a state of affairs which is to be established, an ideal to which reality \[will\] have to adjust itself.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/communism-is-for-us-not-a-state-of-affairs-which-is-to-be-established/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [We must present a national persona of being irrational and vindictive, because that's going to terrify people. And then, they'll back off. And this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/we-must-present-a-national-persona-of-being-irrational-and-vindictive/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > ['Re-Mit' is going to terrify people. It's quite horrible. The Fall have had enough and we're coming for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-e-smith/re-mit-is-going-to-terrify-people-it-s-quite-horrible-the-fall-have/) [Mark E. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-e-smith/) > [I will not cut my film because, because, because, because of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emir-kusturica/i-will-not-cut-my-film-because-because-because-because-of-the/) [Emir Kusturica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emir-kusturica/) > [I am the Wizard of Oz of housewives (in that I am both "Great and Terrible" and because I sometimes hide behind the curtains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-lawson/i-am-the-wizard-of-oz-of-housewives-in-that-i-am-both-great-and/) [Jenny Lawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-lawson/) > [I've spoken about this completely independent of this movie prior to ever being attached to this film that as a kid the first movie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mila-kunis/i-ve-spoken-about-this-completely-independent-of-this-movie-prior-to/) [Mila Kunis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mila-kunis/) > [Republicans are calling the Bush-Cheney ticket the 'Wizard of Oz' ticket. One needs a heart and the other needs a brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/republicans-are-calling-the-bush-cheney-ticket-the-wizard-of-oz/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [I am the bridge between the bleeding edge and the dead center. I stand between the Wizard of Oz and the man behind the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/i-am-the-bridge-between-the-bleeding-edge-and-the-dead-center-i-stand/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [ I wanted to work with Bert Lahr \[the 'Cowardly Lion' in 'The Wizard of Oz'\], and I did. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lear/i-wanted-to-work-with-bert-lahr-the-cowardly-lion-in-the-wizard-of-oz/) [Norman Lear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lear/) > [If you want to see what stage comedians did to get laffs a century ago, watch the 1910 'Wizard of Oz.' I hope you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kage-baker/if-you-want-to-see-what-stage-comedians-did-to-get-laffs-a-century/) [Kage Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kage-baker/) > [I actually prefer the silent black and white version of the Wizard Of Oz from the 20's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-dzama/i-actually-prefer-the-silent-black-and-white-version-of-the-wizard-of/) [Marcel Dzama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-dzama/) > [North Korea is the country that the monkeys in the Wizard of Oz came from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/north-korea-is-the-country-that-the-monkeys-in-the-wizard-of-oz-came/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) > [My favorite movies growing up were things like 'The Wizard of Oz,' but as I got older, I really began to admire people like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainey-qualley/my-favorite-movies-growing-up-were-things-like-the-wizard-of-oz-but/) [Rainey Qualley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainey-qualley/) > [You ought to go to the Wizard of Oz and ask him for some courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henderson/you-ought-to-go-to-the-wizard-of-oz-and-ask-him-for-some-courage/) [Thomas Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-henderson/) ## More by Gore Vidal > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Many people in the United States happen to believe that United States policy is wrong in Vietnam and the Vietcong are correct in wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/many-people-in-the-united-states-happen-to-believe-that-united-states/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“It is curious how little interested we are in the sexual desires of those who do not attract us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-little-interested-we-are-in-the-sexual-desires-of/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/style-is-knowing-who-you-are-what-you-want-to-say-and-not-giving-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The oligarchs think that the people are both dangerous and stupid. Their point is moot. But we do know that the oligarchs are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-oligarchs-think-that-the-people-are-both-dangerous-and-stupid/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [It is curious how often one prefers his enemies to his friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his-enemies-to-his-friends/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/as-societies-grow-decadent-the-language-grows-decadent-too-words-are/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Rome ... at its most decadent, had never thought of hiring an actor to go through the motions of being an emperor while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/rome-at-its-most-decadent-had-never-thought-of-hiring-an-actor-to-go/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [History is nothing but gossip about the past, with the hope that it might be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/history-is-nothing-but-gossip-about-the-past-with-the-hope-that-it/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The malady of civilized man is his knowledge of death. The good artist, like the wise man, addresses himself to life and invests with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-malady-of-civilized-man-is-his-knowledge-of-death-the-good-artist/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Sex is a continuum. You go through different phases along life's way... and if you don't, you've been sort of cheated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/sex-is-a-continuum-you-go-through-different-phases-along-life-s-way/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [All I want is that Americans still be able to read the alphabet in a hundred years. I am not very ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/all-i-want-is-that-americans-still-be-able-to-read-the-alphabet-in-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [I do not admire 'the people,' as such. No one really does. Their folk wisdom is usually false, their instincts predatory. Even their sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/i-do-not-admire-the-people-as-such-no-one-really-does-their-folk/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“One of the problems of a society as tightly controlled as ours is that we get so little information about what those of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/one-of-the-problems-of-a-society-as-tightly-controlled-as-ours-is/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) [Explore all 539 Gore Vidal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## More Communism quotes > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [I didn't understand Southland Tales script at all! Is there a single word to describe it? Cacophony? It's celebrity meets pornography meets politics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-grant/i-didn-t-understand-southland-tales-script-at-all-is-there-a-single/) [Beth Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-grant/) > [It is popular to call it a crisis of the Western world. It is in fact a crisis of the whole world. Communism, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/it-is-popular-to-call-it-a-crisis-of-the-western-world-it-is-in-fact/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [“Despite Soviet 'defeat' in 1991, the ideas associated with Communism remain shockingly reputable throughout what we still know as the Free World.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-west/despite-soviet-defeat-in-1991-the-ideas-associated-with-communism/) [Diana West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-west/) > [Capitalism, communism ... it's all garbage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mstislav-rostropovich/capitalism-communism-it-s-all-garbage/) [Mstislav Rostropovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mstislav-rostropovich/) > [Communism... is the genuine resolution of the antagonism between man and nature and between man and man; it is the true resolution of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/communism-is-the-genuine-resolution-of-the-antagonism-between-man-and/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [“Occult Theft,--Theft which hides itself even from itself, and is legal, respectable, and cowardly,--corrupts the body and soul of man, to the last fibre…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/occult-theft-theft-which-hides-itself-even-from-itself-and-is-legal/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [Motherland is our property and we have right to handle our properties as pleased. The jokes about death for the sake of the motherland…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/motherland-is-our-property-and-we-have-right-to-handle-our-properties/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [“Socialists and Progressives confuse compassion and compulsion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-samaan/socialists-and-progressives-confuse-compassion-and-compulsion/) [A.E. Samaan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-samaan/) > [Your best friends are your principles, if you havent them, dont look for another friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/your-best-friends-are-your-principles-if-you-havent-them-dont-look/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [If I paint a hammer and sickle people may think it is a representation of Communism, but for me it is only a hammer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/if-i-paint-a-hammer-and-sickle-people-may-think-it-is-a/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Our power does not know liberty or justice. It is established on the destruction of the individual will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/our-power-does-not-know-liberty-or-justice-it-is-established-on-the/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [A strong saying is not afraid of criticism, because it includes all the answers to criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/a-strong-saying-is-not-afraid-of-criticism-because-it-includes-all/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [I think it's sort of the hypothetical point where communism and fascism meet. They love tragedy, and they love surface beauty. You just watch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-forrest/i-think-it-s-sort-of-the-hypothetical-point-where-communism-and/) [Emma Forrest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-forrest/) > [Communism is inequality, but not as property is. Property is exploitation of the weak by the strong. Communism is exploitation of the strong by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/communism-is-inequality-but-not-as-property-is-property-is/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) [Browse all 1,510 Communism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Without communism ... our state lacks a Wizard of Oz to terrify all the people all the time. 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