--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Like most dictators, Col Gaddafi detests…" description: "\"Like most dictators, Col Gaddafi detests the metropolis. His vision of Libya is a kind of Bedouin romantic medievalism, suspicious of universities, the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f8/hisham-matar-4118_dictators_like-most-dictators-col-gaddafi-detests_1106104.png" --- # Like most dictators, Col Gaddafi detests the metropolis… ![“Like most dictators, Col Gaddafi detests the metropolis. His vision of Libya is a kind of Bedouin romantic medievalism, suspicious of universities, theatres, galleries and cafes, and so monitors the cities' inhabitants with paranoid suspicion.” quote by Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f8/hisham-matar-4118_dictators_like-most-dictators-col-gaddafi-detests_1106104.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f8/hisham-matar-4118_dictators_like-most-dictators-col-gaddafi-detests_1106104.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f8/hisham-matar-4118_dictators_like-most-dictators-col-gaddafi-detests_1106104.png) > “Like most dictators, Col Gaddafi detests the metropolis. His vision of Libya is a kind of Bedouin romantic medievalism, suspicious of universities, theatres, galleries and cafes, and so monitors the cities' inhabitants with paranoid suspicion.” [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Dictators often reject urban modernity, preferring nostalgic, rural ideals and viewing cities as threats to their control. **In simple terms:** Dictators dislike cities, favoring old‑style rural life. Key Takeaway Beware of leaders who romanticize the past to suppress progress. Themes political power urban vs rural authoritarianism Mood critical reflective Type political social commentary When to use this quote - government policy - urban planning - education reform - media censorship Key Concepts paranoia nostalgia cultural control Questions to Reflect On - How does romanticizing the past limit societal growth? - What alternatives exist to authoritarian urban control? A Different Perspective Urban centers can foster innovation and civic engagement despite authoritarian fears. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dictators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dictators/) [Romantic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romantic/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) ## Related quotes > [One of the dark truths about dictators - and it applies to Gaddafi - is that on some level, they love their people. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/one-of-the-dark-truths-about-dictators-and-it-applies-to-gaddafi-is/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [Gaddafi tried to give a masterclass to men like the Syrian dictator, Bashar al-Assad, on how to crush a civilian uprising.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/gaddafi-tried-to-give-a-masterclass-to-men-like-the-syrian-dictator/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [We have defeated Gaddafi on the battlefield; now we must defeat him in our imagination. We must not allow his legacy to corrupt our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/we-have-defeated-gaddafi-on-the-battlefield-now-we-must-defeat-him-in/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [The cost of Colonel Gaddafi's rule on Libyan society is incalculable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/the-cost-of-colonel-gaddafi-s-rule-on-libyan-society-is-incalculable/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [Gaddafi's ability to have survived so long rests on his convenient position in not being committed to a single ideology and his use of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/gaddafi-s-ability-to-have-survived-so-long-rests-on-his-convenient/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [We got rid of Muammar Gaddafi. I never thought I would be able to write these words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/we-got-rid-of-muammar-gaddafi-i-never-thought-i-would-be-able-to/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [Libyans are deeply unsettled by Gaddafi and his regime's careless contempt for human life. The dictatorship is willing to employ any methods necessary to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/libyans-are-deeply-unsettled-by-gaddafi-and-his-regime-s-careless/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [From before I was born, we Arabs have been caught between two forces that, seemingly, cannot be defeated: our ruthless dictators, who oppress and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/from-before-i-was-born-we-arabs-have-been-caught-between-two-forces/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [President Chavez has always been a loyal friend of Gaddafi, assassinated in the crudest way possible. Europe should think about the bombings and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-maduro/president-chavez-has-always-been-a-loyal-friend-of-gaddafi/) [Nicolas Maduro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-maduro/) > [In the annals of American blunders, the Bay of Pigs may have been even more feckless, and the invasion of Iraq more costly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/in-the-annals-of-american-blunders-the-bay-of-pigs-may-have-been-even/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [Born to a tribal Bedouin family of nomadic desert shepherds in the region of Tripoli, Gaddafi was profoundly anti-colonialist. It is affirmed that his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fidel-castro/born-to-a-tribal-bedouin-family-of-nomadic-desert-shepherds-in-the/) [Fidel Castro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fidel-castro/) > [Actually I can't imagine Nato troops on the ground and I think it's also important to send that very clear message to the UN…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anders-fogh-rasmussen/actually-i-can-t-imagine-nato-troops-on-the-ground-and-i-think-it-s/) [Anders Fogh Rasmussen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anders-fogh-rasmussen/) > [We're exposing our minors to abuse by the fact that they leave the radio on in the car and let them listen to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinead-o-connor/we-re-exposing-our-minors-to-abuse-by-the-fact-that-they-leave-the/) [Sinead O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinead-o-connor/) > [Wasn't Saddam destroyed? Wasn't Gaddafi liquidated? Didn't Milosevic go to the Hague? All true. But Stalin survived. Kim Jong-un isn't doing too badly, either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fisk/wasn-t-saddam-destroyed-wasn-t-gaddafi-liquidated-didn-t-milosevic-go/) [Robert Fisk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fisk/) > [There's more than 1700 emails out of the thirty three thousand Hillary Clinton emails that we've published, just about Libya. It's not that Libya…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/there-s-more-than-1700-emails-out-of-the-thirty-three-thousand/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) ## More by Hisham Matar > [There and then, sitting beside her and within the strength of my adoration, I felt invincible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/there-and-then-sitting-beside-her-and-within-the-strength-of-my/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [To be okay with not knowing is a sign of a mature person and a mature society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/to-be-okay-with-not-knowing-is-a-sign-of-a-mature-person-and-a-mature/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [“History remembers Mussolini as the buffoonish Fascist, the ineffective silly man of Italy who led a lame military campaign in the Second World War,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/history-remembers-mussolini-as-the-buffoonish-fascist-the-ineffective/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [Grief loves the hollow; all it wants is to hear its own echo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/grief-loves-the-hollow-all-it-wants-is-to-hear-its-own-echo/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [Dreams have consequences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/dreams-have-consequences/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [Language is not just a code; you are writing into its history, into its tides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/language-is-not-just-a-code-you-are-writing-into-its-history-into-its/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [My parents were fairly laid-back, but there were certain things about which they were very strict. My brother and I were told never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/my-parents-were-fairly-laid-back-but-there-were-certain-things-about/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [I am terribly interested in the paragraph: the paragraph as an object, the construction, and the possibilities of what a paragraph can do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/i-am-terribly-interested-in-the-paragraph-the-paragraph-as-an-object/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [My parents left Libya in 1979, escaping political repression, and settled in Cairo. I was nine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/my-parents-left-libya-in-1979-escaping-political-repression-and/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [Libyans are deeply unsettled by Gaddafi and his regime's careless contempt for human life. The dictatorship is willing to employ any methods necessary to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/libyans-are-deeply-unsettled-by-gaddafi-and-his-regime-s-careless/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [My best hope is that Libya turns into a peaceful, sensible country that has all the things my father and lots of others have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/my-best-hope-is-that-libya-turns-into-a-peaceful-sensible-country/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [Season of Migration to the North, by Tayeb Salih, is an eloquent and restrained portrait of one man's exile. It is a rare narrative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/season-of-migration-to-the-north-by-tayeb-salih-is-an-eloquent-and/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [Turgenev's achievement lies in how he succeeded, in spite of himself, his country, and his time, in exempting his work from public duty. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/turgenev-s-achievement-lies-in-how-he-succeeded-in-spite-of-himself/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [Over the centuries, close-knit tribes have played an important part in the cohesion of Libyan society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/over-the-centuries-close-knit-tribes-have-played-an-important-part-in/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [My work is my shelter, particularly in these moments when things are happening fast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/my-work-is-my-shelter-particularly-in-these-moments-when-things-are/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) [Explore all 116 Hisham Matar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) ## More Dictators quotes > [We immerse ourselves in escapist mass entertainment, such as 'reality T.V.' programs. We support fanatical politicians and preachers. Our politicians, in turn, support dictators…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/we-immerse-ourselves-in-escapist-mass-entertainment-such-as-reality-t/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) > [Dictators always look good until the last minutes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tomas-garrigue-masaryk/dictators-always-look-good-until-the-last-minutes/) [Tomas Garrigue Masaryk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tomas-garrigue-masaryk/) > [The people will demand answers from all the dictators and the people who have not allowed this country to function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nawaz-sharif/the-people-will-demand-answers-from-all-the-dictators-and-the-people/) [Nawaz Sharif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nawaz-sharif/) > [You can do business with America or the authoritarian dictators of Beijing, who oppress their own people, put millions of Muslims in concentration camps,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-hilton/you-can-do-business-with-america-or-the-authoritarian-dictators-of/) [Steve Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-hilton/) > [Illicit trade corrupts corporations and governments alike, allows dictators to survive, and obscures oppression, including modern day slavery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharan-burrow/illicit-trade-corrupts-corporations-and-governments-alike-allows/) [Sharan Burrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharan-burrow/) > [America has had to deal with eccentric dictators in the past: Idi Amin, Muammar Qaddafi, Ming the Merciless... but now the security of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/america-has-had-to-deal-with-eccentric-dictators-in-the-past-idi-amin/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [When I was in high school in the early 1970s, we knew we were running out of oil; we knew that easy sources were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-safina/when-i-was-in-high-school-in-the-early-1970s-we-knew-we-were-running/) [Carl Safina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-safina/) > [Tyrants and dictators have incited hatred against ethnic and religious minorities for centuries in order to consolidate power for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-menendez/tyrants-and-dictators-have-incited-hatred-against-ethnic-and/) [Bob Menendez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-menendez/) > [America does not stand with dictators, and we never will and we shall never.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-gallego/america-does-not-stand-with-dictators-and-we-never-will-and-we-shall/) [Ruben Gallego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-gallego/) > [Dictators don't come from elections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-lukashenko/dictators-don-t-come-from-elections/) [Alexander Lukashenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-lukashenko/) > [Dictators can always consolidate their tyranny by an appeal to patriotism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/dictators-can-always-consolidate-their-tyranny-by-an-appeal-to/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“I cannot forget the figures of Slobodan Milošević, Charles Taylor and Saddam Hussein, who made terrified fiefdoms out of their "own" people and mounds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-cannot-forget-the-figures-of-slobodan-milo-evi-charles-taylor-and/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Bashar al-Assad's henchmen stomped on the hands of famed Syrian cartoonist Ali Farzat. 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