--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Control in modern times requires more…" description: "\"Control in modern times requires more than force, more than law. It requires that a population dangerously concentrated in cities and factorites, whose..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/howard-zinn-576_books_control-in-modern-times-requires-more-th_2185475.jpg" --- # Control in modern times requires more than force, more… ![“Control in modern times requires more than force, more than law. It requires that a population dangerously concentrated in cities and factorites, whose lives are filled qith cause for rebellion, be taught that all is right as it is. And so, the schools, the churches, the popular literature taught…” quote by Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/howard-zinn-576_books_control-in-modern-times-requires-more-th_2185475.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/howard-zinn-576_books_control-in-modern-times-requires-more-th_2185475.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/howard-zinn-576_books_control-in-modern-times-requires-more-th_2185475.jpg) > “Control in modern times requires more than force, more than law. It requires that a population dangerously concentrated in cities and factorites, whose lives are filled qith cause for rebellion, be taught that all is right as it is. And so, the schools, the churches, the popular literature taught that to be rich was a sign of superiority, to be poor a sign of personal failure, and that the only way upward for a poor person was to climb into the ranks of the rich by extraordinary effort and extraordinary luck.” [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Societal control today relies on cultural narratives, not just force or law, shaping perceptions of wealth and poverty. **In simple terms:** Control uses ideas, not just power, to keep order. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge the narratives that justify inequality. Themes social control inequality culture education Mood critical reflective Type analytical educational When to use this quote - urban planning - public policy - media literacy - community organizing Key Concepts hegemony socialization class consciousness Questions to Reflect On - How do cultural stories shape your view of success? - What alternative narratives could empower the disadvantaged? A Different Perspective Narratives can be resisted but often persist despite evidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Cause Rebellion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cause-rebellion-974763/) [Causes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causes/) [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Climbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climbs/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Extraordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extraordinary/) [Filled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/filled/) [Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/force/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck/) [Modern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern/) [Modern times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-times/) [Personal failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-failure/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor/) [Poor Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor-person/) [Popular literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/popular-literature/) [Population](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/population/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Rebellion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rebellion/) [Rebellion Taught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rebellion-taught-974764/) [Requires Population](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/requires-population-974765/) [Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Superiority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superiority/) [Superiority Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superiority-poor-4739217/) [Taught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taught/) [Taught Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taught-rich-4739216/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [Control in modern times requires more than force, more than law. 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The fundamental element and special glory of popular literature. A thought that snores in words that smoke. All that is mortal of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/platitude-n-the-fundamental-element-and-special-glory-of-popular-2/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [And all over the world, the old literature, the popular literature, is the same. It consists of very dignified sorrow and very undignified fun.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/and-all-over-the-world-the-old-literature-the-popular-literature-is/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [“PLATITUDE, n. The fundamental element and special glory of popular literature. A thought that snores in words that smoke. The wisdom of a million…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/platitude-n-the-fundamental-element-and-special-glory-of-popular/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Popular literature and culture used to reflect people's aspirations, pain, and passion. All those particular things are no longer available to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-glover/popular-literature-and-culture-used-to-reflect-people-s-aspirations/) [Danny Glover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-glover/) > [Gossip is more popular than literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-leonard/gossip-is-more-popular-than-literature/) [Hugh Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-leonard/) > [I am not recommending "popular" literature which aims at the lowest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/i-am-not-recommending-popular-literature-which-aims-at-the-lowest/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) ## More by Howard Zinn > [“A black man, Benjamin Banneker, who taught himself mathematics and astronomy, predicted accurately a solar eclipse, and was appointed to plan the new city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/a-black-man-benjamin-banneker-who-taught-himself-mathematics-and/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/there-is-no-flag-large-enough-to-cover-the-shame-of-killing-innocent/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“a good education is a synthesis of book learning and involvement in social action, because each enrich the other. 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Not overwhelming evidence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/i-can-understand-pessimism-but-i-don-t-believe-in-it-it-s-not-simply/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it. It is a corrective to the sluggishness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/protest-beyond-the-law-is-not-a-departure-from-democracy-it-is/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Now I have been studying very closely what happens every day in the courts in Boston, Massachusetts. You would be astounded--maybe you wouldn't, maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/now-i-have-been-studying-very-closely-what-happens-every-day-in-the/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [They were not mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, they were absent in the Constitution and they were invisible in the new political democracy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/they-were-not-mentioned-in-the-declaration-of-independence-they-were/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“Sexual purity was to be the special virtue of a woman. It was assumed that men, as a matter of biological nature, would sin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/sexual-purity-was-to-be-the-special-virtue-of-a-woman-it-was-assumed/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“Middle-class Americans might be invited to join a new elite by attacks against the corruption of the established rich. 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So when the British military commander in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/george-washington-had-turned-down-the-requests-of-blacks-seeking/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) [Explore all 461 Howard Zinn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Control in modern times requires more than force, more than law. It requires that a population dangerously concentrated in cities and factorites, whose lives are filled qith cause for rebellion, be taught that all is right as it is. 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