--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The establishment, whatever rewards it…" description: "\"The establishment, whatever rewards it gives us, will also, if necessary to maintain it's control, kill us\" — Howard Zinn" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce5/howard-zinn-576_establishment_the-establishment-whatever-rewards-it-gi_667128.jpg" --- # The establishment, whatever rewards it gives us, will… ![“The establishment, whatever rewards it gives us, will also, if necessary to maintain it's control, kill us” quote by Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce5/howard-zinn-576_establishment_the-establishment-whatever-rewards-it-gi_667128.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce5/howard-zinn-576_establishment_the-establishment-whatever-rewards-it-gi_667128.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce5/howard-zinn-576_establishment_the-establishment-whatever-rewards-it-gi_667128.jpg) > “The establishment, whatever rewards it gives us, will also, if necessary to maintain it's control, kill us” [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. When institutions feel threatened, they may resort to violence to preserve power. **In simple terms:** Power can turn violent to stay in control. Key Takeaway Beware of institutional oppression. Themes power control violence politics Mood cautious critical Type political historical When to use this quote - activism - journalism - human rights advocacy - political protest Key Concepts authoritarianism state repression social control Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize when power is being abused? - What can individuals do to protect freedoms? A Different Perspective Such measures can also provoke resistance and unrest. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Control Kill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control-kill-4907798/) [Establishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/establishment/) [Establishment Rewards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/establishment-rewards-4196883/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Kill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kill/) [Maintain Control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maintain-control-317109/) [Rewards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rewards/) ## Related quotes > [A different set of incentives from rising in an economic establishment where the rewards system, again, the reinforcement, comes from being a truffle hound.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/a-different-set-of-incentives-from-rising-in-an-economic/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [Bella control yourself. I could kill you. Do I always have to be the responsible one?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-cullen/bella-control-yourself-i-could-kill-you-do-i-always-have-to-be-the/) [Edward Cullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-cullen/) > [Either way, you are in charge. Jealousy works against you. It takes control away from you, hands it over to the opposition. Maintain control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/either-way-you-are-in-charge-jealousy-works-against-you-it-takes/) [Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/) > [Fears, insecurities, and the need to please can rule our lives. Our society is economically and socially set up for us to live under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-stiles/fears-insecurities-and-the-need-to-please-can-rule-our-lives-our/) [Tara Stiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-stiles/) > [Sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying or getting overly angry or to maintain control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-haysbert/sometimes-you-have-to-laugh-to-keep-from-crying-or-getting-overly/) [Dennis Haysbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-haysbert/) > [Just because the only way you can maintain control over your bodily passions is to sit straight in your chair, knees together, hands delicately…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/just-because-the-only-way-you-can-maintain-control-over-your-bodily/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [I knew that if I wanted to really maintain control, I would have to keep the budget down. And I did. And I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gordon-levitt/i-knew-that-if-i-wanted-to-really-maintain-control-i-would-have-to/) [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gordon-levitt/) > [There are big, extremely irrational parts of the society, and they have now been mobilized politically by the Republican establishment, hoping that these people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-big-extremely-irrational-parts-of-the-society-and-they-have/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The establishment in Britain is certainly against the arts and against education. If something doesn't make a profit, it's invalid, and art doesn't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-maxwell-davies/the-establishment-in-britain-is-certainly-against-the-arts-and/) [Peter Maxwell Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-maxwell-davies/) > [How could a readiness for war in time of peace be safely prohibited, unless we could prohibit, in like manner, the preparations and establishments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/how-could-a-readiness-for-war-in-time-of-peace-be-safely-prohibited/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [Why is it that at a bachelor's establishment the servants invariably drink the champagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/why-is-it-that-at-a-bachelor-s-establishment-the-servants-invariably/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The re-establishment of an ecological balance depends on the ability of society to counteract the progressive materialization of values. The ecological balance cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/the-re-establishment-of-an-ecological-balance-depends-on-the-ability/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [Jeb Bush was supposed to be the establishment candidate, but he didn't catch on. And the extraordinary thing about this Republican primary is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mara-liasson/jeb-bush-was-supposed-to-be-the-establishment-candidate-but-he-didn-t/) [Mara Liasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mara-liasson/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) ## 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. The accumulation of knowledge, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/a-good-education-is-a-synthesis-of-book-learning-and-involvement-in/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [The mountain of history books under which we all stand leans so heavily in the other direction-so tremblingly respectful of states and statesmen and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/the-mountain-of-history-books-under-which-we-all-stand-leans-so/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Let's face a historical truth: we have never had a "free market", we have always had government intervention in the economy, and indeed that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/let-s-face-a-historical-truth-we-have-never-had-a-free-market-we-have/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [I can UNDERSTAND pessimism, but I don't BELIEVE in it. It's not simply a matter of faith, but of historical EVIDENCE. 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. The New Yorker Cadwallader Colden,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/middle-class-americans-might-be-invited-to-join-a-new-elite-by/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [If those in charge of our society - politicians, corporate executives, and owners of press and television - can dominate our ideas, they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/if-those-in-charge-of-our-society-politicians-corporate-executives/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [We were not born critical of existing society. There was a moment in our lives (or a month, or a year) when certain facts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/we-were-not-born-critical-of-existing-society-there-was-a-moment-in/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Behind the deceptive words designed to entice people into supporting violence -- words like democracy, freedom, self-defense, national security -- there is the reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/behind-the-deceptive-words-designed-to-entice-people-into-supporting/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“George Washington had turned down the requests of blacks, seeking freedom, to fight in the Revolutionary army. 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 Establishment quotes > [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Jeb Bush was supposed to be the establishment candidate, but he didn't catch on. And the extraordinary thing about this Republican primary is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mara-liasson/jeb-bush-was-supposed-to-be-the-establishment-candidate-but-he-didn-t/) [Mara Liasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mara-liasson/) > [The re-establishment of an ecological balance depends on the ability of society to counteract the progressive materialization of values. The ecological balance cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/the-re-establishment-of-an-ecological-balance-depends-on-the-ability/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [Why is it that at a bachelor's establishment the servants invariably drink the champagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/why-is-it-that-at-a-bachelor-s-establishment-the-servants-invariably/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [How could a readiness for war in time of peace be safely prohibited, unless we could prohibit, in like manner, the preparations and establishments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/how-could-a-readiness-for-war-in-time-of-peace-be-safely-prohibited/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [The establishment in Britain is certainly against the arts and against education. If something doesn't make a profit, it's invalid, and art doesn't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-maxwell-davies/the-establishment-in-britain-is-certainly-against-the-arts-and/) [Peter Maxwell Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-maxwell-davies/) > [There are big, extremely irrational parts of the society, and they have now been mobilized politically by the Republican establishment, hoping that these people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-big-extremely-irrational-parts-of-the-society-and-they-have/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [ It is certain that every class is interested in \[educational\] establishments which give to the human mind its highest improvements, and to every Country… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/it-is-certain-that-every-class-is-interested-in-educational/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [The issue of civil rights was too much for the establishment to handle. One of the chapters of history that's least studied by historians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hayden/the-issue-of-civil-rights-was-too-much-for-the-establishment-to/) [Tom Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hayden/) > [The central base of world political power is right here in America, and it is our corrupt political establishment that is the greatest power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/the-central-base-of-world-political-power-is-right-here-in-america/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [The very first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-very-first-radical-known-to-man-who-rebelled-against-the/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Any change of government which has to be introduced should be one which men, starting from their existing constitutions, will be both willing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/any-change-of-government-which-has-to-be-introduced-should-be-one/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [One of the things we're all going to have to discover, establishment is just an abusive term for institutions. It's institutions that keep us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-frum/one-of-the-things-we-re-all-going-to-have-to-discover-establishment/) [David Frum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-frum/) > [The law increasing and organizing the military establishment of the United States has been nearly carried into effect, and the Army has been extensively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-van-buren/the-law-increasing-and-organizing-the-military-establishment-of-the/) [Martin Van Buren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-van-buren/) [Browse all 905 Establishment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/establishment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The establishment, whatever rewards it gives us, will also, if necessary to maintain it's control, kill us", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Howard Zinn" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/the-establishment-whatever-rewards-it-gives-us-will-also-if-necessary/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Establishment" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/the-establishment-whatever-rewards-it-gives-us-will-also-if-necessary/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce5/howard-zinn-576_establishment_the-establishment-whatever-rewards-it-gi_667128.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce5/howard-zinn-576_establishment_the-establishment-whatever-rewards-it-gi_667128.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce5/howard-zinn-576_establishment_the-establishment-whatever-rewards-it-gi_667128.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The establishment, whatever rewards it gives us, will also, if necessary to maintain it's control, kill us” — Howard Zinn", "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": "Howard Zinn", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The establishment, whatever rewards it gives...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/the-establishment-whatever-rewards-it-gives-us-will-also-if-necessary/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/the-establishment-whatever-rewards-it-gives-us-will-also-if-necessary/#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 } } ] } ```