--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People resist exploitation. They resist…" description: "\"People resist exploitation. They resist as actively as they can, as passively as they must.\" — Immanuel Wallerstein" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05f/immanuel-wallerstein-11305_exploitation_people-resist-exploitation-they-resist-a_3196447.jpg" --- # People resist exploitation. They resist as actively as… ![“People resist exploitation. They resist as actively as they can, as passively as they must.” quote by Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05f/immanuel-wallerstein-11305_exploitation_people-resist-exploitation-they-resist-a_3196447.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05f/immanuel-wallerstein-11305_exploitation_people-resist-exploitation-they-resist-a_3196447.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05f/immanuel-wallerstein-11305_exploitation_people-resist-exploitation-they-resist-a_3196447.jpg) > “People resist exploitation. They resist as actively as they can, as passively as they must.” [Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People push back against exploitation, using both active resistance and passive endurance. **In simple terms:** Resistance comes in many forms. Key Takeaway Support and empower resistance movements. Themes justice resistance power dynamics Mood critical analytical Type political historical When to use this quote - labor disputes - civil rights protests - environmental activism - authoritarian regimes Key Concepts social theory political economy Questions to Reflect On - What forms of resistance are most effective? - How can allies strengthen passive resistance? A Different Perspective Repression may silence dissent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Exploitation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exploitation/) [Exploitation Resist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exploitation-resist-5916540/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Resist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-resist-248779/) [Resist Actively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resist-actively-5916541/) [Resist Exploitation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resist-exploitation-2239574/) ## Related quotes > [“How can we resist exploitation if we don’t have the tools to understand exploitation?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/how-can-we-resist-exploitation-if-we-don-t-have-the-tools-to/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [The mark of the modern world is the imagination of its profiteers and the counter-assertiveness of the oppressed. Exploitation and the refusal to accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/the-mark-of-the-modern-world-is-the-imagination-of-its-profiteers-and/) [Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/) > [“People do not resist change, per se. People resist loss. You appear dangerous to people when you question their values, beliefs, or habits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-linsky/people-do-not-resist-change-per-se-people-resist-loss-you-appear/) [Martin Linsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-linsky/) > [The most important thing people can do is refuse to have any resistance to staying connected to their source. People resist being able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/the-most-important-thing-people-can-do-is-refuse-to-have-any/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [I think people resist freedom because they're afraid of the unknown. But it's ironic…That unknown was once very well known. It's where our souls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/i-think-people-resist-freedom-because-they-re-afraid-of-the-unknown/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) > [For usually people resist as long as they can to dismiss the fool they harbor in their bosom, they resist to confess a major…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/for-usually-people-resist-as-long-as-they-can-to-dismiss-the-fool/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [What people resist is not change per se, but loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-people-resist-is-not-change-per-se-but-loss/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People will resist change when it's done to them, not with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-blanchard/people-will-resist-change-when-it-s-done-to-them-not-with-them/) [Ken Blanchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-blanchard/) > [The people who resist change will be confronted by the growing number of people who see that better ways are available; thanks to technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/the-people-who-resist-change-will-be-confronted-by-the-growing-number/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [ Why do people resist \[engines, bridges, and cities\] so? They are symbols and products of the imagination, which is the force that ensures justice… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/why-do-people-resist-engines-bridges-and-cities-so-they-are-symbols/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [“Few people can resist doing what is universally expected of them. This invisible pressure is more difficult to stand against than individual tyranny.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dudley-warner/few-people-can-resist-doing-what-is-universally-expected-of-them-this/) [Charles Dudley Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dudley-warner/) > [People resist a census, but give them a profile page and they'll spend all day telling you who they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/people-resist-a-census-but-give-them-a-profile-page-and-they-ll-spend/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [“People resist you changing because they cant control you like they once did”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-martinez/people-resist-you-changing-because-they-cant-control-you-like-they/) [A.J. Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-martinez/) > [“Knowledge is responsibility, which is why people resist knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-molyneux/knowledge-is-responsibility-which-is-why-people-resist-knowledge/) [Stefan Molyneux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-molyneux/) > [When a country is invaded and attacked and people resist it's important to speak up and to say they have the right to resist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ali/when-a-country-is-invaded-and-attacked-and-people-resist-it-s/) [Tariq Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ali/) ## More by Immanuel Wallerstein > [“La science sociale di XIXe siecle nous a legue un terrible heritage, l'idee que els processus se divisent en trois champs separes: le politique,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/la-science-sociale-di-xixe-siecle-nous-a-legue-un-terrible-heritage-l/) [Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/) > [Uncertainty is wondrous, and.. certainty, were it to be real, would be moral death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/uncertainty-is-wondrous-and-certainty-were-it-to-be-real-would-be/) [Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/) > [A second variety concentrated on presumed major transformations of the capitalist system as of some recent point in time, in which the whole earlier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/a-second-variety-concentrated-on-presumed-major-transformations-of/) [Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/) > [I am suggesting that there is, and always has been, a rather high correlation between ethnicity and occupation/economic role throughout the various time-space zones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/i-am-suggesting-that-there-is-and-always-has-been-a-rather-high/) [Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/) > [The concept that one ought to restrict one's political involvement to one's own state was deeply antithetical to those who were pursuing the accumulation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/the-concept-that-one-ought-to-restrict-one-s-political-involvement-to/) [Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/) > [One by one, these governments came undone, and were forced into IMF tutelage (and national illegitimacy) by the careening oil prices, the debt imbroglio,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/one-by-one-these-governments-came-undone-and-were-forced-into-imf/) [Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/) > [The language of intrinsic human rights represented a significant advance beyond the previous language of world religions in terms of its universal applicability and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/the-language-of-intrinsic-human-rights-represented-a-significant/) [Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/) > [Wars between states and people seem to have existed under all historical systems for as long as we have some recorded evidence. War is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/wars-between-states-and-people-seem-to-have-existed-under-all/) [Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/) > [Production for sale in a market in which the object is to realize the maximum profit is the essential feature of a capitalist world-economy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/production-for-sale-in-a-market-in-which-the-object-is-to-realize-the/) [Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/) > [We seem to be in the midst of a process of cascading bifurcations that may last some 50 more years. We can be sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/we-seem-to-be-in-the-midst-of-a-process-of-cascading-bifurcations/) [Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/) > [Scientific culture created a framework within which individual mobility was possible without threatening hierarchical work-force allocation. On the contrary, meritocracy reinforced hierarchy. Finally, meritocracy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/scientific-culture-created-a-framework-within-which-individual/) [Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/) > [It is not surprising that liberals believed in progress. The idea of progress justified the entire transition from feudalism to capitalism. It legitimated the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/it-is-not-surprising-that-liberals-believed-in-progress-the-idea-of/) [Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/) > [The very concept of universal formal education is a product (and a relatively late product) of the capitalist world-economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/the-very-concept-of-universal-formal-education-is-a-product-and-a/) [Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/) > [What is different in capitalist civilization has been two things. First, the process of meritocracy has been proclaimed as an official virtue instead of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/what-is-different-in-capitalist-civilization-has-been-two-things/) [Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/) > [Finally, states have monopolized, or sought to monopolize, armed force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/finally-states-have-monopolized-or-sought-to-monopolize-armed-force/) [Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/) [Explore all 60 Immanuel Wallerstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/) ## More Exploitation quotes > [I remember being a kid and seeing the 'National Inquirer' at the grocery store checkout line. When somebody actually picked up a copy, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-jones/i-remember-being-a-kid-and-seeing-the-national-inquirer-at-the/) [Rashida Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-jones/) > [Nothing better protects a human being against the stupidity of prejudice, racism, religious or political sectarianism, and exclusivist nationalism than this truth that invariably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/nothing-better-protects-a-human-being-against-the-stupidity-of/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [When the idea came up, (Newman's Own) I said, "Are you crazy? Stick my face on the label of salad dressing?" And then, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-newman/when-the-idea-came-up-newman-s-own-i-said-are-you-crazy-stick-my-face/) [Paul Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-newman/) > [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/) > [Marx saw exploitation in terms of the rewards of human labor, but we can see it in terms of all the values of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-reich/marx-saw-exploitation-in-terms-of-the-rewards-of-human-labor-but-we/) [Charles A. Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-reich/) > [The sexual abuse and exploitation of children is one of the most vicious crimes conceivable, a violation of mankind's most basic duty to protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-walsh/the-sexual-abuse-and-exploitation-of-children-is-one-of-the-most/) [James T. Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-t-walsh/) > [Exploitation and manipulation produce boredom and triviality; they cripple man, and all factors that make man into a psychic cripple turn him also into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/exploitation-and-manipulation-produce-boredom-and-triviality-they/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“For their never-ending endeavours to obtain or retain wealth, countries desperately need companies, because they—unlike most human beings—have the means of production, and human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/for-their-never-ending-endeavours-to-obtain-or-retain-wealth/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [I have visited sweatshops, factories, and crowded slums. If I could not see it, I could smell it. The foundation of society is laid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/i-have-visited-sweatshops-factories-and-crowded-slums-if-i-could-not/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [For my whole life I have dedicated myself to those who have been subjected to injustice. I've conducted investigations and written in newspapers about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/for-my-whole-life-i-have-dedicated-myself-to-those-who-have-been/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [If we human beings learn to see the intricacies that bind one part of a natural system to another and then to us, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaylord-nelson/if-we-human-beings-learn-to-see-the-intricacies-that-bind-one-part-of/) [Gaylord Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaylord-nelson/) > [The marketing of anything is full of exploitation and lies and hype.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-pollack/the-marketing-of-anything-is-full-of-exploitation-and-lies-and-hype/) [Sydney Pollack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-pollack/) > [“Often, her mate is the child of a narcissist, already indoctrinated to regard exploitation and disregard as love. Others lured by the narcissistic aura…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elan-golomb/often-her-mate-is-the-child-of-a-narcissist-already-indoctrinated-to/) [Elan Golomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elan-golomb/) > [“A flat tire is like a bad attitude, you won't go anywhere until you change it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-brown/a-flat-tire-is-like-a-bad-attitude-you-won-t-go-anywhere-until-you/) [Winston Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-brown/) > [Extension work is not exhortation. Nor is it exploitation of the people, or advertising of an institution, or publicity work for securing students. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liberty-hyde-bailey/extension-work-is-not-exhortation-nor-is-it-exploitation-of-the/) [Liberty Hyde Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liberty-hyde-bailey/) [Browse all 648 Exploitation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exploitation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People resist exploitation. 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