--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No society can last in conditions of…" description: "\"“No society can last in conditions of anarchy. This is self-evident and I am in full agreement. But my aim is not the establishment of an anarchist soc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b6/jacques-ellul-4407_quote_no-society-can-last-in-conditions-of-ana_108686.jpg" --- # No society can last in conditions of anarchy. This is… ![“No society can last in conditions of anarchy. This is self-evident and I am in full agreement. But my aim is not the establishment of an anarchist society or the total destruction of the state. Here I differ from anarchists. I do not believe that it is possible to destroy the modern state. It is…” quote by Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b6/jacques-ellul-4407_quote_no-society-can-last-in-conditions-of-ana_108686.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b6/jacques-ellul-4407_quote_no-society-can-last-in-conditions-of-ana_108686.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b6/jacques-ellul-4407_quote_no-society-can-last-in-conditions-of-ana_108686.jpg) > ““No society can last in conditions of anarchy. This is self-evident and I am in full agreement. But my aim is not the establishment of an anarchist society or the total destruction of the state. Here I differ from anarchists. I do not believe that it is possible to destroy the modern state. It is pure imagination to think that some day this power will be overthrown. From a pragmatic standpoint there is no chance of success. Furthermore, I do not believe that anarchist doctrine is the solution to the problem of organization in society and government. I do not think that if anarchism were to succeed we should have a better or more livable society. Hence I am not fighting for the triumph of this doctrine. On the other hand, it seems to me that an anarchist attitude is the only one that is sufficiently radical in the face of a general statist system.”” [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ellul distinguishes between anarchist doctrine and a radical, critical stance toward the state, arguing that while total overthrow is unrealistic, a skeptical attitude remains valuable. **In simple terms:** Anarchist attitude is radical, but overthrow is impractical. Key Takeaway Critical skepticism of authority can be constructive without seeking total revolution. Themes anarchism state political theory pragmatism Mood thoughtful philosophical Type philosophical discourse When to use this quote - Policy debate - Activist strategy - Civic education Key Concepts radical critique pragmatic realism Practical Applications - Encourage critical thinking about governance - Develop reformist approaches that acknowledge state limits Questions to Reflect On - How can radical critique translate into actionable reform? - Is it possible to balance skepticism with constructive governance? A Different Perspective A purely skeptical stance may lack concrete alternatives for systemic change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anarchism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchism/) [Anarchist Attitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist-attitude-1297679/) [Anarchist Doctrine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist-doctrine-1297680/) [Anarchist Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist-society-714720/) [Conditions Anarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conditions-anarchy-1297682/) [Think Anarchism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-anarchism-1297681/) ## Related quotes > [The best way to think about anarchism is as a combination of three levels. On the one hand, the sort of instinctual revulsion against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/the-best-way-to-think-about-anarchism-is-as-a-combination-of-three/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“But the question is, historically, part of the group that you're a part of - whether it's racial, gender, religious, whatever - how has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-applebaum/but-the-question-is-historically-part-of-the-group-that-you-re-a-part/) [Jacob Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-applebaum/) > [I don't think anarchism consists of sitting down and saying let's form a collective. I don't think it consists of saying we're all anarchists:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-don-t-think-anarchism-consists-of-sitting-down-and-saying-let-s/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [An anarchist society, far from being a remote ideal, has become a precondition for the practice of ecological principles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/an-anarchist-society-far-from-being-a-remote-ideal-has-become-a/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [“An anarchist society is by definition a Free Society, but a Free Society is not necessarily Anarchist. It might fall short in several respects.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-meltzer/an-anarchist-society-is-by-definition-a-free-society-but-a-free/) [Albert Meltzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-meltzer/) > [I define anarchist society as one where there is no legal possibility for coercive aggression against the person or property of any individual. Anarchists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/i-define-anarchist-society-as-one-where-there-is-no-legal-possibility/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“Multiply examples, choose them where you will, consider the origin of all fortunes, large or small, whether arising out of commerce, finance, manufactures or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-kropotkin/multiply-examples-choose-them-where-you-will-consider-the-origin-of/) [Pyotr Kropotkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pyotr-kropotkin/) > [I define anarchist society as one where there is no legal possibility for coercive aggression against the person or property of any individual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/i-define-anarchist-society-as-one-where-there-is-no-legal-possibility-2/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [If I rule out violent anarchism, there remains pacifist, anti-nationalist, anti-capitalist, moral, and anti-democratic anarchism (i.e., that which is hostile to the falsified democracy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/if-i-rule-out-violent-anarchism-there-remains-pacifist-anti/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [There are different forms of anarchy and different currents in it. I must, first say very simply what anarchy I have in view. By…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/there-are-different-forms-of-anarchy-and-different-currents-in-it-i/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [I believe that the biblical teaching is clear. It always contests political power. It incites to "counterpower," to "positive" criticism, to an irreducible dialogue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/i-believe-that-the-biblical-teaching-is-clear-it-always-contests/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [“Do not all theists insist that there can be no morality, no justice, honesty or fidelity without the belief in a Divine Power? Based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/do-not-all-theists-insist-that-there-can-be-no-morality-no-justice/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Anarchism is a definite intellectual current in the life of our times, whose adherents advocate the abolition of economic monopolies and of all political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-rocker/anarchism-is-a-definite-intellectual-current-in-the-life-of-our-times/) [Rudolf Rocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-rocker/) > [In morals as in politics anarchy is not for the weak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/in-morals-as-in-politics-anarchy-is-not-for-the-weak/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [I know one thing: that you can do a lot of things but if you don't educate people into conscious anarchism it gets frittered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-know-one-thing-that-you-can-do-a-lot-of-things-but-if-you-don-t/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) ## More by Jacques Ellul > [The individual, by means of the discipline imposed on him by sport, not only plays and finds relaxation from the various compulsions to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/the-individual-by-means-of-the-discipline-imposed-on-him-by-sport-not/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [Propaganda begins when dialogue ends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/propaganda-begins-when-dialogue-ends/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [Christians were never meant to be normal. We’ve always been holy troublemakers, we’ve always been creators of uncertainty, agents of dimension that’s incompatible with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/christians-were-never-meant-to-be-normal-we-ve-always-been-holy/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [It is inconceivable that the God who gives Himself in His Son to save us, should have created some people ordained to evil and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/it-is-inconceivable-that-the-god-who-gives-himself-in-his-son-to-save/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [Technological society leads to increasing numbers of people who cannot adapt to the inhuman rhythm of modern life with its emphasis on specialization. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/technological-society-leads-to-increasing-numbers-of-people-who/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [It is the multiplication of men who are exluded from working which provokes war. We ought at least to bear this in mind when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/it-is-the-multiplication-of-men-who-are-exluded-from-working-which/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [The orchestration of press, radio and television to create a continuous, lasting and total environment renders the influence of propaganda virtually unnoticed precisely because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/the-orchestration-of-press-radio-and-television-to-create-a/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [The qualities which technique requires for its advance are precisely those characteristics of a technical order which do not represent indivisual intelligence...The individual, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/the-qualities-which-technique-requires-for-its-advance-are-precisely/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [Education no longer has a humanist end or any value in itself; it has only one goal, to create technicians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/education-no-longer-has-a-humanist-end-or-any-value-in-itself-it-has/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [The goal of modern propaganda is no longer to transform opinion but to arouse an active and mythical belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/the-goal-of-modern-propaganda-is-no-longer-to-transform-opinion-but/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [Freedom is completely without meaning unless it is related to necessity, unless it represents victory over necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/freedom-is-completely-without-meaning-unless-it-is-related-to/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [When there is propaganda, we are no longer able to evaluate certain questions, or even to discuss them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/when-there-is-propaganda-we-are-no-longer-able-to-evaluate-certain/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [True technique will know how to maintain the illusion of liberty, choice, and individuality; but these will have been carefully calculated so that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/true-technique-will-know-how-to-maintain-the-illusion-of-liberty/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [No one knows where we are going, the aim of life has been forgotten, the end has been left behind. Man has set out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/no-one-knows-where-we-are-going-the-aim-of-life-has-been-forgotten/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [“To the extent that propaganda is based on current news, it cannot permit time for thought or reflection. A man caught up in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/to-the-extent-that-propaganda-is-based-on-current-news-it-cannot/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) [Explore all 106 Jacques Ellul quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) ## More Anarchism quotes > [I know one thing: that you can do a lot of things but if you don't educate people into conscious anarchism it gets frittered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-know-one-thing-that-you-can-do-a-lot-of-things-but-if-you-don-t/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [In morals as in politics anarchy is not for the weak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/in-morals-as-in-politics-anarchy-is-not-for-the-weak/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [Anarchism is a definite intellectual current in the life of our times, whose adherents advocate the abolition of economic monopolies and of all political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-rocker/anarchism-is-a-definite-intellectual-current-in-the-life-of-our-times/) [Rudolf Rocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-rocker/) > [“Do not all theists insist that there can be no morality, no justice, honesty or fidelity without the belief in a Divine Power? Based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/do-not-all-theists-insist-that-there-can-be-no-morality-no-justice/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [“Does it follow that I reject all authority? Perish the thought. In the matter of boots, I defer to the authority of the bootmaker;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/does-it-follow-that-i-reject-all-authority-perish-the-thought-in-the/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [“An anarchist government somehow creates an impression in the hearts of citizens that no one cares.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/an-anarchist-government-somehow-creates-an-impression-in-the-hearts/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Anarchism as a political philosophy seeks to dissolve all forms of authority and power, and if possible, wishes their complete abolition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-marshall/anarchism-as-a-political-philosophy-seeks-to-dissolve-all-forms-of/) [Peter Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-marshall/) > [And now, what has Anarchism to say to all this, this bankruptcy of republicanism, this modern empire that has grown up on the ruins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/and-now-what-has-anarchism-to-say-to-all-this-this-bankruptcy-of/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [I see anarchism as the theoretical ideal to which we are all gradually evolving to a point where everybody can tell the truth to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-see-anarchism-as-the-theoretical-ideal-to-which-we-are-all/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [Anarchists are opposed to violence; everyone knows that. The main plank of anarchism is the removal of violence from human relations. It is life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errico-malatesta/anarchists-are-opposed-to-violence-everyone-knows-that-the-main-plank/) [Errico Malatesta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errico-malatesta/) > [“They knew that their anarchism was the product of a very high civilization, of a complex diversified culture, of a stable economy and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/they-knew-that-their-anarchism-was-the-product-of-a-very-high/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Anarchism means voluntary co-operation instead of forced participation. It means harmony and order in place of interference and disorder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-berkman/anarchism-means-voluntary-co-operation-instead-of-forced/) [Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/) > [The Anarchists are simply unterrified Jeffersonian Democrats. They believe that 'the best government is that which governs least,' and that which governs least is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/the-anarchists-are-simply-unterrified-jeffersonian-democrats-they/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) > [We must therefore turn to history for enlightenment; here we find that none of the proclaimed anarchist groups correspond to the libertarian position, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/we-must-therefore-turn-to-history-for-enlightenment-here-we-find-that/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“I became an anarchist very early on. Anarchism, in my mind, meant taking democracy seriously and organizing prefiguratively- that is, in a way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrej-gruba-i/i-became-an-anarchist-very-early-on-anarchism-in-my-mind-meant-taking/) [Andrej Grubačić](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrej-gruba-i/) [Browse all 388 Anarchism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“No society can last in conditions of anarchy. This is self-evident and I am in full agreement. But my aim is not the establishment of an anarchist society or the total destruction of the state. Here I differ from anarchists. I do not believe that it is possible to destroy the modern state. It is pure imagination to think that some day this power will be overthrown. From a pragmatic standpoint there is no chance of success. Furthermore, I do not believe that anarchist doctrine is the solution to the problem of organization in society and government. I do not think that if anarchism were to succeed we should have a better or more livable society. Hence I am not fighting for the triumph of this doctrine. 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