--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For most of human history, there was a…" description: "\"For most of human history, there was a ruling class and then there was everybody else. If you were part of everybody else, it wasn't your job to imagin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/jay-s-walker-47134_class_for-most-of-human-history-there-was-a-ru_2991315.jpg" --- # For most of human history, there was a ruling class and… ![“For most of human history, there was a ruling class and then there was everybody else. If you were part of everybody else, it wasn't your job to imagine a different future, different ways of doing things. So, imagination is a fairly modern phenomenon.” quote by Jay S. Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/jay-s-walker-47134_class_for-most-of-human-history-there-was-a-ru_2991315.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/jay-s-walker-47134_class_for-most-of-human-history-there-was-a-ru_2991315.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/jay-s-walker-47134_class_for-most-of-human-history-there-was-a-ru_2991315.jpg) > “For most of human history, there was a ruling class and then there was everybody else. If you were part of everybody else, it wasn't your job to imagine a different future, different ways of doing things. So, imagination is a fairly modern phenomenon.” [Jay S. Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-s-walker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historically, only elites imagined alternatives; imagination became widespread only recently. **In simple terms:** Imagination used once a privileged activity. Key Takeaway Cultivate imagination regardless of background. Themes history imagination social class innovation Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - education reform - entrepreneurship - social activism - personal growth Key Concepts Cognitive development cultural shift Questions to Reflect On - How can societies foster imagination among all members? - What barriers prevent widespread creative thinking? A Different Perspective Imagination can be limited by entrenched norms and lack of resources. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Human history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-history/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Job](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/job/) [Phenomenon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phenomenon/) [Ruling class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruling-class/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [We, in Prince Edward Island, are fully familiar with this modern phenomenon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-campbell/we-in-prince-edward-island-are-fully-familiar-with-this-modern/) [Alex Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-campbell/) > [I think leadership's always been about two main things: imagination and courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-keating/i-think-leadership-s-always-been-about-two-main-things-imagination/) [Paul Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-keating/) > [“The strong belief can make things out of imagination. But that can also make facts as if they were fairy tales.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/the-strong-belief-can-make-things-out-of-imagination-but-that-can/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [If you don't daydream and kind of plan things out in your imagination, you never get there. So you have to start someplace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-duvall/if-you-don-t-daydream-and-kind-of-plan-things-out-in-your-imagination/) [Robert Duvall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-duvall/) > [Well, I think that - I think leadership's always been about two main things: imagination and courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-keating/well-i-think-that-i-think-leadership-s-always-been-about-two-main/) [Paul Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-keating/) > [You know what’s better than building things up in your imagination? Building things up in real life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-holiday/you-know-what-s-better-than-building-things-up-in-your-imagination/) [Ryan Holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-holiday/) > [Politics in the middle of things of the imagination is like a pistol shot in the middle of a concert.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/politics-in-the-middle-of-things-of-the-imagination-is-like-a-pistol/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [Reading a book, watching a movie, going to a play, it's transporting, and very, very exciting. And to be a part of that, creating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-carell/reading-a-book-watching-a-movie-going-to-a-play-it-s-transporting-and/) [Steve Carell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-carell/) > [It would be easier for people to grasp that gender, sex, and sexual orientation are different things if we had as much imagination in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yance-ford/it-would-be-easier-for-people-to-grasp-that-gender-sex-and-sexual/) [Yance Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yance-ford/) > [Imagination is the Discovering Faculty, pre-eminently ... It is that which feels & discovers what is, the REAL which we see not, which exists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-lovelace/imagination-is-the-discovering-faculty-pre-eminently-it-is-that-which-2/) [Ada Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-lovelace/) > [It is our very fear of the future that distorts the now that could lead to a different future if we dared to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-woodman/it-is-our-very-fear-of-the-future-that-distorts-the-now-that-could/) [Marion Woodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-woodman/) > [“If you do not dream of, and reach for a different future, you'll wind up at your same past again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-edward-lee-miller/if-you-do-not-dream-of-and-reach-for-a-different-future-you-ll-wind/) [Cody Edward Lee Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cody-edward-lee-miller/) > [“Living a lifestyle of mediocrity will lead to more of the same if you don't change something now that can bring about a different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/living-a-lifestyle-of-mediocrity-will-lead-to-more-of-the-same-if-you/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [“We can create a different future - one simple, beautifully mundane, daily decision at a time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-digh/we-can-create-a-different-future-one-simple-beautifully-mundane-daily/) [Patti Digh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-digh/) > [“But this is where we're different. You can see the future and refuse to change it. Where I come from, we can see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/but-this-is-where-we-re-different-you-can-see-the-future-and-refuse/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) ## More by Jay S. Walker > [If you're a doctor, what do you promise to do? First, do no harm. If your operating philosophy is do no harm, that's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-s-walker/if-you-re-a-doctor-what-do-you-promise-to-do-first-do-no-harm-if-your/) [Jay S. Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-s-walker/) > [Computing is becoming universal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-s-walker/computing-is-becoming-universal/) [Jay S. Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-s-walker/) > [Most organizations do not value imagination, do not encourage it, do not reward it. In many cases, they don't even think about it. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-s-walker/most-organizations-do-not-value-imagination-do-not-encourage-it-do/) [Jay S. Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-s-walker/) > [The issue is not to ask your customers what they want today, but to try to imagine what the customer is going to want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-s-walker/the-issue-is-not-to-ask-your-customers-what-they-want-today-but-to/) [Jay S. Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-s-walker/) > [I get my competitiveness from my mom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-s-walker/i-get-my-competitiveness-from-my-mom/) [Jay S. Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-s-walker/) > [I've always been an entrepreneur. I start businesses for a living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-s-walker/i-ve-always-been-an-entrepreneur-i-start-businesses-for-a-living/) [Jay S. Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-s-walker/) > [All of imagination - everything that we think, we feel, we sense - comes through the human brain. And once we create new patterns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-s-walker/all-of-imagination-everything-that-we-think-we-feel-we-sense-comes/) [Jay S. Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-s-walker/) [Explore all 8 Jay S. Walker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-s-walker/) ## More Class quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [If I had to guess and put a name on it, I'd say that at some point, the drug war was as much a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-simon/if-i-had-to-guess-and-put-a-name-on-it-i-d-say-that-at-some-point-the/) [David Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-simon/) > [I grew up in the middle class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-scaramucci/i-grew-up-in-the-middle-class/) [Anthony Scaramucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-scaramucci/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I certainly don't think that the heirs of the American Revolution were a particularly noble class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/i-certainly-don-t-think-that-the-heirs-of-the-american-revolution/) [H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/) > [You’re crazy,” said her best friend, Angela, as the bell rang to signal five minutes before the first class on the first day back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/you-re-crazy-said-her-best-friend-angela-as-the-bell-rang-to-signal/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [“Poor people do not go on holiday; they go home.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/poor-people-do-not-go-on-holiday-they-go-home/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [Because there are three classes of intellects: one which comprehends by itself; another which appreciates what others comprehend; and a third which neither comprehends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/because-there-are-three-classes-of-intellects-one-which-comprehends/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [Right now, for many Americans, class is being foregrounded like never before because of the economic situation. It doesn't mean that race doesn't matter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/right-now-for-many-americans-class-is-being-foregrounded-like-never/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [But I don't think the Democratic Party is at eye level with the middle class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-i-don-t-think-the-democratic-party-is-at-eye-level-with-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not a dancer. Never took a dance class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrishell-stause/i-m-not-a-dancer-never-took-a-dance-class/) [Chrishell Stause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrishell-stause/) > [Most startups are not just built for the person who is using them. When you do that, every now and then you get really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmett-shear/most-startups-are-not-just-built-for-the-person-who-is-using-them/) [Emmett Shear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmett-shear/) > [The structure of the Swiss ruling class is rock-hard, and unchanged since the time of Napoleon. They sit on their mountains and lecture the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ziegler/the-structure-of-the-swiss-ruling-class-is-rock-hard-and-unchanged/) [Jean Ziegler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ziegler/) > [We are not going back to the failed policies of the past. We are fighting for the middle class!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pelosi/we-are-not-going-back-to-the-failed-policies-of-the-past-we-are/) [Nancy Pelosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pelosi/) [Browse all 7,637 Class quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For most of human history, there was a ruling class and then there was everybody else. If you were part of everybody else, it wasn't your job to imagine a different future, different ways of doing things. So, imagination is a fairly modern phenomenon.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jay S. 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