--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is the gravest danger that today…" description: "\"This is the gravest danger that today threatens civilization: State intervention; the absorption of all spontaneous social effort by the State, that is..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b51/jose-ortega-y-gasset-1688_absorption_this-is-the-gravest-danger-that-today-th_1773750.jpg" --- # This is the gravest danger that today threatens… ![“This is the gravest danger that today threatens civilization: State intervention; the absorption of all spontaneous social effort by the State, that is to say, of spontaneous historical action, which in the long run sustains, nourishes, and impels human destinies.” quote by Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b51/jose-ortega-y-gasset-1688_absorption_this-is-the-gravest-danger-that-today-th_1773750.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b51/jose-ortega-y-gasset-1688_absorption_this-is-the-gravest-danger-that-today-th_1773750.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b51/jose-ortega-y-gasset-1688_absorption_this-is-the-gravest-danger-that-today-th_1773750.jpg) > “This is the gravest danger that today threatens civilization: State intervention; the absorption of all spontaneous social effort by the State, that is to say, of spontaneous historical action, which in the long run sustains, nourishes, and impels human destinies.” [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The danger is that the State will absorb and replace spontaneous social actions, which historically drive human destiny. **In simple terms:** State control can kill natural social effort. Key Takeaway Guard autonomy, limit state overreach. Themes politics freedom society history state power spontaneity Mood cautious critical reflective Type philosophical political When to use this quote - policy making - civil activism - community building - grassroots movements Key Concepts social contract collective action historical agency Questions to Reflect On - How can societies preserve spontaneous action? - What safeguards protect against state overreach? A Different Perspective State intervention may stifle innovation and individual initiative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Danger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/danger/) [Destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Historical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Intervention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intervention/) [Long runs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-runs/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Spontaneous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spontaneous/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Tyranny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyranny/) ## Related quotes > [ \[T\]he mass-man sees in the State an anonymous power, and feeling himself, like it, anonymous, he believes that the State is something of his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/t-he-mass-man-sees-in-the-state-an-anonymous-power-and-feeling/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [What threatens civilization today is not war, but the changing conception of life values entailed by certain political doctrines. Only by recapturing the dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/what-threatens-civilization-today-is-not-war-but-the-changing/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [I can't stress enough how strongly I am against any state intervention in a sovereign nation's affairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-martin/i-can-t-stress-enough-how-strongly-i-am-against-any-state/) [Abby Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-martin/) > [State intervention in economic production arises only when private initiative is lacking or insufficient, or when the political interests of the State are involved.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benito-mussolini/state-intervention-in-economic-production-arises-only-when-private/) [Benito Mussolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benito-mussolini/) > [The timing & characteristics of state intervention affect not only organizational tactics and strategies, but the content and definition of interest itself... Some scholars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theda-skocpol/the-timing-characteristics-of-state-intervention-affect-not-only/) Theda Skocpol > [The beneficial effect of state intervention, especially in the form of legislation, is direct, immediate, and so to speak, visible, while its evil effects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-v-dicey/the-beneficial-effect-of-state-intervention-especially-in-the-form-of/) A. V. Dicey > [Generally speaking, the less privileged groups in democratic society, as they become aware of their interests and their political power, will be found to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunnar-myrdal/generally-speaking-the-less-privileged-groups-in-democratic-society/) [Gunnar Myrdal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunnar-myrdal/) > [The civilization of a state should be measured by the amount of suffering it prevents and the degree of happiness it makes possible for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/the-civilization-of-a-state-should-be-measured-by-the-amount-of/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [“It is not easy to get rid of weeds; but it is easy, by a process of neglect, to ruin your food crops and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/it-is-not-easy-to-get-rid-of-weeds-but-it-is-easy-by-a-process-of/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Western Civilization has been in a state of decline since the Edwardian age, say 1910. That was the height of Greco-Roman European civilization. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/western-civilization-has-been-in-a-state-of-decline-since-the/) [Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/) > [Discussions of the economy, especially during times of crisis, are often framed in terms of lessons we supposedly learned during the Depression of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-woods/discussions-of-the-economy-especially-during-times-of-crisis-are/) [Thomas Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-woods/) > [The picture of the free market is necessarily one of harmony and mutual benefit; the picture of State intervention is one of caste conflict,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/the-picture-of-the-free-market-is-necessarily-one-of-harmony-and/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“He did not foresee that in a predatory capitalist economy, state intervention would be an absolute necessity to preserve human existence and to prevent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/he-did-not-foresee-that-in-a-predatory-capitalist-economy-state/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“A mere enumeration of government activity is evidence -- often the sole evidence offered -- of "inadequate" nongovernment institutions, whose "inability" to cope with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/a-mere-enumeration-of-government-activity-is-evidence-often-the-sole/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [ “\[...\] in a predatory capitalist economy, state intervention would be an absolute necessity to preserve human existence and to prevent the destruction of the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/in-a-predatory-capitalist-economy-state-intervention-would-be-an/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More by Jose Ortega y Gasset > [It would be a piece of ingenuousness to accuse the man of today of his lack of moral code. The accusation would leave him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/it-would-be-a-piece-of-ingenuousness-to-accuse-the-man-of-today-of/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [In these years we are witnessing the gigantic spectacle of innumerable human lives wandering about lost in their own labyrinths, through not having anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/in-these-years-we-are-witnessing-the-gigantic-spectacle-of/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [In order to master the unruly torrent of life the learned man meditates, the poet quivers, and the political hero erects the fortress of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/in-order-to-master-the-unruly-torrent-of-life-the-learned-man/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [The common man, finding himself in a world so excellent, technically and socially, believes it has been produced by nature, and never thinks of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/the-common-man-finding-himself-in-a-world-so-excellent-technically/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [Barbarism is the absence of standards to which appeal can be made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/barbarism-is-the-absence-of-standards-to-which-appeal-can-be-made/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [The form most contradictory to human life that can appear among the human species is the "self-sat-isfied man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/the-form-most-contradictory-to-human-life-that-can-appear-among-the/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [“For there is no doubt that the most radical division that is possible to make of humanity is that which splits into two classes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/for-there-is-no-doubt-that-the-most-radical-division-that-is-possible/) [José Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [What makes a nation great is not primarily its great men, but the stature of its innumerable mediocre ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/what-makes-a-nation-great-is-not-primarily-its-great-men-but-the/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [To be surprised, to wonder, is to begin to understand. This is the sport, the luxury, special to the intellectual man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/to-be-surprised-to-wonder-is-to-begin-to-understand-this-is-the-sport/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [Romantic poses aside, let us recognize that "falling in love"...is an inferior state of mind, a form of transitory imbecility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/romantic-poses-aside-let-us-recognize-that-falling-in-love-is-an/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [Law is born from despair of human nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/law-is-born-from-despair-of-human-nature/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [The masses think that is is easy to flee from reality, when it is the most difficult thing in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/the-masses-think-that-is-is-easy-to-flee-from-reality-when-it-is-the/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [The librarian's mission should be, not like up to now, a mere handling of the book as an object, but rather a know how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/the-librarian-s-mission-should-be-not-like-up-to-now-a-mere-handling/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [Whether he be an original or a plagiarist, man is the novelist of himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/whether-he-be-an-original-or-a-plagiarist-man-is-the-novelist-of/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [Here, then, is the point at which I see the new mission of the librarian rise up incomparably higher than all those preceding. Up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/here-then-is-the-point-at-which-i-see-the-new-mission-of-the/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) [Explore all 204 Jose Ortega y Gasset quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) ## More Absorption quotes > [In fact, studies show that vegans tend to get more iron than meat eaters. Vitamin C from fruits and vegetables increases iron absorption. Meanwhile,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-gannon/in-fact-studies-show-that-vegans-tend-to-get-more-iron-than-meat/) [Sharon Gannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-gannon/) > [I am not the center of the universe. And it's a lesson that I keep having to learn; it's my ongoing work, I'd say.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-fabian/i-am-not-the-center-of-the-universe-and-it-s-a-lesson-that-i-keep/) [Patrick Fabian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-fabian/) > [The greatness of peoples springs from their ability to grasp the grand conceptions of being. It is the absorption of a people, of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-crummell/the-greatness-of-peoples-springs-from-their-ability-to-grasp-the/) [Alexander Crummell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-crummell/) > [Melancholy betrays the world for the sake of knowledge. But in its tenacious self-absorption it embraces dead objects in its contemplation, in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/melancholy-betrays-the-world-for-the-sake-of-knowledge-but-in-its/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [I was in a garden at the Rodin Museum. For a few minutes I was alone, sitting on a bench between two long hedges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-howe/i-was-in-a-garden-at-the-rodin-museum-for-a-few-minutes-i-was-alone/) [Irving Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-howe/) > [Those who work at a thing heart and soul not only achieve success in it but through their absorption in that they also realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/those-who-work-at-a-thing-heart-and-soul-not-only-achieve-success-in/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Self-absorption intensifies isolation, but permits it to go unnoticed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/self-absorption-intensifies-isolation-but-permits-it-to-go-unnoticed/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Life is a state of constant radiation and absorption; to exist is to radiate; to exist is to be the recipient of radiations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-george-jordan/life-is-a-state-of-constant-radiation-and-absorption-to-exist-is-to/) [William George Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-george-jordan/) > [I had learned that science is a rewarding, active process of discovery, not the passive absorption of what others had discovered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-e-varmus/i-had-learned-that-science-is-a-rewarding-active-process-of-discovery/) [Harold E. Varmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-e-varmus/) > [Selfishness and self-absorption are deadly charm-exterminators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-young/selfishness-and-self-absorption-are-deadly-charm-exterminators/) [Loretta Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-young/) > [Prayer gives us relief from the melancholy burden of self-absorption .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/prayer-gives-us-relief-from-the-melancholy-burden-of-self-absorption/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [ \[Pope Francis\]sees a world in need of the Gospel, and of friendship with Jesus Christ, as an antidote to the self-absorption and loneliness that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-weigel/pope-francis-sees-a-world-in-need-of-the-gospel-and-of-friendship/) [George Weigel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-weigel/) > [The ecstasy and completion of absorption in God is so fantastic that you can't possibly have lost anything because all the things you've always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-ecstasy-and-completion-of-absorption-in-god-is-so-fantastic-that/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [ \[T\]he mass-man sees in the State an anonymous power, and feeling himself, like it, anonymous, he believes that the State is something of his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/t-he-mass-man-sees-in-the-state-an-anonymous-power-and-feeling/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [“But the work had told upon the Editor. Work of that sort carries its penalties with it. Success means absorption, and absorption spells softening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/but-the-work-had-told-upon-the-editor-work-of-that-sort-carries-its/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) Browse all 118 Absorption quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "This is the gravest danger that today threatens civilization: State intervention; the absorption of all spontaneous social effort by the State, that is to say, of spontaneous historical action, which in the long run sustains, nourishes, and impels human destinies.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jose Ortega y Gasset" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/this-is-the-gravest-danger-that-today-threatens-civilization-state/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absorption" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/this-is-the-gravest-danger-that-today-threatens-civilization-state/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b51/jose-ortega-y-gasset-1688_absorption_this-is-the-gravest-danger-that-today-th_1773750.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b51/jose-ortega-y-gasset-1688_absorption_this-is-the-gravest-danger-that-today-th_1773750.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b51/jose-ortega-y-gasset-1688_absorption_this-is-the-gravest-danger-that-today-th_1773750.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“This is the gravest danger that today threatens civilization: State intervention; the absorption of all…” — Jose Ortega y Gasset", "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": "Jose Ortega y Gasset", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "This is the gravest danger that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/this-is-the-gravest-danger-that-today-threatens-civilization-state/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/this-is-the-gravest-danger-that-today-threatens-civilization-state/#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 } } ] } ```