--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have the illusion of freedom only…" description: "\"We have the illusion of freedom only because so few ever try to exercise it. Try it sometime. Try to save your home from the highway crowd, or to work ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7d/karl-hess-21090_approval_we-have-the-illusion-of-freedom-only-bec_1637586.jpg" --- # We have the illusion of freedom only because so few ever… ![“We have the illusion of freedom only because so few ever try to exercise it. Try it sometime. Try to save your home from the highway crowd, or to work a trade without the approval of the goons, or to open a little business without a permit, or to grow a crop without a quota, or to educate your…” quote by Karl Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7d/karl-hess-21090_approval_we-have-the-illusion-of-freedom-only-bec_1637586.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7d/karl-hess-21090_approval_we-have-the-illusion-of-freedom-only-bec_1637586.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7d/karl-hess-21090_approval_we-have-the-illusion-of-freedom-only-bec_1637586.jpg) > “We have the illusion of freedom only because so few ever try to exercise it. Try it sometime. Try to save your home from the highway crowd, or to work a trade without the approval of the goons, or to open a little business without a permit, or to grow a crop without a quota, or to educate your child the way you want to, or to not have a child. We all have the freedom of a balloon floating in a pin factory.” [Karl Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-hess/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Freedom is presented as an illusion constrained by societal and institutional limits; true liberty requires challenging those constraints. **In simple terms:** Freedom feels limited by rules and expectations. Key Takeaway Challenge imposed limits to reclaim autonomy. Themes liberty authority individualism rebellion Mood defiant reflective inspirational Type philosophical political When to use this quote - starting a business - parenting choices - career change - community activism - environmental protest Key Concepts anarchism social critique personal agency Questions to Reflect On - What constraints feel most oppressive to you? - How can small actions build larger freedom? A Different Perspective The quote may overstate the ease of overcoming entrenched systems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Approval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approval/) [Balloons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balloons/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Crops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crops/) [Exercise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exercise/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Goons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goons/) [Highways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/highways/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Trade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trade/) ## Related quotes > [You can’t stop a revolution from breathin’, so to beat ‘em they offer people the illusion of freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immortal-technique/you-can-t-stop-a-revolution-from-breathin-so-to-beat-em-they-offer/) [Immortal Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immortal-technique/) > [Sin creates the illusion of freedom. In the end it fools us into seeking freedom from God rather than finding freedom in God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-mcmanus/sin-creates-the-illusion-of-freedom-in-the-end-it-fools-us-into/) [Erwin McManus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-mcmanus/) > [“Free zero-point energy doesn't exist in an illusion of freedom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/free-zero-point-energy-doesn-t-exist-in-an-illusion-of-freedom/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [Love is the child of freedom, never that of domination…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/love-is-the-child-of-freedom-never-that-of-domination/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“Give a child too much freedom, and he’ll make you a child.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamerlan-kuzgov/give-a-child-too-much-freedom-and-he-ll-make-you-a-child/) [Tamerlan Kuzgov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamerlan-kuzgov/) > [We must clearly understand that when we give the child freedom and independence, we are giving freedom to a worker already braced for action,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/we-must-clearly-understand-that-when-we-give-the-child-freedom-and/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Therefore the misfortune which comes to man as a result of the fact that he was a child is that his freedom was first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/therefore-the-misfortune-which-comes-to-man-as-a-result-of-the-fact/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [In football you need freedom to try things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gianfranco-zola/in-football-you-need-freedom-to-try-things/) [Gianfranco Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gianfranco-zola/) > [I think the highest and lowest points are the important ones. Anything else is just...in between. I want the freedom to try everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/i-think-the-highest-and-lowest-points-are-the-important-ones-anything/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) > [We lost not only through death, but also by leaving and being left, by changing and letting go and moving on. And our losses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-viorst/we-lost-not-only-through-death-but-also-by-leaving-and-being-left-by/) [Judith Viorst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-viorst/) > [The right to err, which means the freedom to try experiments, is the universal condition of all progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-right-to-err-which-means-the-freedom-to-try-experiments-is-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The great modern novel of the comic-pathetic illusion of freedom is Confessions of Zeno .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-svevo/the-great-modern-novel-of-the-comic-pathetic-illusion-of-freedom-is/) [Italo Svevo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-svevo/) > [“How wonderful it would be to live an entire life with such freedom to try new things, experience the unknown, and face our fears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-clark/how-wonderful-it-would-be-to-live-an-entire-life-with-such-freedom-to/) [Ron Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-clark/) > [“Perhaps, there is no such person who can be called truly free, but only those who can be deemed so by comparison.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashim-shanker/perhaps-there-is-no-such-person-who-can-be-called-truly-free-but-only/) [Ashim Shanker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashim-shanker/) > [Give yourself freedom to try out new things Don't be so set in your ways that you can't grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/give-yourself-freedom-to-try-out-new-things-don-t-be-so-set-in-your/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) ## More by Karl Hess > [I am in total opposition to any institutional power. I favor a world of neighborhoods in which all social organization is voluntary and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-hess/i-am-in-total-opposition-to-any-institutional-power-i-favor-a-world/) [Karl Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-hess/) > [It is curious to note that when for reasons of conscience, people refuse to kill, they are often exempted from active military duty. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-hess/it-is-curious-to-note-that-when-for-reasons-of-conscience-people/) [Karl Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-hess/) > [Vietnam should remind conservatives that whenever you put your faith in big government for any reason, sooner or later you wind up an apologist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-hess/vietnam-should-remind-conservatives-that-whenever-you-put-your-faith/) [Karl Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-hess/) > [Government programs aim at getting money for poor people. Our hope was that knowledge would in the long run be more useful, provide more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-hess/government-programs-aim-at-getting-money-for-poor-people-our-hope-was/) [Karl Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-hess/) > [The fundamental question of politics has always been whether there should be politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-hess/the-fundamental-question-of-politics-has-always-been-whether-there/) [Karl Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-hess/) > [The most revolutionary thing you can do is get to know your neighbors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-hess/the-most-revolutionary-thing-you-can-do-is-get-to-know-your-neighbors/) [Karl Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-hess/) > [Liberty, finally, is not a box into which people are to be forced. Liberty is a space in which people may live. It does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-hess/liberty-finally-is-not-a-box-into-which-people-are-to-be-forced/) [Karl Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-hess/) > [A Call for Revolution, 1993 Libertarianism is rejected by the modern left - which preaches individualism but practices collectivism. Capitalism is rejected by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-hess/a-call-for-revolution-1993-libertarianism-is-rejected-by-the-modern/) [Karl Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-hess/) > [There is no better way to return the matter of taxation to full public discusssion than to repeal the withholding taxes on wages and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-hess/there-is-no-better-way-to-return-the-matter-of-taxation-to-full/) [Karl Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-hess/) > [“It is flawed by one thing: the abstraction of patriotism. People who will damn the government from morning till night, and oppose the State…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-hess/it-is-flawed-by-one-thing-the-abstraction-of-patriotism-people-who/) [Karl Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-hess/) > [The dinosaurs invented Jesus to test our confidence in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-hess/the-dinosaurs-invented-jesus-to-test-our-confidence-in-science/) [Karl Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-hess/) > [The Declaration of Independence is so lucid were afraid of it today. It scares the hell out of every modern bureaucrat, because it tells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-hess/the-declaration-of-independence-is-so-lucid-were-afraid-of-it-today/) [Karl Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-hess/) > [Everybody knows that the federal government promises a lot and delivers damn little, and pays for most of what it does deliver out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-hess/everybody-knows-that-the-federal-government-promises-a-lot-and/) [Karl Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-hess/) > [In a laissez-faire society, there could exist no public institution with the power to forcefully protect people from themselves. From other people (criminals), yes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-hess/in-a-laissez-faire-society-there-could-exist-no-public-institution/) [Karl Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-hess/) > [Libertarianism is rejected by the modern left - which preaches individualism but practices collectivism. Capitalism is rejected by the modern right-which preaches enterprise but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-hess/libertarianism-is-rejected-by-the-modern-left-which-preaches/) [Karl Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-hess/) [Explore all 29 Karl Hess quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-hess/) ## More Approval quotes > [Anyone who's read my 'Terror in the Skies' series knows that I have not been writing with an eye toward approval from any government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-jacobsen/anyone-who-s-read-my-terror-in-the-skies-series-knows-that-i-have-not/) [Annie Jacobsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-jacobsen/) > [we need not avoid our active lives, but simply bring to them a new vision and shift of gravity. for in the center we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/we-need-not-avoid-our-active-lives-but-simply-bring-to-them-a-new/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [Lean too much on the approval of people, and it becomes a bed of thorns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tehyi-hsieh/lean-too-much-on-the-approval-of-people-and-it-becomes-a-bed-of-thorns/) [Tehyi Hsieh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tehyi-hsieh/) > [But I always reassure them that as far as my contractual rights can go, I will protect them and make sure that they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-roach/but-i-always-reassure-them-that-as-far-as-my-contractual-rights-can/) [Jay Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-roach/) > [Growing up in that fashion is a breeding ground for insecurity and doubt; it also leaves you questioning motives. It took me a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-runyon/growing-up-in-that-fashion-is-a-breeding-ground-for-insecurity-and/) [Damon Runyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-runyon/) > [A year ago, my approval rating was in the 30s, my nominee for the supreme court had just withdrawn, and my vice president had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/a-year-ago-my-approval-rating-was-in-the-30s-my-nominee-for-the/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Approval is a greater motivator than disapproval, but we have to disapprove on occasion when we correct. It’s necessary. I make corrections only after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wooden/approval-is-a-greater-motivator-than-disapproval-but-we-have-to/) [John Wooden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wooden/) > [These days people are mean to people just because they don't like the way they look. No-one should be hated because of their flaws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/these-days-people-are-mean-to-people-just-because-they-don-t-like-the/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [I got this emptiness inside that got me fighting for approval because I missed out on my daddy saying, Way to Go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/i-got-this-emptiness-inside-that-got-me-fighting-for-approval-because/) [Lecrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [My dad taught me swears when I was a toddler, and I saw, at a really early age, that if I shocked people, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roseanne-barr/my-dad-taught-me-swears-when-i-was-a-toddler-and-i-saw-at-a-really/) [Roseanne Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roseanne-barr/) > [If torture is going to be administered as a last resort in the ticking-bomb case, to save enormous numbers of lives, it ought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/if-torture-is-going-to-be-administered-as-a-last-resort-in-the/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [Comedy is a very approval-oriented field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-chappelle/comedy-is-a-very-approval-oriented-field/) [Dave Chappelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-chappelle/) > [Whenever you are too worried about someone else's approval, that person loses respect for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-argov/whenever-you-are-too-worried-about-someone-else-s-approval-that/) [Sherry Argov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-argov/) > [Pleasure is Nature's test, her sign of approval.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/pleasure-is-nature-s-test-her-sign-of-approval/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Do you really mean the only reason you try to be good is to gain God's approval and reward? That's not morality, that's just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/do-you-really-mean-the-only-reason-you-try-to-be-good-is-to-gain-god/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) [Browse all 904 Approval quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approval/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We have the illusion of freedom only because so few ever try to exercise it. Try it sometime. Try to save your home from the highway crowd, or to work a trade without the approval of the goons, or to open a little business without a permit, or to grow a crop without a quota, or to educate your child the way you want to, or to not have a child. 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