--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People who make war in order to escape…" description: "\"People who make war in order to escape slavery may possibly win…This will doubtless bring death and suffering to thousands…But people who tamely allow ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/kenneth-roberts-63877_antiwar_people-who-make-war-in-order-to-escape-s_1413656.jpg" --- # People who make war in order to escape slavery may… ![“People who make war in order to escape slavery may possibly win…This will doubtless bring death and suffering to thousands…But people who tamely allow slavery to be imposed on them without resorting to a defensive war are inevitably doomed to years of death and suffering-and far more of each than…” quote by Kenneth Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/kenneth-roberts-63877_antiwar_people-who-make-war-in-order-to-escape-s_1413656.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/kenneth-roberts-63877_antiwar_people-who-make-war-in-order-to-escape-s_1413656.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/kenneth-roberts-63877_antiwar_people-who-make-war-in-order-to-escape-s_1413656.jpg) > “People who make war in order to escape slavery may possibly win…This will doubtless bring death and suffering to thousands…But people who tamely allow slavery to be imposed on them without resorting to a defensive war are inevitably doomed to years of death and suffering-and far more of each than any war would bring to them…The army doesn't exist that can annihilate men in their own land-not if they love it sufficiently.” [Kenneth Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-roberts/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage argues that passive acceptance of oppression leads to prolonged suffering, whereas fighting for freedom, though costly, may be less damaging overall. **In simple terms:** Passive acceptance causes prolonged suffering; fighting may be costly but less harmful. Key Takeaway Consider active resistance to oppression. Themes freedom oppression war resistance consequences Mood serious reflective Type political ethical When to use this quote - activism - policy making - personal decision making Key Concepts Political philosophy ethics historical context Questions to Reflect On - Is war ever justified to end slavery? - What non‑violent alternatives exist? A Different Perspective Violence can cause collateral damage and moral dilemmas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Antiwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antiwar/) [Army](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/army/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) ## Related quotes > [“I wrote 300 books to escape the system, to buy my freedom, to escape slavery. Whoever thinks they need a job, is a slave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sacredfire/i-wrote-300-books-to-escape-the-system-to-buy-my-freedom-to-escape/) [Robin Sacredfire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sacredfire/) > [“In about four months after I went to New Bedford, there came a young man to me, and inquired if I did not wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/in-about-four-months-after-i-went-to-new-bedford-there-came-a-young/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“Foolish man, what do you bemoan, and what do you fear? Wherever you look there is an end of evils. You see that yawning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/foolish-man-what-do-you-bemoan-and-what-do-you-fear-wherever-you-look/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Today the real test of power is not capacity to make war but capacity to prevent it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-o-hare-mccormick/today-the-real-test-of-power-is-not-capacity-to-make-war-but-capacity/) [Anne O'Hare McCormick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-o-hare-mccormick/) > [We are all familiar with the argument: Make war dreadful enough, and there will be no war. And we none of us believe it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/we-are-all-familiar-with-the-argument-make-war-dreadful-enough-and/) [John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/) > [If there is no sufficient reason for war, the war party will make war on one pretext, then invent another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-la-follette-sr/if-there-is-no-sufficient-reason-for-war-the-war-party-will-make-war/) [Robert M. La Follette, Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-la-follette-sr/) > [I guess every generation is doomed to fight its war...suffer the loss of the same old illusions, and learn the same old lessons on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-caputo/i-guess-every-generation-is-doomed-to-fight-its-war-suffer-the-loss/) [Philip Caputo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-caputo/) > [“It is too true, however disgraceful it may be to human nature, that nations in general will make war whenever they have a prospect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-jay/it-is-too-true-however-disgraceful-it-may-be-to-human-nature-that/) [John Jay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-jay/) > [though some men did not make war as others did, if they sold their goods for profit to the war-makers, did it make them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/though-some-men-did-not-make-war-as-others-did-if-they-sold-their/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [When you make a war movie, the other side has to be the enemy. You're making a war movie from the point of view…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-liman/when-you-make-a-war-movie-the-other-side-has-to-be-the-enemy-you-re/) [Doug Liman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-liman/) > [“Being ready for war is not the same as making war, or liking it, young human. Make war as a last resort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-martelle/being-ready-for-war-is-not-the-same-as-making-war-or-liking-it-young/) Craig Martelle > [People always make war when they say they love peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-always-make-war-when-they-say-they-love-peace/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is far easier to make war than peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-clemenceau/it-is-far-easier-to-make-war-than-peace/) [Georges Clemenceau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-clemenceau/) > [Have you ever asked yourself, do monsters make war, or does war make monsters?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/have-you-ever-asked-yourself-do-monsters-make-war-or-does-war-make/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [No one survives in times of war unless they make war their home. How did I get so old and wise, but for welcoming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/no-one-survives-in-times-of-war-unless-they-make-war-their-home-how/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) ## More by Kenneth Roberts > [“Far off we heard the clatter of hoofs. Arnold went to the window. “Ho!” he said. “Here’s a friend of yours with”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-roberts/far-off-we-heard-the-clatter-of-hoofs-arnold-went-to-the-window-ho-he/) [Kenneth Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-roberts/) > [They call war an art, but it isn't. It largely consists in outwitting people, robbing widows and orphans, and inflicting suffering on the helpless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-roberts/they-call-war-an-art-but-it-isn-t-it-largely-consists-in-outwitting/) [Kenneth Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-roberts/) > [Misery, in cold truth, is a weight less upon those who undergo it than upon the minds of those who see it; for he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-roberts/misery-in-cold-truth-is-a-weight-less-upon-those-who-undergo-it-than/) [Kenneth Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-roberts/) > [“Brother, if you white men murdered the son of the Great Spirit, we Indians had nothing to do with it. It is none of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-roberts/brother-if-you-white-men-murdered-the-son-of-the-great-spirit-we/) [Kenneth Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-roberts/) [Explore all 5 Kenneth Roberts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-roberts/) ## More Antiwar quotes > [In the struggle of good against evil, it's always the people who get killed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-galeano/in-the-struggle-of-good-against-evil-it-s-always-the-people-who-get/) [Eduardo Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-galeano/) > [“... it would be better for our country and the world in general, if at least the few people who were capable of thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-would-be-better-for-our-country-and-the-world-in-general-if-at/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [In the eyes of empire builders men are not men but instruments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/in-the-eyes-of-empire-builders-men-are-not-men-but-instruments/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [The statesmen will invent cheap lies, putting the blame upon the nation that is attacked, and every man will be glad of those conscience-soothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-statesmen-will-invent-cheap-lies-putting-the-blame-upon-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [My first wish is to see this plague of mankind banished from the earth, and the sons and daughters of this world employed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/my-first-wish-is-to-see-this-plague-of-mankind-banished-from-the/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [The practice of violence, like all action, changes the world, but the most probable change is a more violent world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/the-practice-of-violence-like-all-action-changes-the-world-but-the/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [One reason the United States finds itself at the edge of a foreign policy disaster is its underinformed citizenry, a key weakness in democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-halper/one-reason-the-united-states-finds-itself-at-the-edge-of-a-foreign/) Stefan Halper > [The worst evils which mankind has ever had to endure were inflicted by bad governments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-worst-evils-which-mankind-has-ever-had-to-endure-were-inflicted/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [You cannot be on one hand dedicated to peace and on the other dedicated to violence. Those two things are irreconcilable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/you-cannot-be-on-one-hand-dedicated-to-peace-and-on-the-other/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [Free nations don't develop weapons of mass destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/free-nations-don-t-develop-weapons-of-mass-destruction/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [...Uncalled-for aggression arouses the hatred of the civilian population...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/uncalled-for-aggression-arouses-the-hatred-of-the-civilian-population/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [Studies by Medical Corps psychiatrists of combat fatigue cases... found that fear of killing, rather than fear of being killed, was the most common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-lyman-atwood-marshall/studies-by-medical-corps-psychiatrists-of-combat-fatigue-cases-found/) [Samuel Lyman Atwood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-lyman-atwood-marshall/) > [I believe that the entire effort of modern society should be concentrated on the endeavor to outlaw war as a method of the solution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/i-believe-that-the-entire-effort-of-modern-society-should-be/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [In war, as it is waged now, with the enormous losses on both sides, both sides will lose. It is a form of mutual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/in-war-as-it-is-waged-now-with-the-enormous-losses-on-both-sides-both/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [Our reluctance for conflict should not be misjudged as a failure of will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/our-reluctance-for-conflict-should-not-be-misjudged-as-a-failure-of/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) [Browse all 409 Antiwar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antiwar/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People who make war in order to escape slavery may possibly win…This will doubtless bring death and suffering to thousands…But people who tamely allow slavery to be imposed on them without resorting to a defensive war are inevitably doomed to years of death and suffering-and far more of each than any war would bring to them…The army doesn't exist that can annihilate men in their own land-not if they love it sufficiently.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kenneth Roberts" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-roberts/people-who-make-war-in-order-to-escape-slavery-may-possibly-win-this/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Antiwar" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-roberts/people-who-make-war-in-order-to-escape-slavery-may-possibly-win-this/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/kenneth-roberts-63877_antiwar_people-who-make-war-in-order-to-escape-s_1413656.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/kenneth-roberts-63877_antiwar_people-who-make-war-in-order-to-escape-s_1413656.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/kenneth-roberts-63877_antiwar_people-who-make-war-in-order-to-escape-s_1413656.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People who make war in order to escape slavery may possibly win…This will doubtless bring death and…” — Kenneth Roberts", "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": "Kenneth Roberts", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-roberts/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "People who make war in order...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-roberts/people-who-make-war-in-order-to-escape-slavery-may-possibly-win-this/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-roberts/people-who-make-war-in-order-to-escape-slavery-may-possibly-win-this/#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 } } ] } ```