Cruelty Quote by Leo Tolstoy
““The main reason for the terrible cruelty between men today, apart from the absence religion, is still the refined complexity of life which shields people from the consequences of their actions. However cruel Attila, Genghis Khan and their followers may have been, the act of killing people personally, face to face, must have been unpleasant: the wailing relatives and the presence of the corpses. And thus their cruelty was restrained. Nowadays we kill people through such a complex process of communication, and the consequences of our cruelty are so carefully removed and concealed from us, that there is no restraint on the bestiality of the action.””
About This Quote
Source Essay: Reflections on Modern Cruelty, 1885, Leo Tolstoy
Complex modern communication hides the impact of violence, removing natural restraints on cruelty.
In simple terms: Modern media conceals the horror of killing.
Key Takeaway
Recognize hidden consequences of actions.
Themes
ethics
technology
violence
humanity
Mood
philosophical
critical
Type
ethical
social
When to use this quote
- journalism
- policy making
- education
- activism
Key Concepts
moral psychology
media influence
detachment
Questions to Reflect On
- How does media shape our perception of cruelty?
- Can we restore empathy in distant actions?
A Different Perspective
Complexity can also enable accountability.
![“since the Depression, we bankers have had the leisure and . . . solitude, you might say, to think about the future. The Civil War left us with a federal government. The Great War made us a creditor nation. As bankers, we must anticipate what changes this war will thrust upon us.” […] The old man…” quote by Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/9a3/jennifer-egan-825_civil-war_since-the-depression-we-bankers-have-had_189939.jpg)
