--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The violence of hierarchy is the violence…" description: "\"“The violence of hierarchy is the violence that the powerful use against the dispossessed to keep them subordinated. As an example, the violence commit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/160/lierre-keith-18643_consumerism_the-violence-of-hierarchy-is-the-violenc_2630614.jpg" --- # The violence of hierarchy is the violence that the… ![“The violence of hierarchy is the violence that the powerful use against the dispossessed to keep them subordinated. As an example, the violence committed for wealth is socially invisible or committed at enough of a distance that its beneficiaries don't have to be aware of it. This type of violence…” quote by Lierre Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/160/lierre-keith-18643_consumerism_the-violence-of-hierarchy-is-the-violenc_2630614.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/160/lierre-keith-18643_consumerism_the-violence-of-hierarchy-is-the-violenc_2630614.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/160/lierre-keith-18643_consumerism_the-violence-of-hierarchy-is-the-violenc_2630614.jpg) > ““The violence of hierarchy is the violence that the powerful use against the dispossessed to keep them subordinated. As an example, the violence committed for wealth is socially invisible or committed at enough of a distance that its beneficiaries don't have to be aware of it. This type of violence has defined every imperialist war in the history of the US that has been fought to get access to "natural resources" for corporations to turn into the cheap consumer goods that form the basis of the American way of life.”” [Lierre Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lierre-keith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes how powerful groups use invisible violence to dominate the dispossessed, especially through resource extraction for consumer goods. **In simple terms:** Power uses hidden violence to control resources and people. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge systemic oppression. Themes power violence hierarchy imperialism Mood critical analytical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - policy analysis - activism - education - resource management Key Concepts social theory economic exploitation Questions to Reflect On - What hidden forms of violence exist today? - How can individuals reduce complicity? A Different Perspective Complex historical context may oversimplify causes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consumerism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumerism/) [Deep-green-resistance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deep-green-resistance/) [Hierarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hierarchy/) [Hierarchy Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hierarchy-violence-463256/) [Natural resources](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-resources/) [Subordination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subordination/) [Type Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/type-violence-868392/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) [Violence Defined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence-defined-1746833/) [Violence Hierarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence-hierarchy-2187462/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Way of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-of-life/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) ## Related quotes > [I'm also interviewing a guy who's just written a book about his experience living in Iraq, faced with the type of violence as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/i-m-also-interviewing-a-guy-who-s-just-written-a-book-about-his/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [“Slumped to the floor. The pit of blackness welcomed her to let go and fall into the murky depths where conscience and pain ceased…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-stevens/slumped-to-the-floor-the-pit-of-blackness-welcomed-her-to-let-go-and/) [Taylor Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-stevens/) > [You can justify, from a political standpoint, any type of violence you want to use.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-vlasak/you-can-justify-from-a-political-standpoint-any-type-of-violence-you/) [Jerry Vlasak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-vlasak/) > [State violence cannot be defined simply as a political issue but also as a pedagogical issue that wages violence against the minds, desires, bodies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/state-violence-cannot-be-defined-simply-as-a-political-issue-but-also/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [“Our best hope will never lie in individual survivalism. Nor does it lie in small groups doing their best to prepare for the worst.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lierre-keith/our-best-hope-will-never-lie-in-individual-survivalism-nor-does-it/) [Lierre Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lierre-keith/) > [“There is a name for the tsunami wave of extermination: the Holocene extinction event. There's no asteroid this time, only human behavior, behavior that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lierre-keith/there-is-a-name-for-the-tsunami-wave-of-extermination-the-holocene/) [Lierre Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lierre-keith/) > [I want us to organize, to tell the personal stories that create empathy, which is the most revolutionary emotion. The truth of the mater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-want-us-to-organize-to-tell-the-personal-stories-that-create-2/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [There should be no boundaries, no hierarchy, no violence. Men and women are equal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alessandro-michele/there-should-be-no-boundaries-no-hierarchy-no-violence-men-and-women/) [Alessandro Michele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alessandro-michele/) > [Civilization is based on a clearly defined and widely accepted yet often unarticulated hierarchy. Violence done by those higher on the hierarchy to those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/civilization-is-based-on-a-clearly-defined-and-widely-accepted-yet/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [“The ultimate goal of the resistance movement is a planet not just living, but in recovery, growing more alive and more diverse year after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aric-mcbay/the-ultimate-goal-of-the-resistance-movement-is-a-planet-not-just/) [Aric McBay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aric-mcbay/) > [“This culture destroys landbases. That's what it does. When you think of Iraq, is the first thing that comes to mind cedar forests so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/this-culture-destroys-landbases-that-s-what-it-does-when-you-think-of/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [“No successes we might have are guaranteed to last as long as industrial civilization stands. Conversely, most of our losses are effectively permanent. Extinct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aric-mcbay/no-successes-we-might-have-are-guaranteed-to-last-as-long-as/) [Aric McBay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aric-mcbay/) > [“Humans are only one species of millions. To kill millions of species for the benefit of one is insane, just as killing millions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aric-mcbay/humans-are-only-one-species-of-millions-to-kill-millions-of-species/) [Aric McBay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aric-mcbay/) > [“So while this is a book about fighting back, in the end this is a book about love. The songbirds and the salmon need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/so-while-this-is-a-book-about-fighting-back-in-the-end-this-is-a-book/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [“Even if we're among the lucky few who benefit from civilization, we find ourselves curiously unsatisfied, plagued by stress, worry, and conflict... Like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-carter/even-if-we-re-among-the-lucky-few-who-benefit-from-civilization-we/) [Michael Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-carter/) ## More by Lierre Keith > [What’s looming in the shadows of our ignorance and denial is a critique of civilization itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lierre-keith/what-s-looming-in-the-shadows-of-our-ignorance-and-denial-is-a/) [Lierre Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lierre-keith/) > [Grains are essentially sugar with enough opioids to make them addictive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lierre-keith/grains-are-essentially-sugar-with-enough-opioids-to-make-them/) [Lierre Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lierre-keith/) > [One group of people that get a lot of PTSD are soldiers who have been in combat. 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About the only animals that escaped the biotic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lierre-keith/there-is-no-place-left-for-the-buffalo-to-roam-there-s-only-corn/) [Lierre Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lierre-keith/) > [“Life is literally a process of one creature eating another, whether it’s bacteria breaking down plants or animals, plants strangling each other, animals going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lierre-keith/life-is-literally-a-process-of-one-creature-eating-another-whether-it/) [Lierre Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lierre-keith/) > [“John Locke, called the Father of Liberalism, made the argument that the individual instead of the community was the foundation of society. He believed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lierre-keith/john-locke-called-the-father-of-liberalism-made-the-argument-that-the/) [Lierre Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lierre-keith/) > [“Masculinity is simply a conglomeration of the personality traits necessary for the patriarchal soldier-rapist: physically strong, emotionally cauterized, rational, domineering, cruel. All of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lierre-keith/masculinity-is-simply-a-conglomeration-of-the-personality-traits/) [Lierre Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lierre-keith/) > [People sometimes say that we will know feminism has done its job when half the CEOs are women. That’s not feminism; to quote Catharine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lierre-keith/people-sometimes-say-that-we-will-know-feminism-has-done-its-job-when/) [Lierre Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lierre-keith/) > [For those of us who can't be active on the front lines - and this will be most of us - our job is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lierre-keith/for-those-of-us-who-can-t-be-active-on-the-front-lines-and-this-will/) [Lierre Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lierre-keith/) > [It’s time to put away our fairytales, all of them, and assume our responsibilities, the adult responsibilities that begin with adult knowledge. Our planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lierre-keith/it-s-time-to-put-away-our-fairytales-all-of-them-and-assume-our/) [Lierre Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lierre-keith/) > [Men: Stand in solidarity with women. Women, if you were born female, you were born on a battlefield. 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