--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In liberal democracy and anxious anarchy…" description: "\"In liberal democracy and anxious anarchy, the traditional classic dance, compact of aristocratic authority and absolute freedom in a necessity of order..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/lincoln-kirstein-34134_absolute-freedom_in-liberal-democracy-and-anxious-anarchy_2598018.jpg" --- # In liberal democracy and anxious anarchy, the traditional… ![“In liberal democracy and anxious anarchy, the traditional classic dance, compact of aristocratic authority and absolute freedom in a necessity of order, has never been so promising as an independent expression as it is today.” quote by Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/lincoln-kirstein-34134_absolute-freedom_in-liberal-democracy-and-anxious-anarchy_2598018.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/lincoln-kirstein-34134_absolute-freedom_in-liberal-democracy-and-anxious-anarchy_2598018.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/lincoln-kirstein-34134_absolute-freedom_in-liberal-democracy-and-anxious-anarchy_2598018.jpg) > “In liberal democracy and anxious anarchy, the traditional classic dance, compact of aristocratic authority and absolute freedom in a necessity of order, has never been so promising as an independent expression as it is today.” [Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Modern liberal democracy blends order and freedom, offering a promising independent expression despite tensions. **In simple terms:** Democracy balances order and freedom. Key Takeaway Recognize the value of structured liberty. Themes politics philosophy freedom Mood thought‑provoking analytical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - elections - civil protests - policy debates Key Concepts social contract anarchic tension democratic theory Questions to Reflect On - How can societies maintain order without stifling freedom? - What role does individual responsibility play? A Different Perspective Balancing authority and liberty is challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolute freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolute-freedom/) [Anarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchy/) [Anarchy Traditional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchy-traditional-1920252/) [Anxious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxious/) [Anxious Anarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxious-anarchy-1920254/) [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Classic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classic/) [Classic Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classic-dance-1920253/) [Compact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compact/) [Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dance/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Independent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independent/) [Liberal democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberal-democracy/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) ## Related quotes > [Being a fan of dance and a dancer, I love my classic dance movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-boss/being-a-fan-of-dance-and-a-dancer-i-love-my-classic-dance-movies/) [Stephen Boss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-boss/) > [Trump wants to be an autocrat, he does want to be a Vladimir Putin-style ruler. His chief strategic advisor, Steve Bannon, is a follower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-wrightson-nance/trump-wants-to-be-an-autocrat-he-does-want-to-be-a-vladimir-putin/) [Malcolm Wrightson Nance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-wrightson-nance/) > [“Liberal democracy was saved only by nuclear weapons.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/liberal-democracy-was-saved-only-by-nuclear-weapons/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Whatever his disappointments, Hamilton, forty, must have left Philadelphia with an immense feeling of accomplishment. The Whiskey Rebellion had been suppressed, the country's finances…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/whatever-his-disappointments-hamilton-forty-must-have-left/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [“We were keeping our eye on 1984. When the year came and the prophecy didn't, thoughtful Americans sang softly in praise of themselves. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/we-were-keeping-our-eye-on-1984-when-the-year-came-and-the-prophecy/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [“Freedom is the right to difference; being plurality, it postulates the dispersion of the absolute, its resolution into a dust of truths, equally justified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-cioran/freedom-is-the-right-to-difference-being-plurality-it-postulates-the/) [Emil Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-cioran/) > [All of the dirty tricks, basically, the Russians employ to tear down liberal democracy, we need to work together on a bipartisan basis, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-schiff/all-of-the-dirty-tricks-basically-the-russians-employ-to-tear-down/) [Adam Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-schiff/) > [Not everything is so bad... Whichever way you look at it, we feel that we can face the future when the liberal, democracy-based world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kersti-kaljulaid/not-everything-is-so-bad-whichever-way-you-look-at-it-we-feel-that-we/) [Kersti Kaljulaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kersti-kaljulaid/) > [We're a little bit low in the 1970s, right, post-Vietnam, Watergate era, malaise, all that, but this is more like the 1930s where the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-fried/we-re-a-little-bit-low-in-the-1970s-right-post-vietnam-watergate-era/) [Daniel Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-fried/) > [What modernity requires is not that you cease living according to your faith, but that you accept that others may differ and that therefore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sullivan/what-modernity-requires-is-not-that-you-cease-living-according-to/) [Andrew Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sullivan/) > [To try to turn Iraq into a liberal democracy is absolutely crazy. Islam has no understanding of the separation between church and state because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/to-try-to-turn-iraq-into-a-liberal-democracy-is-absolutely-crazy/) [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) > [I think Russians today have a distorted picture of capitalism, liberal democracy and market economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/i-think-russians-today-have-a-distorted-picture-of-capitalism-liberal/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [In a functioning liberal democracy, we cannot normalize political violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-ngo/in-a-functioning-liberal-democracy-we-cannot-normalize-political/) [Andy Ngo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-ngo/) > [“We allowed ourselves to accept the politics of inevitability, the sense that history could move in only one direction: toward liberal democracy...We imbibed the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/we-allowed-ourselves-to-accept-the-politics-of-inevitability-the/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [For me, it is clear that we are currently in a period of structural crisis of capitalism going back to the 1970s, but deepening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bellamy-foster/for-me-it-is-clear-that-we-are-currently-in-a-period-of-structural/) [John Bellamy Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bellamy-foster/) ## More by Lincoln Kirstein > [I've always had the idea that we were conducting a military operation. It always seemed to me to be in a state of emergency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/i-ve-always-had-the-idea-that-we-were-conducting-a-military-operation/) [Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) > [She was chronologically in luck. She corresponded to necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/she-was-chronologically-in-luck-she-corresponded-to-necessity/) [Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) > [The candid camera is the greatest liar in the photographic family… It is anarchic, naïve, and superficial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/the-candid-camera-is-the-greatest-liar-in-the-photographic-family-it/) [Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) > [“If there is a hero, it is choreography.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/if-there-is-a-hero-it-is-choreography/) [Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) > [While photography to Cartier-Bresson is constantly an intuitive process, it is never purely instinctive. It is founded on continuous intellection, on ceaseless consideration during…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/while-photography-to-cartier-bresson-is-constantly-an-intuitive/) [Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) > [Transplanting the ballet to the United States is like trying to raise a palm tree in Dakota.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/transplanting-the-ballet-to-the-united-states-is-like-trying-to-raise/) [Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) > [Harvard was a kind of luxurious afternoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/harvard-was-a-kind-of-luxurious-afternoon/) [Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) > [“I mean, if you have any idea of any kind of complexity or immensity or destiny, of general order, you're put in a position…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/i-mean-if-you-have-any-idea-of-any-kind-of-complexity-or-immensity-or/) [Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) > [Ballet dancers are a self-chosen elite. To survive and surmount years of disciplinary preparation and seasons of even more arduous performance requires rigid determination…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/ballet-dancers-are-a-self-chosen-elite-to-survive-and-surmount-years/) [Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) > [The domain of the ballet dancer is not earth but air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/the-domain-of-the-ballet-dancer-is-not-earth-but-air/) [Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) > [Dance design is not simply one element; it is that without which ballet cannot exist. As aria is to opera, words to poetry, color…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/dance-design-is-not-simply-one-element-it-is-that-without-which/) [Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) > [He was trained as a dancer, and he had both a dancer's body and a dancer's capacity. He incarnated for me the most appealing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/he-was-trained-as-a-dancer-and-he-had-both-a-dancer-s-body-and-a/) [Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) > [If one had to define one essential gift with which a dancer needs to be endowed, there might be a rush of answers. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/if-one-had-to-define-one-essential-gift-with-which-a-dancer-needs-to/) [Lincoln Kirstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) [Explore all 14 Lincoln Kirstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/) ## More Absolute freedom quotes > [“My holy of holies are the human body, health, intelligence, talent, inspiration, love, and the most absolute freedom - freedom from force and falsity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/my-holy-of-holies-are-the-human-body-health-intelligence-talent/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [The Marvel experience was particularly wrenching because I was sort of given absolute freedom while we were shooting, and then in post, it turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-taylor/the-marvel-experience-was-particularly-wrenching-because-i-was-sort/) [Alan Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-taylor/) > [“An attempt to wrest from God the prerogatives of absolute freedom and infinity leads to the inversion of Pentecost and what is in effect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-e-gunton/an-attempt-to-wrest-from-god-the-prerogatives-of-absolute-freedom-and/) [Colin E. Gunton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-e-gunton/) > [What is freedom? There is no such thing as absolute freedom!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benito-mussolini/what-is-freedom-there-is-no-such-thing-as-absolute-freedom/) [Benito Mussolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benito-mussolini/) > [Art lives where absolute freedom is, because where it is not, there can be no creativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/art-lives-where-absolute-freedom-is-because-where-it-is-not-there-can/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [“After those four years, he returned to the Midwest. He'd turned twenty-five, the Age of Unfolding, and it was time to write a novel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/after-those-four-years-he-returned-to-the-midwest-he-d-turned-twenty/) [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) > [Having grown up in Bombay, from the day youre born, you have absolute freedom to choose who you want to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freida-pinto/having-grown-up-in-bombay-from-the-day-youre-born-you-have-absolute/) [Freida Pinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freida-pinto/) > [Absolute freedom need not be lost as the price we must pay for the advent of civilization; men are born free, and need never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/absolute-freedom-need-not-be-lost-as-the-price-we-must-pay-for-the/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [Absolute freedom need not be lost as the price we must pay for the advent of civilization. Man may achieve liberty and abundance, freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/absolute-freedom-need-not-be-lost-as-the-price-we-must-pay-for-the-2/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [Once you have surrendered completely to God, you experience for the first time absolute freedom from the worries, problems and ills of this world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashok-kushwaha/once-you-have-surrendered-completely-to-god-you-experience-for-the/) [Ashok Kushwaha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashok-kushwaha/) > [“It is ironical that, in the very field in which Science has claimed superiority to Theology, for example - in the abandoning of dogma…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-dingle/it-is-ironical-that-in-the-very-field-in-which-science-has-claimed/) [Herbert Dingle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-dingle/) > [“It was easy enough to write a sentence, but if you were going to create a work of art, the way Melville had, each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/it-was-easy-enough-to-write-a-sentence-but-if-you-were-going-to/) [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) > [... the absolute freedom of woman will be the dawn of the day of man's regeneration. In raising her he will elevate himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-celeste-claflin/the-absolute-freedom-of-woman-will-be-the-dawn-of-the-day-of-man-s/) [Tennessee Celeste Claflin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-celeste-claflin/) > [I wish to speak a word for Nature, for absolute Freedom and Wildness, as contrasted with a Freedom and Culture merely civil, - to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-wish-to-speak-a-word-for-nature-for-absolute-freedom-and-wildness/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“The capacity to be alone is the capacity to love. It may look paradoxical to you, but it's not. It is an existential truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/the-capacity-to-be-alone-is-the-capacity-to-love-it-may-look/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) [Browse all 105 Absolute freedom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolute-freedom/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In liberal democracy and anxious anarchy, the traditional classic dance, compact of aristocratic authority and absolute freedom in a necessity of order, has never been so promising as an independent expression as it is today.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lincoln Kirstein" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/in-liberal-democracy-and-anxious-anarchy-the-traditional-classic/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absolute freedom" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/in-liberal-democracy-and-anxious-anarchy-the-traditional-classic/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/lincoln-kirstein-34134_absolute-freedom_in-liberal-democracy-and-anxious-anarchy_2598018.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/lincoln-kirstein-34134_absolute-freedom_in-liberal-democracy-and-anxious-anarchy_2598018.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/lincoln-kirstein-34134_absolute-freedom_in-liberal-democracy-and-anxious-anarchy_2598018.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In liberal democracy and anxious anarchy, the traditional classic dance, compact of aristocratic authority…” — Lincoln Kirstein", "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": "Lincoln Kirstein", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-kirstein/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In liberal democracy and anxious anarchy,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/in-liberal-democracy-and-anxious-anarchy-the-traditional-classic/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-kirstein/in-liberal-democracy-and-anxious-anarchy-the-traditional-classic/#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 } } ] } ```