--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If social stability goes pear-shaped, you…" description: "\"If social stability goes pear-shaped, you have a choice between anarchy and dictatorship. Most people will opt for more security, even if they have to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ff/margaret-atwood-40_anarchy_if-social-stability-goes-pear-shaped-you_2464821.jpg" --- # If social stability goes pear-shaped, you have a choice… ![“If social stability goes pear-shaped, you have a choice between anarchy and dictatorship. Most people will opt for more security, even if they have to give up some personal freedom.” quote by Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ff/margaret-atwood-40_anarchy_if-social-stability-goes-pear-shaped-you_2464821.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ff/margaret-atwood-40_anarchy_if-social-stability-goes-pear-shaped-you_2464821.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ff/margaret-atwood-40_anarchy_if-social-stability-goes-pear-shaped-you_2464821.jpg) > “If social stability goes pear-shaped, you have a choice between anarchy and dictatorship. Most people will opt for more security, even if they have to give up some personal freedom.” [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When society collapses, people choose security over freedom, leading to either chaos or authoritarian rule. **In simple terms:** People trade freedom for security in crisis. Key Takeaway Balance safety with liberty. Themes politics freedom security Mood critical analytical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - government policy - public emergencies - civil unrest Key Concepts authoritarianism anarchy social contract Questions to Reflect On - What freedoms are you willing to sacrifice? - How can societies protect liberty while ensuring safety? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex political dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchy/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Dictatorship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dictatorship/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Personal freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-freedom/) [Security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/security/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Stability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stability/) ## Related quotes > [People, if given the choice between anarchy and dictatorship, will always choose dictatorship because anarchy is the worst dictatorship of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-sevareid/people-if-given-the-choice-between-anarchy-and-dictatorship-will/) [Eric Sevareid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-sevareid/) > [Rather than a democracy, we increasingly have an elective dictatorship. People are merely permitted to choose who will violate the laws and the Constitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bovard/rather-than-a-democracy-we-increasingly-have-an-elective-dictatorship/) [James Bovard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bovard/) > [It's true that we in Iraq are now paying a heavy price as a consequence of senseless violence, but nonetheless there are many positive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hassan-blasim/it-s-true-that-we-in-iraq-are-now-paying-a-heavy-price-as-a/) [Hassan Blasim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hassan-blasim/) > [Under dictatorship, the people in prison are always superior to the people who put them there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-esar/under-dictatorship-the-people-in-prison-are-always-superior-to-the/) [Evan Esar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-esar/) > [If there is a spot where you have dictatorship, where people are not free, people are not satisfied, they do not find food and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-morsi/if-there-is-a-spot-where-you-have-dictatorship-where-people-are-not/) [Mohammed Morsi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-morsi/) > [There never was a tonic that would cure more social ailments than a healthy, happy home. 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It smells like ripe pears, vetiver, a bit of violet and something else- something spicy almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-wells/a-scent-that-disturbs-me-and-delights-me-it-smells-like-ripe-pears/) [Rebecca Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-wells/) > [The first idea, the first art piece I ever did, was when I was four. I cut the seed of a pear in half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoko-ono/the-first-idea-the-first-art-piece-i-ever-did-was-when-i-was-four-i/) [Yoko Ono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoko-ono/) ## More by Margaret Atwood > [“I'm fine," said Pilar, "for the moment. And the moment is the only time we can be fine in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-m-fine-said-pilar-for-the-moment-and-the-moment-is-the-only-time-we/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [And yet it disturbs me to learn I have hurt someone unintentionally. I want all my hurts to be intentional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/and-yet-it-disturbs-me-to-learn-i-have-hurt-someone-unintentionally-i/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The birds were singing around me, but I reflected that the very birds were strangers to me, for I did not even know their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-birds-were-singing-around-me-but-i-reflected-that-the-very-birds/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Strange how we decorate pain. These ribbons, for instance, and the small hard teardrops of blood. Who are they for? 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I am forgetting too much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-my-fault-i-am-forgetting-too-much/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [All fiction is about people, unless it's about rabbits pretending to be people. It's all essentially characters in action, which means characters moving through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/all-fiction-is-about-people-unless-it-s-about-rabbits-pretending-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Simon walks back to the house alone. 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You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The more difficult it was to love the particular man beside us, the more we believed in Love, abstract and total. We were waiting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-more-difficult-it-was-to-love-the-particular-man-beside-us-the/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“She knows she's deceiving herself about that, but she prefers to deceive herself. 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