--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Dictators can be deterred, they can be…" description: "\"Dictators can be deterred, they can be crushed - but they can never be appeased.\" — Margaret Thatcher" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82b/margaret-thatcher-463_crushed_dictators-can-be-deterred-they-can-be-cr_411525.jpg" --- # Dictators can be deterred, they can be crushed - but they… ![“Dictators can be deterred, they can be crushed - but they can never be appeased.” quote by Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82b/margaret-thatcher-463_crushed_dictators-can-be-deterred-they-can-be-cr_411525.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82b/margaret-thatcher-463_crushed_dictators-can-be-deterred-they-can-be-cr_411525.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82b/margaret-thatcher-463_crushed_dictators-can-be-deterred-they-can-be-cr_411525.jpg) > “Dictators can be deterred, they can be crushed - but they can never be appeased.” [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Dictators can be stopped or defeated, but they will never be truly satisfied or pacified. **In simple terms:** Dictators can be stopped but not appeased. Key Takeaway Address threats decisively. Themes power dictatorship resistance Mood determined serious Type political historical When to use this quote - government policy - military strategy - human rights advocacy - public safety Key Concepts political science conflict resolution Questions to Reflect On - How can societies prevent dictators from rising? - What long‑term solutions ensure lasting peace? A Different Perspective Appeasement may temporarily reduce conflict but not solve underlying issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Appeased](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appeased-2679681/) [Crushed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crushed/) [Deterred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deterred-1938887/) [Deterred Crushed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deterred-crushed-3667854/) [Dictator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dictator/) [Dictators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dictators/) [Dictators Deterred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dictators-deterred-3667853/) ## Related quotes > [“quite appeased. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/quite-appeased-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Never by hatred is hatred appeased, but it is appeased by kindness. This is an eternal truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/never-by-hatred-is-hatred-appeased-but-it-is-appeased-by-kindness/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [We won't be deterred by dangerous operational behavior at sea or in international airspace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-austin/we-won-t-be-deterred-by-dangerous-operational-behavior-at-sea-or-in/) [Lloyd Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-austin/) > [I can't be deterred by whoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skip-marley/i-can-t-be-deterred-by-whoever/) [Skip Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skip-marley/) > [There are some people that will be deterred by the fact that we have nuclear weapons... But those people are the folks we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horner/there-are-some-people-that-will-be-deterred-by-the-fact-that-we-have/) [Charles Horner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horner/) > [Believe in what you can do and be not deterred by what others say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-gelt-dekker/believe-in-what-you-can-do-and-be-not-deterred-by-what-others-say/) [Jacob Gelt Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-gelt-dekker/) > [Don't. Tell me when, then. And before you say never, take a good look at me and tell me if you see a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-day/don-t-tell-me-when-then-and-before-you-say-never-take-a-good-look-at/) [Sylvia Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-day/) > [Lack of encouragement never deterred me. I was the kind of person who would not be put down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-baker-motley/lack-of-encouragement-never-deterred-me-i-was-the-kind-of-person-who/) [Constance Baker Motley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-baker-motley/) > [I hope I shall never be deterred from detecting what I think a cheat, by the menaces of a ruffian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/i-hope-i-shall-never-be-deterred-from-detecting-what-i-think-a-cheat/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [We are often deterred from crime by the disgrace of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/we-are-often-deterred-from-crime-by-the-disgrace-of-others/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [In my view dictators do not surrender. They have to be well and truly defeated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/in-my-view-dictators-do-not-surrender-they-have-to-be-well-and-truly/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [You can do business with America or the authoritarian dictators of Beijing, who oppress their own people, put millions of Muslims in concentration camps,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-hilton/you-can-do-business-with-america-or-the-authoritarian-dictators-of/) [Steve Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-hilton/) > [The people will demand answers from all the dictators and the people who have not allowed this country to function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nawaz-sharif/the-people-will-demand-answers-from-all-the-dictators-and-the-people/) [Nawaz Sharif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nawaz-sharif/) > [Dictators always look good until the last minutes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tomas-garrigue-masaryk/dictators-always-look-good-until-the-last-minutes/) [Tomas Garrigue Masaryk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tomas-garrigue-masaryk/) > [We immerse ourselves in escapist mass entertainment, such as 'reality T.V.' programs. We support fanatical politicians and preachers. Our politicians, in turn, support dictators…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/we-immerse-ourselves-in-escapist-mass-entertainment-such-as-reality-t/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) ## More by Margaret Thatcher > [When you stop a dictator, there are always risks. But there are greater risks in not stopping a dictator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/when-you-stop-a-dictator-there-are-always-risks-but-there-are-greater/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [Ideally, when Christians meet, as Christians do, to take counsel together, their purpose is not ( or should not be) to ascertain what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/ideally-when-christians-meet-as-christians-do-to-take-counsel/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [There are dangers in consensus: it could be an attempt to satisfy people holding no particular views about anything. ... No great party can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/there-are-dangers-in-consensus-it-could-be-an-attempt-to-satisfy/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [If it's me against 48, I feel sorry for the 48.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/if-it-s-me-against-48-i-feel-sorry-for-the-48/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [ \[When asked how it felt to be a female prime minister:\] I don't know: I've never experienced the alternative. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/when-asked-how-it-felt-to-be-a-female-prime-minister-i-don-t-know-i/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [It is sometimes said that because of our past we, as a people, expect too much and set our sights too high. That is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/it-is-sometimes-said-that-because-of-our-past-we-as-a-people-expect/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [Unless we change our ways and our direction, our greatness as a nation will soon be a footnote in the history books, a distant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/unless-we-change-our-ways-and-our-direction-our-greatness-as-a-nation/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [I don't think any woman in power really has a happy life unless she's got a large number of women friends ... because you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/i-don-t-think-any-woman-in-power-really-has-a-happy-life-unless-she-s/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [People from my sort of background needed grammar schools to compete with children from privileged homes like Shirley Williams and Anthony Wedgwood Benn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/people-from-my-sort-of-background-needed-grammar-schools-to-compete/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [What is success? I think it is a mixture of having a flair for the thing that you are doing; knowing that it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/what-is-success-i-think-it-is-a-mixture-of-having-a-flair-for-the/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [Personal virtue is no substitute for political hard-headedness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/personal-virtue-is-no-substitute-for-political-hard-headedness/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [The Government wants a peaceful settlement. But we totally reject a peaceful sell-out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/the-government-wants-a-peaceful-settlement-but-we-totally-reject-a/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [Major international interventions are doomed unless the US is directly or indirectly involved. But if American politicians, officials and servicemen are to be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/major-international-interventions-are-doomed-unless-the-us-is/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [We have made too much of one or two people, and we think that they can win or lose elections for us. Don't be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/we-have-made-too-much-of-one-or-two-people-and-we-think-that-they-can/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [I pay tribute to John Major's achievement in persuading the other 11 Community Heads of Government that they could move ahead to a Social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/i-pay-tribute-to-john-major-s-achievement-in-persuading-the-other-11/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) [Explore all 539 Margaret Thatcher quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) ## More Crushed quotes > [My God, whose son, as on this night, took on Him the form of man, and for man vouchsafed to suffer and bleed, controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-god-whose-son-as-on-this-night-took-on-him-the-form-of-man-and-for/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [When you rely on incentives, you undermine virtues. Then when you discover that you actually need people who want to do the right thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-schwartz/when-you-rely-on-incentives-you-undermine-virtues-then-when-you/) [Barry Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-schwartz/) > [When we start helping the weak and the poor to rise everyone will begin to change. Those who have power and riches will start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-vanier/when-we-start-helping-the-weak-and-the-poor-to-rise-everyone-will/) [Jean Vanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-vanier/) > [The mountain of history books under which we all stand leans so heavily in the other direction-so tremblingly respectful of states and statesmen and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/the-mountain-of-history-books-under-which-we-all-stand-leans-so/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [I'm crushed by the responsibility of writing a satirical book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/i-m-crushed-by-the-responsibility-of-writing-a-satirical-book/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [Human nature is full of riddles; . . . one of those riddles is: how is it that people who have been crushed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/human-nature-is-full-of-riddles-one-of-those-riddles-is-how-is-it/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [The aims of these three groups are entirely irreconcilable. The aim of the High is to remain where they are. The aim of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-aims-of-these-three-groups-are-entirely-irreconcilable-the-aim-of/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“As I enter the small intestine I get squeezed by muscles. Its dark and the walls look like slimey crushed velvet theres pancreas juice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/as-i-enter-the-small-intestine-i-get-squeezed-by-muscles-its-dark-and/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [I like you better this way." For some reason, admitting this made her face go hot right away; she was very glad that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/i-like-you-better-this-way-for-some-reason-admitting-this-made-her/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [My self-esteem had been crushed through years of childhood bullying and serious abuses, which would take me decades to overcome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/my-self-esteem-had-been-crushed-through-years-of-childhood-bullying/) [Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/) > [It's sad that as crushed Millennials we live in the shadow of our parents, our fathers. We aren't willing to murder our government. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-wilson/it-s-sad-that-as-crushed-millennials-we-live-in-the-shadow-of-our/) [Cody Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cody-wilson/) > [I was broken in body, soul, and spirit. My natural elasticity was crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-was-broken-in-body-soul-and-spirit-my-natural-elasticity-was/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [It will always hurt to be laughed at, snubbed, ignored or attacked by others. But I would remind you that the human personality grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dobson/it-will-always-hurt-to-be-laughed-at-snubbed-ignored-or-attacked-by/) [James Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dobson/) > [At this very moment,... the most frightful horrors are taking place in every corner of the world. People are being crushed, slashed, disembowelled, mangled;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/at-this-very-moment-the-most-frightful-horrors-are-taking-place-in/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Hillary Clinton, our junior senator from New York, announced that she has no intentions of ever, ever running for office of the President of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/hillary-clinton-our-junior-senator-from-new-york-announced-that-she/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) [Browse all 528 Crushed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crushed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Dictators can be deterred, they can be crushed - but they can never be appeased.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Thatcher" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/dictators-can-be-deterred-they-can-be-crushed-but-they-can-never-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Crushed" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/dictators-can-be-deterred-they-can-be-crushed-but-they-can-never-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82b/margaret-thatcher-463_crushed_dictators-can-be-deterred-they-can-be-cr_411525.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82b/margaret-thatcher-463_crushed_dictators-can-be-deterred-they-can-be-cr_411525.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82b/margaret-thatcher-463_crushed_dictators-can-be-deterred-they-can-be-cr_411525.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Dictators can be deterred, they can be crushed - but they can never be appeased.” — Margaret Thatcher", "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": "Margaret Thatcher", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Dictators can be deterred, they can...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/dictators-can-be-deterred-they-can-be-crushed-but-they-can-never-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/dictators-can-be-deterred-they-can-be-crushed-but-they-can-never-be/#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 } } ] } ```