--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We're living in a world in which we're…" description: "\"“We're living in a world in which we're all survived, targeted, herded, and indoctrinated to an unprecedented degree. Our fallen, debased state is ghas..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/057/mark-leyner-10696_ideology_we-re-living-in-a-world-in-which-we-re-a_2109267.jpg" --- # We're living in a world in which we're all survived… ![“We're living in a world in which we're all survived, targeted, herded, and indoctrinated to an unprecedented degree. Our fallen, debased state is ghastly. Our bodies have been transformed into profit-optimized enterprise zones, our minds have been hacked and neutered, our social milieus have been…” quote by Mark Leyner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/057/mark-leyner-10696_ideology_we-re-living-in-a-world-in-which-we-re-a_2109267.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/057/mark-leyner-10696_ideology_we-re-living-in-a-world-in-which-we-re-a_2109267.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/057/mark-leyner-10696_ideology_we-re-living-in-a-world-in-which-we-re-a_2109267.jpg) > ““We're living in a world in which we're all survived, targeted, herded, and indoctrinated to an unprecedented degree. Our fallen, debased state is ghastly. Our bodies have been transformed into profit-optimized enterprise zones, our minds have been hacked and neutered, our social milieus have been completely leached of authenticity… \[...\] Bro, we're living in the Kali Yuga, a Dark Age of petite bourgeoisie ideology whose resources and ruses are infinite and which ubiquitously permeates the world -- high culture, low culture, bienpensant media, prestige literature, pop music, commerce, sports, academia, you name it. The only reasonable response to the situation is to maintain an implacable antipathy toward everything. Denounce everyone. Make war against yourself. Guillotine all groveling intellectuals. That said, I think it's important to maintain a cheery disposition. This will hasten the restoration of Paradise. I've memorized this line from Andre Breton's magnificent homage to Antonin Artaud -- "I salute Antonin Artaud for his passionate, heroic negation of everything that causes us to be dead while alive." Given the state of things, that's what we need to be doing all the time -- negating everything that causes us to be dead while alive.”” [Mark Leyner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leyner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author portrays modern society as a dystopian, hyper‑controlled environment, urging radical opposition to all structures while maintaining a hopeful demeanor to restore a better world. **In simple terms:** Society feels oppressive; fight it with optimism. Key Takeaway Resist oppressive systems, stay hopeful. Themes dystopia resistance philosophy culture critique Mood cynical hopeful Type philosophical critical inspirational When to use this quote - activism - critical thinking - mental health - artistic expression Key Concepts social control media saturation identity nihilism Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of modern life feel most controlling? - How can optimism coexist with radical critique? A Different Perspective None provided ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Groveling Intellectuals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/groveling-intellectuals-4250847/) [Ideology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideology/) [Intellectuals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectuals/) [Intellectuals Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectuals-said-1282961/) [Kali yuga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kali-yuga/) [Paris-review-interview](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paris-review-interview-140244/) [Pop music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pop-music/) [Response](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/response/) ## Related quotes > [“Bro, we're living in the Kali Yuga, a Dark Age of petite bourgeoisie ideology, a petite bourgeoisie ideology whose resources and ruses are infinite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leyner/bro-we-re-living-in-the-kali-yuga-a-dark-age-of-petite-bourgeoisie/) [Mark Leyner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leyner/) > [“The fatal conceit of intellectuals, he said, is to think that smart people can design an economy or a society better than the apparently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-boaz/the-fatal-conceit-of-intellectuals-he-said-is-to-think-that-smart/) [David Boaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-boaz/) > [“There are two perfumes to a book. If a book is new, it smells great. If a book is old, it smells even better.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/there-are-two-perfumes-to-a-book-if-a-book-is-new-it-smells-great-if/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“I’m completely library educated. I’ve never been to college. I went down to the library when I was in grade school in Waukegan, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-m-completely-library-educated-i-ve-never-been-to-college-i-went/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“Everybody talked about Freud when I lived in New Orleans, but I have never read him. Neither did Shakespeare. 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Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [“In the Bhāgavatam, Twelfth Canto, it is said that in the Kali-yuga marriage will be based on the consideration of sex life; as soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-the-bhagavatam-twelfth-canto-it-is-said-that-in-the-kali-yuga/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In Kali yuga, whole atmosphere is surcharged with faithlessness, Material sense gratification is standard of civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhanath-swami/in-kali-yuga-whole-atmosphere-is-surcharged-with-faithlessness/) [Radhanath Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhanath-swami/) > [It is the nature of the Kali Yuga that most human beings are now held back from spiritual liberation due to the gravity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeena-schreck/it-is-the-nature-of-the-kali-yuga-that-most-human-beings-are-now-held/) [Zeena Schreck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeena-schreck/) > [We're at the end of the cycle. You've all known it since childhood. In the Hindu division of the ages, this is the Kali…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/we-re-at-the-end-of-the-cycle-you-ve-all-known-it-since-childhood-in/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [In Kali yuga, duration of life is shortened not so much because insufficient food but because of irregular habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhanath-swami/in-kali-yuga-duration-of-life-is-shortened-not-so-much-because/) [Radhanath Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhanath-swami/) > [“On television and on the front pages of the major newspapers, Trump clearly seemed to be losing the election. Each new woman who came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-green/on-television-and-on-the-front-pages-of-the-major-newspapers-trump/) [Joshua Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-green/) > [“This age (Kali-yuga) is the age of bluffing and quarrel. Actually there is no possibility of attaining yoga perfection by such paltry proposals. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-age-kali-yuga-is-the-age-of-bluffing-and-quarrel-actually-there/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [This is the fourth age, the Kali Yuga, and it's a time of great darkness. At the end of this age, there's supposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/this-is-the-fourth-age-the-kali-yuga-and-it-s-a-time-of-great/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Kali yuga is so much saturated with vicious habits that there is a great fight at the slightest of misunderstanding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhanath-swami/kali-yuga-is-so-much-saturated-with-vicious-habits-that-there-is-a/) [Radhanath Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhanath-swami/) ## More by Mark Leyner > [People have no idea how much work it is for a man to produce an ejaculation. 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But, hello, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leyner/yes-the-hermitage-is-underground-miles-beneath-the-surface-of/) [Mark Leyner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leyner/) > [I was an infinitely hot and dense dot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leyner/i-was-an-infinitely-hot-and-dense-dot/) [Mark Leyner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leyner/) > [“One of the things about Ike that makes him so indisputably a hero is that he doesn't leave his own contradictions to the effete…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leyner/one-of-the-things-about-ike-that-makes-him-so-indisputably-a-hero-is/) [Mark Leyner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leyner/) > [“I also think my mom 'suffers' from something one might call Pollyanna's paranoia, an irrational suspicion that there are people out there secretly trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leyner/i-also-think-my-mom-suffers-from-something-one-might-call-pollyanna-s/) [Mark Leyner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leyner/) > [“There are enigmas that we can gnaw on throughout our lives from which we derive sustenance, some kind of spiritual nourishment...I'm thinking of certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leyner/there-are-enigmas-that-we-can-gnaw-on-throughout-our-lives-from-which/) [Mark Leyner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leyner/) > [I'm fascinated with video games, though I can't really play them. It's definitely an art form that intrigues me to no end, though.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leyner/i-m-fascinated-with-video-games-though-i-can-t-really-play-them-it-s/) [Mark Leyner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leyner/) > [My relationship with my readers is somewhat theatrical. One of the main things I try to do in my work is delight my readers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leyner/my-relationship-with-my-readers-is-somewhat-theatrical-one-of-the/) [Mark Leyner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leyner/) > [“Do it, my fellow Americans! Do it for every adolescent anomic skank genius cloistered in his room, getting cranked, rabidly humping his sampler as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leyner/do-it-my-fellow-americans-do-it-for-every-adolescent-anomic-skank/) [Mark Leyner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leyner/) > [“fate is the ultimate preexisting condition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leyner/fate-is-the-ultimate-preexisting-condition/) [Mark Leyner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leyner/) > [As far as what I do, my value as a writer is certainly not to try to recapitulate a 19th century form. Certain styles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leyner/as-far-as-what-i-do-my-value-as-a-writer-is-certainly-not-to-try-to/) [Mark Leyner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leyner/) > [I always thought of my work as being animated by a spirit of unhinged generosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leyner/i-always-thought-of-my-work-as-being-animated-by-a-spirit-of-unhinged/) [Mark Leyner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leyner/) > [“I really think this kind of consensual cannibalism is such a perfect analogue for the reciprocal relationship between writer and reader, and especially between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leyner/i-really-think-this-kind-of-consensual-cannibalism-is-such-a-perfect/) [Mark Leyner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leyner/) > [It's in great joy that we grasp truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leyner/it-s-in-great-joy-that-we-grasp-truth/) [Mark Leyner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leyner/) > [I think of memory as a game, that is as something one engages in with a very profound kind of "playfulness."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leyner/i-think-of-memory-as-a-game-that-is-as-something-one-engages-in-with/) [Mark Leyner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leyner/) [Explore all 63 Mark Leyner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leyner/) ## More Ideology quotes > [I have a way to photograph. You work with space, you have a camera, you have a frame, and then a fraction of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastiao-salgado/i-have-a-way-to-photograph-you-work-with-space-you-have-a-camera-you/) [Sebastiao Salgado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastiao-salgado/) > [Every profession has an ideology and a drive for power that goes far beyond its achievements and it is the task of democracy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feyerabend/every-profession-has-an-ideology-and-a-drive-for-power-that-goes-far/) [Paul Feyerabend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feyerabend/) > [We are in a world where globalization, which is an ideology, has forgotten and put aside the people, the people's interests, aspirations, and dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marine-le-pen/we-are-in-a-world-where-globalization-which-is-an-ideology-has/) [Marine Le Pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marine-le-pen/) > [Orthodox churches, autocracy and national traditions are supposed to form a new national ideology in Russia. This would mean that Russia would be overtaken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-sorokin/orthodox-churches-autocracy-and-national-traditions-are-supposed-to/) [Vladimir Sorokin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-sorokin/) > [ \[Putin\] is a bully. And bullies only understand when we punch them in the nose, but we need to do that economically. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ayotte/putin-is-a-bully-and-bullies-only-understand-when-we-punch-them-in/) [Kelly Ayotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ayotte/) > [My rap comes from a sociological standpoint rather than picking a particular side or dogma or ideology. I just want people to be free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/killer-mike/my-rap-comes-from-a-sociological-standpoint-rather-than-picking-a/) [Killer Mike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/killer-mike/) > [Al Jazeera is a representation of, you know, diversity in the Arab world. In our newsroom, we have every single nationality, we have every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadah-khanfar/al-jazeera-is-a-representation-of-you-know-diversity-in-the-arab/) [Wadah Khanfar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadah-khanfar/) > [Not everyone likes the stable, gradual rise of our country. There are some who are using the democratic ideology to interfere in our internal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/not-everyone-likes-the-stable-gradual-rise-of-our-country-there-are/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [I prefer to work for my country in a free and independent way. I was born free, and I want to die free. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-bocelli/i-prefer-to-work-for-my-country-in-a-free-and-independent-way-i-was/) [Andrea Bocelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-bocelli/) > [The Congress may have made mistakes, but their ideology is not wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahesh-bhatt/the-congress-may-have-made-mistakes-but-their-ideology-is-not-wrong/) [Mahesh Bhatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahesh-bhatt/) > [I have what I call an iron prescription that helps me keep sane when I naturally drift toward preferring one ideology over another and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/i-have-what-i-call-an-iron-prescription-that-helps-me-keep-sane-when/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [“Once you let them establish their ideology in you, they will drive you crazy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/once-you-let-them-establish-their-ideology-in-you-they-will-drive-you/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [The U.S. always needs an enemy. It comes and goes. Today it is Islam. According to this plan or ideology of the born-again Christians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walid-jumblatt/the-u-s-always-needs-an-enemy-it-comes-and-goes-today-it-is-islam/) [Walid Jumblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walid-jumblatt/) > [“What makes today’s popular atheism so depressing is neither its conceptual boorishness nor its self-righteousness but simply its cultural inevitability. It is the final,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/what-makes-today-s-popular-atheism-so-depressing-is-neither-its/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [“The key to this translation of ideology to politics in both cases was an effective appeal to human experience at the crucial time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-key-to-this-translation-of-ideology-to-politics-in-both-cases-was/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) [Browse all 1,641 Ideology quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideology/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We're living in a world in which we're all survived, targeted, herded, and indoctrinated to an unprecedented degree. Our fallen, debased state is ghastly. 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