--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have to be more reflective about what…" description: "\"“We have to be more reflective about what power is, what it is for,”\" — Mary Beard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e69/mary-beard-3016_power_we-have-to-be-more-reflective-about-what_1668757.png" --- # We have to be more reflective about what power is, what it… ![“We have to be more reflective about what power is, what it is for,” quote by Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e69/mary-beard-3016_power_we-have-to-be-more-reflective-about-what_1668757.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e69/mary-beard-3016_power_we-have-to-be-more-reflective-about-what_1668757.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e69/mary-beard-3016_power_we-have-to-be-more-reflective-about-what_1668757.png) > ““We have to be more reflective about what power is, what it is for,”” [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The statement calls for deeper reflection on the nature and purpose of power, urging critical examination beyond surface definitions. **In simple terms:** Think deeper about power's purpose. Key Takeaway Question what power truly serves. Themes philosophy politics reflection critical thinking authority ethics Mood contemplative analytical serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - policy analysis - leadership training - civic education - personal development Key Concepts power dynamics philosophical inquiry ethical purpose Questions to Reflect On - What does power enable? - How can we ensure power serves the common good? A Different Perspective Power can be misused if not examined. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) ## Related quotes > [Those with a gift for action, for their part, often express contempt for those whose gifts are more reflective. 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Music is immediate, it goes on to become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/a-verbal-art-like-poetry-is-reflective-it-stops-to-think-music-is/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [1 shot at love, another one for freedom/ 1 shot, 2 shots regardless I'm succeeding/Even though we chiefin we grateful that we breathin/ Tryna…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian/1-shot-at-love-another-one-for-freedom-1-shot-2-shots-regardless-i-m/) [Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian/) > [I was a boring man but a reflective man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ole-gunnar-solskjaer/i-was-a-boring-man-but-a-reflective-man/) [Ole Gunnar Solskjaer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ole-gunnar-solskjaer/) > [“There are things We live among ‘and to see them Is to know ourselves’.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-oppen/there-are-things-we-live-among-and-to-see-them-is-to-know-ourselves/) [George Oppen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-oppen/) > [I forgot the defective can be more than the whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/i-forgot-the-defective-can-be-more-than-the-whole/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [I spent more than ten years working on the Neues Museum. It was a wonderful experience, an example of real collaboration between architects, conservationists,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-chipperfield/i-spent-more-than-ten-years-working-on-the-neues-museum-it-was-a/) [David Chipperfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-chipperfield/) > [When you reflect, you are able to put an experience into perspective... reflective thinking enables you to distance yourself from the intense emotions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/when-you-reflect-you-are-able-to-put-an-experience-into-perspective/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [I'm disappointed that I really haven't been able to race in a way that is reflective of the amount of work that I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-thorpe/i-m-disappointed-that-i-really-haven-t-been-able-to-race-in-a-way/) [Ian Thorpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-thorpe/) > [My kid is seven years old and is learning to read and conjugate, but I don't agree with that kind of education because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-tijoux/my-kid-is-seven-years-old-and-is-learning-to-read-and-conjugate-but-i/) [Ana Tijoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-tijoux/) > [I've realised that my social media needs to be reflective of who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zara-mcdermott/i-ve-realised-that-my-social-media-needs-to-be-reflective-of-who-i-am/) [Zara McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zara-mcdermott/) > [I don't think of myself as being troubled as a human being, but I guess I'm quite extreme, quite big and quite loud, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-daniels/i-don-t-think-of-myself-as-being-troubled-as-a-human-being-but-i/) [Ben Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-daniels/) ## More by Mary Beard > [I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-receive-something-we-might-euphemistically-call-an-inappropriately/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [We have never escaped a certain male cultural desire for women's silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/we-have-never-escaped-a-certain-male-cultural-desire-for-women-s/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [“defend women’s right to be wrong, at least occasionally.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/defend-women-s-right-to-be-wrong-at-least-occasionally/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [You don't overturn x-thousand years of patriarchy in a generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/you-don-t-overturn-x-thousand-years-of-patriarchy-in-a-generation/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [“we have no template for what a powerful woman looks like, except that she looks rather like a man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/we-have-no-template-for-what-a-powerful-woman-looks-like-except-that/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [“(In the Afghan parliament, apparently, they disconnect the mics when they don’t want to hear the women speak).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/in-the-afghan-parliament-apparently-they-disconnect-the-mics-when/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [I've chosen to be this way because that's how I feel comfortable with myself. That's how I am. It's about joining up the dots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-ve-chosen-to-be-this-way-because-that-s-how-i-feel-comfortable-with/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [People who exploit others come to spend an enormous amount of energy wondering about and justifying that exploitation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/people-who-exploit-others-come-to-spend-an-enormous-amount-of-energy/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [Wherever possible, I try to see things from the other side of the dividing line and to read civilisation 'against the grain.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/wherever-possible-i-try-to-see-things-from-the-other-side-of-the/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [I remember plastering the kitchen with Black Power pictures of Angela Davis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-remember-plastering-the-kitchen-with-black-power-pictures-of-angela/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [“thinking about power as an attribute or even a verb (‘to power’), not as a possession.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/thinking-about-power-as-an-attribute-or-even-a-verb-to-power-not-as-a/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [If women are not perceived to be fully within the structures of power, surely it is power that we need to redefine rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/if-women-are-not-perceived-to-be-fully-within-the-structures-of-power/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [When it comes to silencing women, Western culture has had thousands of years of practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/when-it-comes-to-silencing-women-western-culture-has-had-thousands-of/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [I think that what will help women get into positions of power - well, day nurseries, equal pay, family-friendly working hours. And I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-think-that-what-will-help-women-get-into-positions-of-power-well/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [“One of its (civilisations) most powerful weapons has always been 'barbarity': 'we' know that 'we' are civilised by contrasting ourselves with those we deem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/one-of-its-civilisations-most-powerful-weapons-has-always-been/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) [Explore all 137 Mary Beard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) ## More Power quotes > [We have to get control of our borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-coffman/we-have-to-get-control-of-our-borders/) [Mike Coffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-coffman/) > [For us who are now in power, we need to be challenged to serve the people and ignore our own egos and personal interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/for-us-who-are-now-in-power-we-need-to-be-challenged-to-serve-the/) [Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [You can draw power from everything in your life. In order to do that, everything has to be set up in a proper way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-can-draw-power-from-everything-in-your-life-in-order-to-do-that/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The one means that wins the easiest victory over reason is terror and force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-one-means-that-wins-the-easiest-victory-over-reason-is-terror-and/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [DECIDE, v.i. To succumb to the preponderance of one set of influences over another set.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/decide-v-i-to-succumb-to-the-preponderance-of-one-set-of-influences/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Movies have power. Power to impact society and the choices we make. I want to entertain, but I also want to say something to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-prince-bythewood/movies-have-power-power-to-impact-society-and-the-choices-we-make-i/) [Gina Prince-Bythewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-prince-bythewood/) > [Next to the assumption of power was the responsibility of relinquishing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/next-to-the-assumption-of-power-was-the-responsibility-of/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/do-not-pray-for-tasks-equal-to-your-powers-pray-for-powers-equal-to/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [With every product, the delta between the brand and the reality determines its power over the minds of consumers, and with Trump, that delta…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wilson/with-every-product-the-delta-between-the-brand-and-the-reality/) [Rick Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-wilson/) > [If you have everything under control, you're not moving fast enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-andretti/if-you-have-everything-under-control-you-re-not-moving-fast-enough/) [Mario Andretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-andretti/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“Action is a powerful thing. When you smile through your sadness, it can completely change your outlook. Try it! Smile :) Now hold onto…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leticia-rae/action-is-a-powerful-thing-when-you-smile-through-your-sadness-it-can/) [Leticia Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leticia-rae/) > [Politics is about power. It is about the power of the state. It is about the power of the state as applied to individuals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-rudd/politics-is-about-power-it-is-about-the-power-of-the-state-it-is/) [Kevin Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-rudd/) [Browse all 17,893 Power quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We have to be more reflective about what power is, what it is for,”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Beard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/we-have-to-be-more-reflective-about-what-power-is-what-it-is-for/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Power" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/we-have-to-be-more-reflective-about-what-power-is-what-it-is-for/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e69/mary-beard-3016_power_we-have-to-be-more-reflective-about-what_1668757.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e69/mary-beard-3016_power_we-have-to-be-more-reflective-about-what_1668757.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e69/mary-beard-3016_power_we-have-to-be-more-reflective-about-what_1668757.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We have to be more reflective about what power is, what it is for,” — Mary Beard", "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": "Mary Beard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We have to be more reflective...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/we-have-to-be-more-reflective-about-what-power-is-what-it-is-for/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/we-have-to-be-more-reflective-about-what-power-is-what-it-is-for/#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 } } ] } ```