--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you lose your freedom, you lose…" description: "\"When you lose your freedom, you lose, first and foremost, the opportunity to choose the company you keep.\" — Masha Gessen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e68/masha-gessen-2322_business_when-you-lose-your-freedom-you-lose-firs_2924369.png" --- # When you lose your freedom, you lose, first and foremost… ![“When you lose your freedom, you lose, first and foremost, the opportunity to choose the company you keep.” quote by Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e68/masha-gessen-2322_business_when-you-lose-your-freedom-you-lose-firs_2924369.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e68/masha-gessen-2322_business_when-you-lose-your-freedom-you-lose-firs_2924369.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e68/masha-gessen-2322_business_when-you-lose-your-freedom-you-lose-firs_2924369.png) > “When you lose your freedom, you lose, first and foremost, the opportunity to choose the company you keep.” [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Losing freedom removes the ability to choose who surrounds you, making personal agency and social environment inseparable. **In simple terms:** Freedom lets you choose your companions. Key Takeaway Protect freedom to shape your social circle. Themes freedom choice social environment agency Mood concerned determined Type political philosophical When to use this quote - political activism - personal relationships - career decisions - community involvement Key Concepts political theory personal autonomy social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What freedoms do you value most? - How does loss of freedom affect your relationships? A Different Perspective Freedom can be limited by external forces beyond personal control. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) ## Related quotes > [Any society that values wealth above freedom will lose its freedom, and will ultimately lose its wealth as well](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/any-society-that-values-wealth-above-freedom-will-lose-its-freedom/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“Lose my life, lose my freedom, lose my soul. A spin of the chamber and pull the trigger, see what it'll be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-m-stunich/lose-my-life-lose-my-freedom-lose-my-soul-a-spin-of-the-chamber-and/) [C.M. Stunich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-m-stunich/) > [If a nation values anything more than freedom, it will lose its freedom, and the irony of it is that if it is comfort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/if-a-nation-values-anything-more-than-freedom-it-will-lose-its/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Fox News Latino will show people how opportunities exist, that whenever we are overregulated, or there is too much government, we lose freedom. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ailes/fox-news-latino-will-show-people-how-opportunities-exist-that/) [Roger Ailes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ailes/) > [You don't achieve greatness in life being surrounded by mediocre people with mediocre values. Choose your company wisely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-chan/you-don-t-achieve-greatness-in-life-being-surrounded-by-mediocre/) [Amy Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-chan/) > [Choose the company of your superiors whenever you can have it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/choose-the-company-of-your-superiors-whenever-you-can-have-it/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [I absolutely don't dislike children - I would choose their company over adult company any time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/i-absolutely-don-t-dislike-children-i-would-choose-their-company-over/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [When beginning your entrepreneurial journey, acknowledge that you become a product of the five people you spend the most time with. So choose your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-howes/when-beginning-your-entrepreneurial-journey-acknowledge-that-you/) [Lewis Howes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-howes/) > [“If people often judge you by the company that you keep...then choose your company wisely my friend, choose wisely!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-pina/if-people-often-judge-you-by-the-company-that-you-keep-then-choose/) [Timothy Pina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-pina/) > [Choose your company before you drink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proverb/choose-your-company-before-you-drink/) Proverb > [“Choose your company the way you choose your life partner; after all, you spend more time in the company than with your life partner”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-kapilavai/choose-your-company-the-way-you-choose-your-life-partner-after-all/) Ravi Kapilavai > [Not only is there no question of solitude, but in the long run we may not choose our company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/not-only-is-there-no-question-of-solitude-but-in-the-long-run-we-may/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [Why did I start with them? 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Your direction in life depends .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/choose-your-company-wisely-surround-yourself-with-positive-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Masha Gessen > [There's this American pretense, which is the pretense of the journalist with the view from nowhere - which has somehow morphed into the journalist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/there-s-this-american-pretense-which-is-the-pretense-of-the/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Where incompetence is prized, it is ever-present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/where-incompetence-is-prized-it-is-ever-present/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Pussy Riot have certainly changed some people's assumptions about the role of political art and the relationship between the intelligentsia and the church. 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