--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ... most people since the dawn of human…" description: "\"“... most people since the dawn of human time have been simply programmed by their birth to a short and brutish life that is not shaped by them or anyo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/054/michael-harrington-37212_birth_most-people-since-the-dawn-of-human-time_1171086.jpg" --- # ... most people since the dawn of human time have been… ![“... most people since the dawn of human time have been simply programmed by their birth to a short and brutish life that is not shaped by them or anyone else.” quote by Michael Harrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/054/michael-harrington-37212_birth_most-people-since-the-dawn-of-human-time_1171086.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/054/michael-harrington-37212_birth_most-people-since-the-dawn-of-human-time_1171086.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/054/michael-harrington-37212_birth_most-people-since-the-dawn-of-human-time_1171086.jpg) > ““... most people since the dawn of human time have been simply programmed by their birth to a short and brutish life that is not shaped by them or anyone else.”” [Michael Harrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-harrington/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He argues that most people are constrained by birth circumstances into short, harsh lives not of their own making. **In simple terms:** Birth limits many lives. Key Takeaway Challenge societal constraints. Themes social inequality determinism human condition Mood critical somber Type philosophical political When to use this quote - policy reform - education - community programs Key Concepts philosophy sociology Questions to Reflect On - How does birth affect life opportunities? - What can break the cycle of limited destiny? A Different Perspective May ignore individual agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Brutish Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brutish-life-3394786/) [Human Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-time-1229202/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Shaped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-shaped-624087/) [Programmed Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programmed-birth-3394785/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [If you free yourself from the conventional reaction to a quantity like a million years, you free yourself a bit from the boundaries of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcphee/if-you-free-yourself-from-the-conventional-reaction-to-a-quantity/) [John McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcphee/) > [“One thing was certain: Human Time was the saddest, maddest, most devastating variety of time that had ever existed. She tried her best to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/one-thing-was-certain-human-time-was-the-saddest-maddest-most/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“Human time does not turn in a circle; it runs ahead in a straight line. That is why man cannot be happy: happiness is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/human-time-does-not-turn-in-a-circle-it-runs-ahead-in-a-straight-line/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [There's something human that has to do with time and space and being who I am that is in progress and always will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/there-s-something-human-that-has-to-do-with-time-and-space-and-being/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [Are you in control of your time so you can live your life as a human being? Or is time controlling you so you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsha-petrie-sue/are-you-in-control-of-your-time-so-you-can-live-your-life-as-a-human/) [Marsha Petrie Sue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsha-petrie-sue/) > [What can the redwoods tell us about ourselves? Well, I think they can tell us something about human time. The flickering, transitory quality of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/what-can-the-redwoods-tell-us-about-ourselves-well-i-think-they-can/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [“I have to seem like a human being all the time, but I seldom have to be one. I have people to do that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/i-have-to-seem-like-a-human-being-all-the-time-but-i-seldom-have-to/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [Cosmic time is the same for everyone, but human time differs with each person. Time flows in the same way for all human beings;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasunari-kawabata/cosmic-time-is-the-same-for-everyone-but-human-time-differs-with-each/) [Yasunari Kawabata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasunari-kawabata/) > [“Time passed. But time flows in many streams. Like a river, an inner stream of time will flow rapidly at some places and sluggishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasunari-kawabata/time-passed-but-time-flows-in-many-streams-like-a-river-an-inner/) [Yasunari Kawabata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasunari-kawabata/) > [It is the mission of art to remind man from time to time that he is human, and the time is ripe, just now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shahn/it-is-the-mission-of-art-to-remind-man-from-time-to-time-that-he-is/) [Ben Shahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shahn/) > [For me, poetry is the music of being human. And also a time machine by which we can travel to who we are and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-ann-duffy/for-me-poetry-is-the-music-of-being-human-and-also-a-time-machine-by/) [Carol Ann Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-ann-duffy/) > [For each human being, time is a necessary resource. It can neither be ignored nor changed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/for-each-human-being-time-is-a-necessary-resource-it-can-neither-be/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) > [The most precious thing a human being has to give is time. There is so very little of it, after all, in a life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-schaeffer/the-most-precious-thing-a-human-being-has-to-give-is-time-there-is-so/) [Edith Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-schaeffer/) > [Although I still occasionally paint and draw, my life has now been shaped by my writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/although-i-still-occasionally-paint-and-draw-my-life-has-now-been/) [Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/) > [Our life is shaped by our thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/our-life-is-shaped-by-our-thoughts/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) ## More by Michael Harrington > [“Socialism is still beginning, a task to be accomplished, not a destiny to be awaited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-harrington/socialism-is-still-beginning-a-task-to-be-accomplished-not-a-destiny/) [Michael Harrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-harrington/) > [Clothes make the poor invisible. America has the best-dressed poverty the world has ever known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-harrington/clothes-make-the-poor-invisible-america-has-the-best-dressed-poverty/) [Michael Harrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-harrington/) > [It takes a certain level of aspiration before one can take advantage of opportunities that are clearly offered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-harrington/it-takes-a-certain-level-of-aspiration-before-one-can-take-advantage/) [Michael Harrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-harrington/) > [People who are much too sensitive to demand of cripples that they run races ask of the poor that they get up and act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-harrington/people-who-are-much-too-sensitive-to-demand-of-cripples-that-they-run/) [Michael Harrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-harrington/) > [“The more you gaze into her eyes, the more you will see what you want, what is actually inside your heart. And then she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-harrington/the-more-you-gaze-into-her-eyes-the-more-you-will-see-what-you-want/) [Michael Harrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-harrington/) > [“Also, remember, temptations of the heart are the most dangerous but, if we want to truly live, it’s a danger we must embrace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-harrington/also-remember-temptations-of-the-heart-are-the-most-dangerous-but-if/) [Michael Harrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-harrington/) > [That the poor are invisible is one of the most important things about them. They are not simply neglected and forgotten as in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-harrington/that-the-poor-are-invisible-is-one-of-the-most-important-things-about/) [Michael Harrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-harrington/) > [“I will reveal one secret,” said the maestro. “The depth will be even more enhanced when I build up many more layers of transparent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-harrington/i-will-reveal-one-secret-said-the-maestro-the-depth-will-be-even-more/) [Michael Harrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-harrington/) > [If there is technological advance without social advance, there is, almost automatically, an increase in human misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-harrington/if-there-is-technological-advance-without-social-advance-there-is/) [Michael Harrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-harrington/) > [Life is lived in common, but not in community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-harrington/life-is-lived-in-common-but-not-in-community/) [Michael Harrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-harrington/) > [“Managers receiving hundreds of thousands a year—and setting their compensation for themselves—are not being paid wages, they are appropriating surplus value in the guise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-harrington/managers-receiving-hundreds-of-thousands-a-year-and-setting-their/) [Michael Harrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-harrington/) [Explore all 12 Michael Harrington quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-harrington/) ## More Birth quotes > [“Conception is the beginning of human life. From the time that an ovum is fertilized a new life begins that is neither that of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/conception-is-the-beginning-of-human-life-from-the-time-that-an-ovum/) [Declaration on Procured Abortion Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 1974](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/) > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The greatest mystery in life is not life itself, but death. Death is the culmination of life, the ultimate blossoming of life. In death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-greatest-mystery-in-life-is-not-life-itself-but-death-death-is/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. It was the Lord speaking to us all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/it-was-no-accident-no-coincidence-that-the-seasons-came-round-and/) [Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [Always keep the smile, because the smile is the beginning of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-imad/always-keep-the-smile-because-the-smile-is-the-beginning-of-love/) [Adam Imad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-imad/) > [The wailing of the newborn infant is mingled with the dirge for the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/the-wailing-of-the-newborn-infant-is-mingled-with-the-dirge-for-the/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [I gave birth to most of them MC's... So when it comes around to the month of May, Send me your royalty check for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxanne-shante/i-gave-birth-to-most-of-them-mc-s-so-when-it-comes-around-to-the/) [Roxanne Shante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxanne-shante/) > [“A Beautiful verse takes birth when "U"n"I" VERSE.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajesh-walecha/a-beautiful-verse-takes-birth-when-u-n-i-verse/) [Rajesh Walecha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajesh-walecha/) > [“There is no born evil, only a corruptible canvas darkened by a formidable perpetrator.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yefon-isabelle/there-is-no-born-evil-only-a-corruptible-canvas-darkened-by-a/) [Yefon Isabelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yefon-isabelle/) > [I've always thought that the most extraordinary special effect you could do is to buy a child at the moment of its birth, sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-ve-always-thought-that-the-most-extraordinary-special-effect-you/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) [Browse all 6,183 Birth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“... most people since the dawn of human time have been simply programmed by their birth to a short and brutish life that is not shaped by them or anyone else.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Harrington" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-harrington/most-people-since-the-dawn-of-human-time-have-been-simply-programmed/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Birth" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-harrington/most-people-since-the-dawn-of-human-time-have-been-simply-programmed/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/054/michael-harrington-37212_birth_most-people-since-the-dawn-of-human-time_1171086.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/054/michael-harrington-37212_birth_most-people-since-the-dawn-of-human-time_1171086.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/054/michael-harrington-37212_birth_most-people-since-the-dawn-of-human-time_1171086.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“... most people since the dawn of human time have been simply programmed by their birth to a short and…” — Michael Harrington", "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": "Michael Harrington", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-harrington/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“... most people since the dawn...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-harrington/most-people-since-the-dawn-of-human-time-have-been-simply-programmed/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-harrington/most-people-since-the-dawn-of-human-time-have-been-simply-programmed/#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 } } ] } ```