--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Were we ever to find ourselves living…" description: "\"Were we ever to find ourselves living under a totalitarian regime, place no faith in the mercy of your fellow citizens.\" — Michael Portillo" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7f/michael-portillo-5117_compassion_were-we-ever-to-find-ourselves-living-un_71134.png" --- # Were we ever to find ourselves living under a totalitarian… ![“Were we ever to find ourselves living under a totalitarian regime, place no faith in the mercy of your fellow citizens.” quote by Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7f/michael-portillo-5117_compassion_were-we-ever-to-find-ourselves-living-un_71134.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7f/michael-portillo-5117_compassion_were-we-ever-to-find-ourselves-living-un_71134.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7f/michael-portillo-5117_compassion_were-we-ever-to-find-ourselves-living-un_71134.png) > “Were we ever to find ourselves living under a totalitarian regime, place no faith in the mercy of your fellow citizens.” [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. In oppressive societies, relying on others' goodwill is risky; self-reliance and vigilance are essential. **In simple terms:** Beware of misplaced trust under tyranny. Key Takeaway Self-reliance is crucial in totalitarian contexts. Themes political oppression trust individual agency survival civic responsibility Mood cautious defiant reflective Type political philosophical When to use this quote - living under a repressive government - navigating surveillance states - participating in resistance movements Key Concepts authoritarianism social trust personal autonomy Practical Applications - building personal safety networks - developing independent decision‑making Questions to Reflect On - How can individuals protect themselves when institutions fail? - What alternatives exist to collective reliance in oppressive regimes? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Mercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mercy/) [Regime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regime/) [Totalitarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/totalitarian/) ## Related quotes > [There is a totalitarian regime inside every one of us. 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Sansom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-sansom/) > [“Every step which leads from capitalism toward planning is necessarily a step nearer to absolutism and dictatorship.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/every-step-which-leads-from-capitalism-toward-planning-is-necessarily/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [I was born too late to have any temptation with communism, or at least Soviet-type communism. Travelling in Eastern Europe and the ex-Soviet Union,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/i-was-born-too-late-to-have-any-temptation-with-communism-or-at-least/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) ## More by Michael Portillo > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [You never quite know what you do in life that leaves a seed behind that grows into an oak tree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/you-never-quite-know-what-you-do-in-life-that-leaves-a-seed-behind/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [If the Tories and Lib Dems fought together, they'd keep their ministerial offices and limousines, and continue to do the right things for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/if-the-tories-and-lib-dems-fought-together-they-d-keep-their/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [America, to me, is this enormous contrast between the heady idealism of founding fathers such as Thomas Jefferson, who said, 'All men are created…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/america-to-me-is-this-enormous-contrast-between-the-heady-idealism-of/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [There's only one person who knows me - and that's me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/there-s-only-one-person-who-knows-me-and-that-s-me/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [I think a lot of people of my generation have a certain guilt that, from the Sixties onwards, we started taking package holidays abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/i-think-a-lot-of-people-of-my-generation-have-a-certain-guilt-that/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [Television brings with it two dangerous hazards: the worship of celebrity and the blurring of reality and fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/television-brings-with-it-two-dangerous-hazards-the-worship-of/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [People have said to me, 'Oh, you are much nicer making documentaries than you were in politics.' 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Don't mess with Britain!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/three-letters-send-a-chill-down-the-spine-of-the-enemy-sas-those/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [If life is a soap opera you shouldn't be in too much of a hurry to get to the final credits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/if-life-is-a-soap-opera-you-shouldn-t-be-in-too-much-of-a-hurry-to/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [Before my teens, my contemporaries were reading Tolkien and were absorbed by his works, but try as I might, I could not be drawn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/before-my-teens-my-contemporaries-were-reading-tolkien-and-were/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [I will say what I want to say. I had some homosexual experiences as a young person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/i-will-say-what-i-want-to-say-i-had-some-homosexual-experiences-as-a/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [Again and again, people get more conservative as they get older.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/again-and-again-people-get-more-conservative-as-they-get-older/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) [Explore all 101 Michael Portillo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) ## More Compassion quotes > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“I fight with love and kindness as my weapons and compassion as my defense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/i-fight-with-love-and-kindness-as-my-weapons-and-compassion-as-my/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [I really enjoy making people laugh; I've discovered that's a great technique. 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That's how we'll make the move, to reform from rude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/helpers-in-every-corner-helpers-in-every-hood-that-s-how-we-ll-make/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [May the gods have mercy on whoever pisses them off, because Zarek and Jericho will have none for them. 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