--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is the characteristic of privilege and…" description: "\"It is the characteristic of privilege and of every privileged position to kill the mind and heart of men. The privileged man, whether practically or ec..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87b/mikhail-bakunin-3075_characteristics_it-is-the-characteristic-of-privilege-an_2118764.jpg" --- # It is the characteristic of privilege and of every… ![“It is the characteristic of privilege and of every privileged position to kill the mind and heart of men. The privileged man, whether practically or economically, is a man depraved in mind and heart.” quote by Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87b/mikhail-bakunin-3075_characteristics_it-is-the-characteristic-of-privilege-an_2118764.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87b/mikhail-bakunin-3075_characteristics_it-is-the-characteristic-of-privilege-an_2118764.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87b/mikhail-bakunin-3075_characteristics_it-is-the-characteristic-of-privilege-an_2118764.jpg) > “It is the characteristic of privilege and of every privileged position to kill the mind and heart of men. The privileged man, whether practically or economically, is a man depraved in mind and heart.” [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Privilege corrupts the mind and heart, causing those in power to become morally degraded. **In simple terms:** Privilege kills moral integrity. Key Takeaway Beware how privilege can erode ethics. Themes power morality privilege Mood critical analytical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - political leadership - economic elites - social movements - education curricula Key Concepts social hierarchy ethical decay Questions to Reflect On - How does privilege manifest in modern institutions? - Can privilege be mitigated without loss of influence? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex motivations behind power. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Characteristics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characteristics/) [Depraved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depraved/) [Depraved Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depraved-mind-4282761/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Heart and mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-and-mind/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men Privileged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-privileged-4312420/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mind and heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-and-heart/) [Position](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/position/) [Privilege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privilege/) [Privilege Privileged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privilege-privileged-3941246/) [Privileged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privileged/) [Privileged Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privileged-man-2046850/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [A tongue prone to slander is the proof of a depraved mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/a-tongue-prone-to-slander-is-the-proof-of-a-depraved-mind/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [The privileged man, whether he be privileged politically or economically, is a man depraved in intellect and heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/the-privileged-man-whether-he-be-privileged-politically-or/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [“By hiding behind the overarching term “white privilege,” the small percentage of privileged whites have ensured the following: first, they remain disguised behind the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-yako/by-hiding-behind-the-overarching-term-white-privilege-the-small/) [Louis Yako](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-yako/) > [Privilege (to the privileged) means having private laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/privilege-to-the-privileged-means-having-private-laws/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Capitalism, far from affording "privileges" to the middle classes, tends to degrade them more abjectly than any other stratum in society. The system deploys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/capitalism-far-from-affording-privileges-to-the-middle-classes-tends/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [There are a few editor men with whom I am privileged to come in contact. It has not been long since it was their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/there-are-a-few-editor-men-with-whom-i-am-privileged-to-come-in/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) > [“There is only one class of men, the privileged class.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/there-is-only-one-class-of-men-the-privileged-class/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [It's a little simplistic to say trans men are privileged because they're men. 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Even under the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-hitchcock/satan-and-that-man-is-still-man-even-after-1000-years-of-the/) [Mark Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-hitchcock/) > [Now although man is created for the possession of happiness, yet, having deviated from his true end, his nature has become deformed and is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-of-genoa/now-although-man-is-created-for-the-possession-of-happiness-yet/) [Catherine of Genoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-of-genoa/) > [I have no intention of uttering my last words on the stage. Room service and a couple of depraved young women will do me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-o-toole/i-have-no-intention-of-uttering-my-last-words-on-the-stage-room/) [Peter O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-o-toole/) > [Christianity teaches that the human race is depraved, fallen, and sinful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-james-kennedy/christianity-teaches-that-the-human-race-is-depraved-fallen-and-sinful/) [D. James Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-james-kennedy/) > [Man, while he loves, is never quite depraved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/man-while-he-loves-is-never-quite-depraved/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [Total depravity means the entire absence of holiness, not the highest intensity of sin. A totally depraved man is not as bad as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/total-depravity-means-the-entire-absence-of-holiness-not-the-highest/) [William Greenough Thayer Shedd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/) ## More by Mikhail Bakunin > [It clearly follows that to make men moral it is necessary to make their social environment moral. And that can be done in only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/it-clearly-follows-that-to-make-men-moral-it-is-necessary-to-make/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [There are but three ways for the populace to escape its wretched lot. 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I am truly free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/i-am-not-myself-free-or-human-until-or-unless-i-recognize-the-freedom/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [In antiquity slaves were, in all honesty called slaves. In the middle ages, they took the name of serfs. Nowadays they are called wage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/in-antiquity-slaves-were-in-all-honesty-called-slaves-in-the-middle/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [He who desires to worship God must harbor no childish illusions about the matter but bravely renounce his liberty and humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/he-who-desires-to-worship-god-must-harbor-no-childish-illusions-about/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [They maintain that only a dictatorship - their dictatorship, of course - can create the will of the people, while our answer to this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/they-maintain-that-only-a-dictatorship-their-dictatorship-of-course/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [“The masses, on admitting their own incapacity to govern themselves, have elected me as their head By doing so, they have clearly proclaimed their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/the-masses-on-admitting-their-own-incapacity-to-govern-themselves/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [We must overthrow the material and moral conditions of our present-day life. . . . We must first purify our atmosphere and completely transform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/we-must-overthrow-the-material-and-moral-conditions-of-our-present/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [The right to unite freely and to separate freely is the first and most important of all political rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/the-right-to-unite-freely-and-to-separate-freely-is-the-first-and/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) [Explore all 140 Mikhail Bakunin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) ## More Characteristics quotes > [One of the key characteristics of the comic book medium is that it is not brought to life by just one voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-lee/one-of-the-key-characteristics-of-the-comic-book-medium-is-that-it-is/) [Jim Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-lee/) > [“What makes a good leader? I ask myself this every day, and then as I begin to list off characteristics I realize I’m describing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/what-makes-a-good-leader-i-ask-myself-this-every-day-and-then-as-i/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Those who know New York City primarily through tourism or mass culture may think of us natives as possessing certain shared characteristics, not all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-dee/those-who-know-new-york-city-primarily-through-tourism-or-mass/) [Jonathan Dee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-dee/) > [Sometimes, Ms. Lane," he said, "one must break with one's past to embrace one's future. It is never an easy thing to do. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/sometimes-ms-lane-he-said-one-must-break-with-one-s-past-to-embrace/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Just because someone thinks they remember something in detail, with confidence and with emotion, does not mean that it actually happened, .. False memories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-loftus/just-because-someone-thinks-they-remember-something-in-detail-with/) [Elizabeth Loftus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-loftus/) > [Consequently, citizen legislators, rotating back to their communities after a short period of public service—considered an indispensable and routine characteristic and design of representative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/consequently-citizen-legislators-rotating-back-to-their-communities/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A second characteristic of the process which for me is the good life, is that it involves an increasingly tendency to live fully in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/a-second-characteristic-of-the-process-which-for-me-is-the-good-life/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [Philanthropy is one of the most hopeful characteristics of our time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-livermore/philanthropy-is-one-of-the-most-hopeful-characteristics-of-our-time/) [Mary Livermore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-livermore/) > [God has given this way of life to Israel: to abstain from everything which is contrary to nature, that is to say, anger, fits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/poemen/god-has-given-this-way-of-life-to-israel-to-abstain-from-everything/) [Poemen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/poemen/) > [The most significant moment will be when we stop referring to the hiring of qualified women (and racial, ethnic and religious minorities) as significant.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-trask/the-most-significant-moment-will-be-when-we-stop-referring-to-the/) [Amy Trask](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-trask/) > [Iron and coal dominated everywhere, from grey to black: the black boots, the black stove-pipe hat, the black coach or carriage, the black iron…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/iron-and-coal-dominated-everywhere-from-grey-to-black-the-black-boots/) [Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/) > [The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. 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