--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Powerful states can maintain themselves…" description: "\"Powerful states can maintain themselves only by crime, little states are virtuous only by weakness.\" — Mikhail Bakunin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/682/mikhail-bakunin-3075_crime_powerful-states-can-maintain-themselves_1500779.png" --- # Powerful states can maintain themselves only by crime… ![“Powerful states can maintain themselves only by crime, little states are virtuous only by weakness.” quote by Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/682/mikhail-bakunin-3075_crime_powerful-states-can-maintain-themselves_1500779.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/682/mikhail-bakunin-3075_crime_powerful-states-can-maintain-themselves_1500779.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/682/mikhail-bakunin-3075_crime_powerful-states-can-maintain-themselves_1500779.png) > “Powerful states can maintain themselves only by crime, little states are virtuous only by weakness.” [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. Powerful societies rely on oppression; small societies survive through humility. **In simple terms:** Power needs oppression; small needs humility. Key Takeaway Recognize how power shapes morality. Themes politics power ethics anarchism Mood critical skeptical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - activism - policy analysis - community organizing Key Concepts state theory moral relativism Questions to Reflect On - Can power ever be truly just? - How do small communities maintain virtue? A Different Perspective Small groups may lack resources to resist oppression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Weakness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weakness/) ## Related quotes > [The town is divided into various groups, which form so many little states, each with its own laws and customs, its jargon and its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/the-town-is-divided-into-various-groups-which-form-so-many-little/) [Jean De La Bruyère](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [The level of destruction and terror and violence carried out by the powerful states far exceeds anything that can imaginably can be done by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-level-of-destruction-and-terror-and-violence-carried-out-by-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [It is not that I am not a fan of American exceptionalism. 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