---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You see something very important is…"
description: "\"You see something very important is happening. Personality is being eaten out, and with that the idealism that always motivated an anarchist movement -..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/402/murray-bookchin-2587_anarchism_you-see-something-very-important-is-happ_99894.png"
---

#  You see something very important is happening. Personality…

![“You see something very important is happening. Personality is being eaten out, and with that the idealism that always motivated an anarchist movement - the belief in something, the ideal that there is something worth fighting for.” quote by Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/402/murray-bookchin-2587_anarchism_you-see-something-very-important-is-happ_99894.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/402/murray-bookchin-2587_anarchism_you-see-something-very-important-is-happ_99894.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/402/murray-bookchin-2587_anarchism_you-see-something-very-important-is-happ_99894.png)

> “You see something very important is happening. Personality is being eaten out, and with that the idealism that always motivated an anarchist movement - the belief in something, the ideal that there is something worth fighting for.”

[Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

As individual identity erodes, the idealism that once drove anarchist activism fades, leaving a void where purpose once lived.

**In simple terms:** Loss of personality dims activist idealism.

Key Takeaway

Identity sustains ideological drive.

Themes

identity idealism anarchism social change

Mood

melancholic critical

Type

political philosophical

When to use this quote

- Grassroots organizing
- Political education workshops

Key Concepts

psychology of movements

Practical Applications

- Re‑anchor activism in collective identity
- Cultivate personal narratives

Questions to Reflect On

- What role does personal identity play in sustaining political movements?
- How can movements balance collective goals with individual expression?

A Different Perspective

Overemphasis on collective identity can suppress necessary dissent and individuality.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Anarchism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchism/) [Anarchist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Idealism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealism/) [Ideals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideals/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Personality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personality/)

## Related quotes

> [“I became alive once more. At the dances I was one of the most untiring and gayest. One evening a cousin of Sasha, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/i-became-alive-once-more-at-the-dances-i-was-one-of-the-most-untiring/)

[Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/)

> [“is a fact known to almost everyone familiar with the Anarchist movement that a great number of acts, for which Anarchists had to suffer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/is-a-fact-known-to-almost-everyone-familiar-with-the-anarchist/)

[Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/)

> [“That every act of political violence should nowadays be attributed to Anarchists is not at all surprising. Yet it is a fact known to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/that-every-act-of-political-violence-should-nowadays-be-attributed-to/)

[Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/)

> [In order to fully realise our aspirations, we must create in the masses of the people the sense of sacrifice and responsibility that has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federica-montseny/in-order-to-fully-realise-our-aspirations-we-must-create-in-the/)

[Federica Montseny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federica-montseny/)

> [Actually, my first article, it wasn't about the anarchists; it was about the fall of Barcelona and the spread of fascism over Europe, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/actually-my-first-article-it-wasn-t-about-the-anarchists-it-was-about/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [I'm by no means convinced that capitalism and the development of technology has made anarchism easier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-m-by-no-means-convinced-that-capitalism-and-the-development-of/)

[Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

> [ The most important thing \[anarchists\] can do is educate themselves, develop a propaganda machinery in the form of books and periodicals, a literature, engage… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/the-most-important-thing-anarchists-can-do-is-educate-themselves/)

[Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

> [ I learned that \[Trotskyism\] were no different from the Stalinists, and they expelled me, which is the typical Marxist-Leninist way of dealing with dissenters.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-learned-that-trotskyism-were-no-different-from-the-stalinists-and/)

[Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

> [“The truth, indeed, is out—but the ears to hear it and the minds to learn from it seem to have been atrophied by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/the-truth-indeed-is-out-but-the-ears-to-hear-it-and-the-minds-to/)

[Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

> [Peter Kropotkin described Anarchism as the extreme left wing of socialism - a view with which I completely agree. One of my deepest concerns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/peter-kropotkin-described-anarchism-as-the-extreme-left-wing-of/)

[Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

> [My anarchism is frankly anarcho-communalism, and it's eco-anarchism as well. And it's not oriented toward the proletariat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/my-anarchism-is-frankly-anarcho-communalism-and-it-s-eco-anarchism-as/)

[Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

> [When I talk about self-management, self-regulation, self-government, the word I emphasize is self, and my concern is with the reconstruction of the self. Marxists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/when-i-talk-about-self-management-self-regulation-self-government-the/)

[Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

> [My concern is to develop a North American type of anarchism that comes out of the American tradition, or that at least can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/my-concern-is-to-develop-a-north-american-type-of-anarchism-that/)

[Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

> [I would not want to be in the same movement with an anarcho-syndicalist, however much I may respect and like that person. Some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-would-not-want-to-be-in-the-same-movement-with-an-anarcho/)

[Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

> [I know one thing: that you can do a lot of things but if you don't educate people into conscious anarchism it gets frittered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-know-one-thing-that-you-can-do-a-lot-of-things-but-if-you-don-t/)

[Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

## More by Murray Bookchin

> [I know one thing: that you can do a lot of things but if you don't educate people into conscious anarchism it gets frittered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-know-one-thing-that-you-can-do-a-lot-of-things-but-if-you-don-t/)

[Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

> [I regard individuality as the most precious trait we have, because without it there is no creativity, there is no consciousness, there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-regard-individuality-as-the-most-precious-trait-we-have-because/)

[Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

> [In the 60s there were a lot of things which were anarchistic. May-June '68 was riddled by anarchistic sentiments, dreams and ideals, but insofar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/in-the-60s-there-were-a-lot-of-things-which-were-anarchistic-may-june/)

[Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

> [Capitalism has created a situation called scarcity. And that scarcity is not natural, it's socially induced. Along with that sense of scarcity, or feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/capitalism-has-created-a-situation-called-scarcity-and-that-scarcity/)

[Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

> [ “\[The\] term 'libertarian' itself, to be sure, raises a problem, notably, the specious identification of an anti-authoritarian ideology with a straggling movement for 'pure… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/the-term-libertarian-itself-to-be-sure-raises-a-problem-notably-the/)

[Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

> [Wherever people defend the rights of the individual, I stand with them above all, over and beyond any wishes relating to how an economy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/wherever-people-defend-the-rights-of-the-individual-i-stand-with-them/)

[Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

> [I'm convinced more than ever that capitalism, with its technological development, has not been an advance toward freedom but has been an enormous setback…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-m-convinced-more-than-ever-that-capitalism-with-its-technological/)

[Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

> [“The phrase "consumer society" complements the description of the present social order as an "industrial society." Needs are tailored by the mass media to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/the-phrase-consumer-society-complements-the-description-of-the/)

[Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

> [I believe in a libertarian communist society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-believe-in-a-libertarian-communist-society/)

[Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

> [ “\[W\]ithout changing the most molecular relationships in society — notably, those between men and women, adults and children, whites and other ethnic groups, heterosexuals… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/w-ithout-changing-the-most-molecular-relationships-in-society-notably/)

[Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

> [ The most important thing \[anarchists\] can do is educate themselves, develop a propaganda machinery in the form of books and periodicals, a literature, engage… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/the-most-important-thing-anarchists-can-do-is-educate-themselves/)

[Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

> [I was a Stalinist in the '30s. I had come from a Russian revolutionary family who simply were elated by the fact that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-was-a-stalinist-in-the-30s-i-had-come-from-a-russian-revolutionary/)

[Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

> [“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/)

> [“Finally, “industrial society,” to use a genteel euphemism for capitalism, has also become an easy explanation for the environmental ills that afflict our time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/finally-industrial-society-to-use-a-genteel-euphemism-for-capitalism/)

[Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

> [Deny my individuality and I become an animal, mute, a mere creature of all the forces that act upon me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/deny-my-individuality-and-i-become-an-animal-mute-a-mere-creature-of/)

[Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

[Explore all 159 Murray Bookchin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

## More Anarchism quotes

> [I know one thing: that you can do a lot of things but if you don't educate people into conscious anarchism it gets frittered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-know-one-thing-that-you-can-do-a-lot-of-things-but-if-you-don-t/)

[Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

> [In morals as in politics anarchy is not for the weak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/in-morals-as-in-politics-anarchy-is-not-for-the-weak/)

[Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/)

> [Anarchism is a definite intellectual current in the life of our times, whose adherents advocate the abolition of economic monopolies and of all political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-rocker/anarchism-is-a-definite-intellectual-current-in-the-life-of-our-times/)

[Rudolf Rocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-rocker/)

> [“Do not all theists insist that there can be no morality, no justice, honesty or fidelity without the belief in a Divine Power? Based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/do-not-all-theists-insist-that-there-can-be-no-morality-no-justice/)

[Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/)

> [“Does it follow that I reject all authority? Perish the thought. In the matter of boots, I defer to the authority of the bootmaker;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/does-it-follow-that-i-reject-all-authority-perish-the-thought-in-the/)

[Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/)

> [“An anarchist government somehow creates an impression in the hearts of citizens that no one cares.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/an-anarchist-government-somehow-creates-an-impression-in-the-hearts/)

[Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/)

> [Anarchism as a political philosophy seeks to dissolve all forms of authority and power, and if possible, wishes their complete abolition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-marshall/anarchism-as-a-political-philosophy-seeks-to-dissolve-all-forms-of/)

[Peter Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-marshall/)

> [And now, what has Anarchism to say to all this, this bankruptcy of republicanism, this modern empire that has grown up on the ruins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/and-now-what-has-anarchism-to-say-to-all-this-this-bankruptcy-of/)

[Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/)

> [I see anarchism as the theoretical ideal to which we are all gradually evolving to a point where everybody can tell the truth to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-see-anarchism-as-the-theoretical-ideal-to-which-we-are-all/)

[Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/)

> [Anarchists are opposed to violence; everyone knows that. The main plank of anarchism is the removal of violence from human relations. It is life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errico-malatesta/anarchists-are-opposed-to-violence-everyone-knows-that-the-main-plank/)

[Errico Malatesta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errico-malatesta/)

> [“They knew that their anarchism was the product of a very high civilization, of a complex diversified culture, of a stable economy and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/they-knew-that-their-anarchism-was-the-product-of-a-very-high/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

> [Anarchism means voluntary co-operation instead of forced participation. It means harmony and order in place of interference and disorder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-berkman/anarchism-means-voluntary-co-operation-instead-of-forced/)

[Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/)

> [The Anarchists are simply unterrified Jeffersonian Democrats. They believe that 'the best government is that which governs least,' and that which governs least is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/the-anarchists-are-simply-unterrified-jeffersonian-democrats-they/)

[Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/)

> [We must therefore turn to history for enlightenment; here we find that none of the proclaimed anarchist groups correspond to the libertarian position, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/we-must-therefore-turn-to-history-for-enlightenment-here-we-find-that/)

[Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/)

> [“I became an anarchist very early on. Anarchism, in my mind, meant taking democracy seriously and organizing prefiguratively- that is, in a way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrej-gruba-i/i-became-an-anarchist-very-early-on-anarchism-in-my-mind-meant-taking/)

[Andrej Grubačić](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrej-gruba-i/)

[Browse all 388 Anarchism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchism/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "You see something very important is happening. Personality is being eaten out, and with that the idealism that always motivated an anarchist movement - the belief in something, the ideal that there is something worth fighting for.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Murray Bookchin"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/you-see-something-very-important-is-happening-personality-is-being/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Anarchism"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/you-see-something-very-important-is-happening-personality-is-being/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/402/murray-bookchin-2587_anarchism_you-see-something-very-important-is-happ_99894.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/402/murray-bookchin-2587_anarchism_you-see-something-very-important-is-happ_99894.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/402/murray-bookchin-2587_anarchism_you-see-something-very-important-is-happ_99894.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“You see something very important is happening. Personality is being eaten out, and with that the idealism…” — Murray Bookchin",
                "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": "Murray Bookchin",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "You see something very important is...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/you-see-something-very-important-is-happening-personality-is-being/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/you-see-something-very-important-is-happening-personality-is-being/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
