---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is the mark of a primitive society to…"
description: "\"It is the mark of a primitive society to view regression as progress.\" — Neale Donald Walsch"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/829/neale-donald-walsch-239_growth_it-is-the-mark-of-a-primitive-society-to_2342242.png"
---

#  It is the mark of a primitive society to view regression…

![“It is the mark of a primitive society to view regression as progress.” quote by Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/829/neale-donald-walsch-239_growth_it-is-the-mark-of-a-primitive-society-to_2342242.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/829/neale-donald-walsch-239_growth_it-is-the-mark-of-a-primitive-society-to_2342242.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/829/neale-donald-walsch-239_growth_it-is-the-mark-of-a-primitive-society-to_2342242.png)

> “It is the mark of a primitive society to view regression as progress.”

[Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/)

## About This Quote

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

Societies that label backward steps as progress are primitive; true advancement moves forward, not regresses.

**In simple terms:** Calling regression progress shows primitiveness.

Key Takeaway

Challenge notions of so progress.

Themes

progress society primitive

Mood

thought‑provoking critical

Type

philosophical analytical

When to use this quote

- evaluating policies
- educational curricula
- public discourse
- historical analysis

Key Concepts

critical thinking philosophy social critique

Questions to Reflect On

- What examples of regression as progress exist?
- How can we differentiate true progress?

A Different Perspective

Not all regressions are negative; some are necessary resets.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mark/) [Primitive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/primitive/) [Primitive Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/primitive-society-467013/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Regression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regression/) [Regression Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regression-progress-5672445/) [View Regression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/view-regression-5672446/) [Views](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/views/)

## Related quotes

> [Despite the theories traditionally taught in high-school social studies, the truth is: the more primitive the society, the more leisured its way of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-farb/despite-the-theories-traditionally-taught-in-high-school-social/)

[Peter Farb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-farb/)

> [Men were only made into 'men' with great difficulty even in primitive society: the male is not naturally 'a man' any more than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/men-were-only-made-into-men-with-great-difficulty-even-in-primitive/)

[Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/)

> [Photography is our exorcism. Primitive society had its masks, bourgeois society its mirrors. We have our images.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/photography-is-our-exorcism-primitive-society-had-its-masks-bourgeois/)

[Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/)

> [If we were a primitive society, movie stars would be gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-pollack/if-we-were-a-primitive-society-movie-stars-would-be-gods/)

[Sydney Pollack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-pollack/)

> [Anthropologists have often described what happens to a primitive society when its spiritual values are exposed to the impact of modern civilisation. Its people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/anthropologists-have-often-described-what-happens-to-a-primitive/)

[Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/)

> [The captain looked defensive. "You regard our customs as primitive?"Every society to its own tastes, captain. The wisdom of one society would be folly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-m-miller-jr-2/the-captain-looked-defensive-you-regard-our-customs-as-primitive/)

[Walter M. Miller, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-m-miller-jr-2/)

> [Deep down, the US, with its space, its technological refinement, its bluff good conscience, even in those spaces which it opens up for simulation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/deep-down-the-us-with-its-space-its-technological-refinement-its/)

[Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/)

> [Great works of art can be produced in barbarous societies - in fact the very narrowness of primitive society gives their ornamental art a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/great-works-of-art-can-be-produced-in-barbarous-societies-in-fact-the/)

[Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/)

> [The Senate is the last primitive society in the world. We still worship the elders of the tribe and honor the territorial imperative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-mccarthy/the-senate-is-the-last-primitive-society-in-the-world-we-still/)

[Eugene McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-mccarthy/)

> [In primitive society, where uniformity of occupation is the rule, and the distribution of the community into various classes of workers has hardly begun,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-g-frazer/in-primitive-society-where-uniformity-of-occupation-is-the-rule-and/)

[James G. Frazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-g-frazer/)

> [“On the one hand, there was the primeval institution of the sacrifice and the egalitarian distribution and communal consumption of its roast meat—a ritual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-martin/on-the-one-hand-there-was-the-primeval-institution-of-the-sacrifice/)

[Felix Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-martin/)

> [We don't live in a primitive society any more. Many of us are lucky enough to be educated. We also realize that gender and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konkona-sen-sharma/we-don-t-live-in-a-primitive-society-any-more-many-of-us-are-lucky/)

[Konkona Sen Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konkona-sen-sharma/)

> [“There is a violent contrast here, in this country, between the growing abstractness of a unclear universe and a primary, visceral, unbounded vitality, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-a-violent-contrast-here-in-this-country-between-the-growing/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [If we put together all that we have learned from anthropology and ethnography about primitive men and primitive society, we perceive that the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/if-we-put-together-all-that-we-have-learned-from-anthropology-and/)

[William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/)

> [In products of the human mind, simplicity marks the end of a process of refining, while complexity marks a primitive stage. Michelangelo 's definition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/in-products-of-the-human-mind-simplicity-marks-the-end-of-a-process/)

[Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/)

## More by Neale Donald Walsch

> [Pain results from a judgment you have made about a thing. Remove the judgment and the pain disappears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/pain-results-from-a-judgment-you-have-made-about-a-thing-remove-the/)

[Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/)

> [“Mine is always your Highest Thought, your Clearest Word, your Grandest Feeling. Anything less is from another source.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/mine-is-always-your-highest-thought-your-clearest-word-your-grandest/)

[Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/)

> [In the quiet moments of your day, what do you think and do? When you are with your Self and no one else, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/in-the-quiet-moments-of-your-day-what-do-you-think-and-do-when-you/)

[Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/)

> [The more that you act on your intuition fearlessly, the more your intuition will serve you. Intuition is the ear of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/the-more-that-you-act-on-your-intuition-fearlessly-the-more-your/)

[Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/)

> [All change in life comes from within. It is what's in humanity's soul, not what's in humanity's wallet, that will purchase our freedom from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/all-change-in-life-comes-from-within-it-is-what-s-in-humanity-s-soul/)

[Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/)

> [It is not nearly so important how well a message is received as how well it is sent. You cannot take responsibility for how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/it-is-not-nearly-so-important-how-well-a-message-is-received-as-how/)

[Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/)

> [Fear and caution are two different things. Be cautious - be conscious - but do not be fearful. Fear only paralyzes, while consciousness mobilizes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/fear-and-caution-are-two-different-things-be-cautious-be-conscious/)

[Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/)

> [The new spirituality will also base itself on a third very large spiritual understanding, which is that life is eternal. Most religious people claim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/the-new-spirituality-will-also-base-itself-on-a-third-very-large/)

[Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/)

> [Truth is often uncomfortable. It is only comforting to those who do not wish to ignore it. Then, truth becomes not only comforting, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/truth-is-often-uncomfortable-it-is-only-comforting-to-those-who-do/)

[Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/)

> [What is needed today is for all of us to work to change the world's mind about God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/what-is-needed-today-is-for-all-of-us-to-work-to-change-the-world-s/)

[Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/)

> [By declaring yourself a leader, you're taking initiative and moving into a role of influence in a lively and vital network that's changing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/by-declaring-yourself-a-leader-you-re-taking-initiative-and-moving/)

[Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/)

> [“Postanite instrument Moga mira. Postoji li mržnja bilo gdje, širite ljubav; Postoji li povreda bilo gdje, širite oproštaj; Postoji li sumnja bilo gdje, širite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/postanite-instrument-moga-mira-postoji-li-mr-nja-bilo-gdje-irite/)

[Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/)

> [“Government is the perfect portrayer of the accuracy of the axiom that if you lie big enough, long enough, the lie becomes the “truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/government-is-the-perfect-portrayer-of-the-accuracy-of-the-axiom-that/)

[Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/)

> [“When you give your children knowledge, you are telling them what to think. That is, you are telling them what they are supposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/when-you-give-your-children-knowledge-you-are-telling-them-what-to/)

[Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/)

> [As George Bernard Shaw observed: "All great truths begin as blasphemies." Yet I have to say, the idea that there is intelligent life elsewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/as-george-bernard-shaw-observed-all-great-truths-begin-as-blasphemies/)

[Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/)

[Explore all 840 Neale Donald Walsch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/)

## More Growth quotes

> [My coach, Robert Allen, helped me a lot. He had more influence on my growth as a player than anyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamarcus-aldridge/my-coach-robert-allen-helped-me-a-lot-he-had-more-influence-on-my/)

[LaMarcus Aldridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamarcus-aldridge/)

> [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/)

[Phil Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-hogan/)

> [Advances in technology will continue to reach far into every sector of our economy. Future job and economic growth in industry, defense, transportation, agriculture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-bond/advances-in-technology-will-continue-to-reach-far-into-every-sector/)

[Christopher Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-bond/)

> [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/)

[Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/)

> [“I urge you: don't cut short these thought-trains of yours. Follow them through to their end. Your thoughts and your feelings. Follow them through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/i-urge-you-don-t-cut-short-these-thought-trains-of-yours-follow-them/)

[J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/)

> [“Economic growth continued by means of a succession of new products which found growing and ultimately massive demand. Some of the new products were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-a-hudson/economic-growth-continued-by-means-of-a-succession-of-new-products/)

[Edward A. Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-a-hudson/)

> [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/)

[Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/)

> [If you learn something that changes you, you've made progress. If you learn something that changes others, you've helped change the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lanie-lane/if-you-learn-something-that-changes-you-you-ve-made-progress-if-you/)

[Lanie Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lanie-lane/)

> [“SILENT LIKE SLEEP You appear by my side, silent like sleep. Soft hair, a little wild. No fear, gentle like a calm river. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-goddard/silent-like-sleep-you-appear-by-my-side-silent-like-sleep-soft-hair-a/)

[Donna Goddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-goddard/)

> [Friendship, "the wine of life," should, like a well-stocked cellar, be continually renewed; and it is consolatory to think, that although we can seldom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/friendship-the-wine-of-life-should-like-a-well-stocked-cellar-be/)

[James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/)

> [Change is inevitable but personal growth is a choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/change-is-inevitable-but-personal-growth-is-a-choice/)

[Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/)

> [He who is content with what has been done is an obstacle in the path of progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/he-who-is-content-with-what-has-been-done-is-an-obstacle-in-the-path/)

[Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/)

> [“There is no growth without risk. There is always something to be gained from any experience. It is up to us to interpret our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truth-devour/there-is-no-growth-without-risk-there-is-always-something-to-be/)

[Truth Devour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truth-devour/)

> [Create an environment for people to fail, to learn, and to grow. Their creativity and productivity will increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/create-an-environment-for-people-to-fail-to-learn-and-to-grow-their/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [You have to improve; that's how you develop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gustafsson/you-have-to-improve-that-s-how-you-develop/)

[Alexander Gustafsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gustafsson/)

[Browse all 9,113 Growth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "It is the mark of a primitive society to view regression as progress.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Neale Donald Walsch"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/it-is-the-mark-of-a-primitive-society-to-view-regression-as-progress/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Growth"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/it-is-the-mark-of-a-primitive-society-to-view-regression-as-progress/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/829/neale-donald-walsch-239_growth_it-is-the-mark-of-a-primitive-society-to_2342242.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/829/neale-donald-walsch-239_growth_it-is-the-mark-of-a-primitive-society-to_2342242.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/829/neale-donald-walsch-239_growth_it-is-the-mark-of-a-primitive-society-to_2342242.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It is the mark of a primitive society to view regression as progress.” — Neale Donald Walsch",
                "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": "Neale Donald Walsch",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "It is the mark of a...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/it-is-the-mark-of-a-primitive-society-to-view-regression-as-progress/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/it-is-the-mark-of-a-primitive-society-to-view-regression-as-progress/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
