--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [Isaiah] Berlin's observation is accurate…" description: "\"[Isaiah] Berlin's observation is accurate enough, and applies at home as well, and even more harshly for the reasons already mentioned: the apparatchik..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/noam-chomsky-42_accurate_isaiah-berlin-s-observation-is-accurate_402358.jpg" --- # \[Isaiah\] Berlin's observation is accurate enough, and… ![“[Isaiah] Berlin's observation is accurate enough, and applies at home as well, and even more harshly for the reasons already mentioned: the apparatchiks and commissars could at least plead fear in extenuation.” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/noam-chomsky-42_accurate_isaiah-berlin-s-observation-is-accurate_402358.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/noam-chomsky-42_accurate_isaiah-berlin-s-observation-is-accurate_402358.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af5/noam-chomsky-42_accurate_isaiah-berlin-s-observation-is-accurate_402358.jpg) > “\[Isaiah\] Berlin's observation is accurate enough, and applies at home as well, and even more harshly for the reasons already mentioned: the apparatchiks and commissars could at least plead fear in extenuation.” [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Authority figures often exploit fear, especially in oppressive regimes, to control populations. **In simple terms:** Authorities use fear to dominate. Key Takeaway Beware fear‑based manipulation. Themes power fear authoritarianism Mood analytical critical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - government policies - media narratives - public discourse Key Concepts political control psychology of oppression Questions to Reflect On - How does fear influence your decisions? - What safeguards prevent abuse of fear? A Different Perspective Some fear can be justified for safety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accurate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accurate/) [Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/berlin/) [Berlin Observation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/berlin-observation-3604214/) [Commissars Plead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commissars-plead-3604216/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Home Harshly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home-harshly-3604215/) [Isaiah Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isaiah-berlin-3188648/) [Observation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observation/) [Observation Accurate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observation-accurate-3604213/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [ Isaiah Berlin described the intellectuals of \[Mikhail\] Bakunin's "Red bureaucracy" as a "secular priesthood. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/isaiah-berlin-described-the-intellectuals-of-mikhail-bakunin-s-red/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [A dining club which I was involved in at Oxford University invited Sir Isaiah Berlin to dinner, who I believe was probably the greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-brandis/a-dining-club-which-i-was-involved-in-at-oxford-university-invited/) [George Brandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-brandis/) > [“My own interest in Herzen was sparked by an exception to this rule: Isaiah Berlin’s essays. These still seem to me to have best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aileen-m-kelly/my-own-interest-in-herzen-was-sparked-by-an-exception-to-this-rule/) [Aileen M. Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aileen-m-kelly/) > [George Kennan is another extreme case. He was the American consul in Berlin until the war between Germany and the United States broke out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/george-kennan-is-another-extreme-case-he-was-the-american-consul-in/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [ Okay, NATO expanded to East Berlin and East Germany. Under \[Bill\] Clinton NATO expanded further, to the former Russian satellites. In 2008 NATO formally… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/okay-nato-expanded-to-east-berlin-and-east-germany-under-bill-clinton/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [NATO was constructed on the - with the reason, whether one believes it or not, that it was going to defend Western Europe from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/nato-was-constructed-on-the-with-the-reason-whether-one-believes-it/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I am in Paris. Yes ma'am , I made it back. I came up from Berlin, stopped here ten days, fought a losing battle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/i-am-in-paris-yes-ma-am-i-made-it-back-i-came-up-from-berlin-stopped/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [...what happened in New York and Washington is the same thing that England and America did to Berlin every day for three years during…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemmy-kilmister/what-happened-in-new-york-and-washington-is-the-same-thing-that/) [Lemmy Kilmister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemmy-kilmister/) > [The church of St. Peter at Berlin, notwithstanding the total difference between them in the style of building, appears in some respects to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-philipp-moritz/the-church-of-st-peter-at-berlin-notwithstanding-the-total-difference/) [Karl Philipp Moritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-philipp-moritz/) > [I'm not a prophet, but I always thought it was natural for dictatorships to fall. I remember in 1989, two months before the fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-not-a-prophet-but-i-always-thought-it-was-natural-for/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [My works are dear to me, each in its own way, I shall have to answer for them on the Day off Judgement. God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-chagall/my-works-are-dear-to-me-each-in-its-own-way-i-shall-have-to-answer/) [Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) > [The music changed. We had Irving Berlin and Gershwin and Lerner and Loewe and Cole Porter. Great music. Now we have 'Rent.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyd-charisse/the-music-changed-we-had-irving-berlin-and-gershwin-and-lerner-and/) [Cyd Charisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyd-charisse/) > [The fall of the Berlin Wall makes for nice pictures. But it all started in the shipyards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/the-fall-of-the-berlin-wall-makes-for-nice-pictures-but-it-all/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [I did a concert... in September with the Berlin Philharmonic... They're great musicians, and there's always something to learn from them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecilia-bartoli/i-did-a-concert-in-september-with-the-berlin-philharmonic-they-re/) [Cecilia Bartoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecilia-bartoli/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) ## More by Noam Chomsky > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [If you believe in democracy, why shouldn't you know what the government is doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-believe-in-democracy-why-shouldn-t-you-know-what-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are questions as to whether it should even exist. 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Just because I say it doesn't make it true. So check it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-first-thing-you-ought-to-do-is-verify-what-i-present-just-because/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [ I wrote an article about the marine landing \[in Haiti\] right away, but barely mentioned the oil, because my article would come out two… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-wrote-an-article-about-the-marine-landing-in-haiti-right-away-but/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [American society is now remarkably atomized. Political organizations have collapsed. In fact, it seems like even bowling leagues are collapsing. The left has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/american-society-is-now-remarkably-atomized-political-organizations/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's an interesting book about that called The Third Reich and the Ivory Tower, written by Stephen H. Norwood. It has a long discussion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-an-interesting-book-about-that-called-the-third-reich-and-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [This is class war on an international scale, and power is in the hands of those who control the international economic system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/this-is-class-war-on-an-international-scale-and-power-is-in-the-hands/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are big, extremely irrational parts of the society, and they have now been mobilized politically by the Republican establishment, hoping that these people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-big-extremely-irrational-parts-of-the-society-and-they-have/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's plenty to criticize about the mass media, but they are the source of regular information about a wide range of topics. 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