--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The current period of regression is…" description: "\"The current period of regression is registering some success in \"producing people\" who are subordinated to external power, diverted to such \"superficia..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a1/noam-chomsky-42_bewildered_the-current-period-of-regression-is-regi_2815828.jpg" --- # The current period of regression is registering some… ![“The current period of regression is registering some success in "producing people" who are subordinated to external power, diverted to such "superficial things" as "fashionable consumption" and other pursuits more fitting for the "bewildered herd" than participation in determining the course of…” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a1/noam-chomsky-42_bewildered_the-current-period-of-regression-is-regi_2815828.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a1/noam-chomsky-42_bewildered_the-current-period-of-regression-is-regi_2815828.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a1/noam-chomsky-42_bewildered_the-current-period-of-regression-is-regi_2815828.jpg) > “The current period of regression is registering some success in "producing people" who are subordinated to external power, diverted to such "superficial things" as "fashionable consumption" and other pursuits more fitting for the "bewildered herd" than participation in determining the course of individual and social life.” [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. Society is producing individuals who obey external authority and focus on shallow consumerism rather than shaping their own lives and society. **In simple terms:** People are made to follow power and chase trivial things instead of influencing their future. Key Takeaway Question authority and seek meaningful participation. Themes power consumerism individual autonomy social responsibility Mood critical reflective Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political activism - community organizing - personal development - education reform Key Concepts critical theory media influence alienation Questions to Reflect On - How can individuals break free from consumerist pressures? - What role does media play in shaping these behaviors? A Different Perspective The quote may overgeneralize and ignore personal agency and diverse motivations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bewildered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bewildered/) [Consumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumption/) [Fashionable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashionable/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Participation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/participation/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Pursuit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursuit/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-life/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Superficial things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superficial-things/) ## Related quotes > [I would like to shift more into writing for and producing people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geddy-lee/i-would-like-to-shift-more-into-writing-for-and-producing-people/) [Geddy Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geddy-lee/) > [I'm usually writing or producing for other people. I'm like Burger King most of the time; I let people have it their way like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warryn-campbell/i-m-usually-writing-or-producing-for-other-people-i-m-like-burger/) [Warryn Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warryn-campbell/) > [I'm an old man now. I can't believe it. I'm listening to all sorts because I'm producing people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwyn-collins/i-m-an-old-man-now-i-can-t-believe-it-i-m-listening-to-all-sorts/) [Edwyn Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwyn-collins/) > [I love the studio. I love writing and producing both for us and for other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-smith/i-love-the-studio-i-love-writing-and-producing-both-for-us-and-for/) [Dan Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-smith/) > [It's a lot easier producing for people or being in the background, and they can take all the fire from the front. But in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/labrinth/it-s-a-lot-easier-producing-for-people-or-being-in-the-background-and/) [Labrinth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/labrinth/) > [I love producing other people's work, but presenting is a very serious business. It's a marriage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-del-toro/i-love-producing-other-people-s-work-but-presenting-is-a-very-serious/) [Guillermo del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-del-toro/) > [When you come right down to it, opinions are the most superficial things about anyone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/when-you-come-right-down-to-it-opinions-are-the-most-superficial/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [There are some superficial things that connect me to the stream. There's instrumentation, there's timbre, use of electronics, the way that samples are used,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/missy-mazzoli/there-are-some-superficial-things-that-connect-me-to-the-stream-there/) [Missy Mazzoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/missy-mazzoli/) > [Too many young folk have addiction to superficial things and not enough conviction for substantial things like justice, truth and love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/too-many-young-folk-have-addiction-to-superficial-things-and-not/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Time, as a river, hath brought down to us what is more light and superficial, while things more solid and substantial have been immersed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-glanvill/time-as-a-river-hath-brought-down-to-us-what-is-more-light-and/) [Joseph Glanvill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-glanvill/) > [I just think that if we stopped playing on the superficial level and concentrated on women in real crises throughout the world, it would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-dormer/i-just-think-that-if-we-stopped-playing-on-the-superficial-level-and/) [Natalie Dormer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-dormer/) > [I have always found men who were funny, irresistible. It's rare that I ever based love on looks or superficial things, but it a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilda-radner/i-have-always-found-men-who-were-funny-irresistible-it-s-rare-that-i/) [Gilda Radner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilda-radner/) > [Collaborating with the musical genius of our time in some ways with Prince himself - late, great Gerald Levert,all these are forms of singing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/collaborating-with-the-musical-genius-of-our-time-in-some-ways-with/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I remember everything I know even the most superficial things. And what comes out is in my canvases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-rivers/i-remember-everything-i-know-even-the-most-superficial-things-and/) [Larry Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-rivers/) > [“I wish I knew more about people, besides the trivial, superficial things - I wish I knew something essential about each and every person.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ebba-haslund/i-wish-i-knew-more-about-people-besides-the-trivial-superficial/) [Ebba Haslund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ebba-haslund/) ## 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. Who should corporations be responsive to, the management of a corporation? Theoretically they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-questions-as-to-whether-it-should-even-exist-who-should/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Governments regard their own citizens as their main enemy, and they have to be - protect themselves. That's why you have state secret laws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/governments-regard-their-own-citizens-as-their-main-enemy-and-they/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The first thing you ought to do is verify what I present. 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. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-plenty-to-criticize-about-the-mass-media-but-they-are-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The 50,000 Korean mercenaries we had in Vietnam were professional killers and just massacred people outright. And the American army did plenty of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-50-000-korean-mercenaries-we-had-in-vietnam-were-professional/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Explore all 2,129 Noam Chomsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More Bewildered quotes > [We are puzzled and bewildered whenever we see suffering in this world because we have become accustomed to the mercy and the long-suffering of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/we-are-puzzled-and-bewildered-whenever-we-see-suffering-in-this-world/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [Language gradually varies, and with it fade away the writings of authors who have flourished their allotted time; otherwise, the creative powers of genius…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/language-gradually-varies-and-with-it-fade-away-the-writings-of/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [I've never been lost, but I've been a mite bewildered for a few days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-boone/i-ve-never-been-lost-but-i-ve-been-a-mite-bewildered-for-a-few-days/) [Daniel Boone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-boone/) > [I admitted that I did not understand life. What I meant was that I am bewildered by human hearts and motivations, including my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/i-admitted-that-i-did-not-understand-life-what-i-meant-was-that-i-am/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [She was the murderous mother who cut us to the bone but left us alive, left us naked and bewildered as wrinkled newborn babies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/she-was-the-murderous-mother-who-cut-us-to-the-bone-but-left-us-alive/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [“I didn't particularly feel like explaining myself to eighteen bewildered people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-a-thompson/i-didn-t-particularly-feel-like-explaining-myself-to-eighteen/) [Shannon A. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-a-thompson/) > [Thus I began my systematic though half-bewildered tour of Innsmouth's narrow, shadow-blighted ways. Crossing the bridge and turning toward the roar of the lower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/thus-i-began-my-systematic-though-half-bewildered-tour-of-innsmouth-s/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Bewitched, bothered and bewildered am I.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorenz-hart/bewitched-bothered-and-bewildered-am-i/) [Lorenz Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorenz-hart/) > [Guy Savelli's role in the War on Terror began when half-a-dozen strangers, within days of one another, contacted him via e-mail and telephone in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/guy-savelli-s-role-in-the-war-on-terror-began-when-half-a-dozen/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [Some people are attracted to sickness, to the kind of madness where sparks fly off the head, to the incoherence of despair, masked by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-davies/some-people-are-attracted-to-sickness-to-the-kind-of-madness-where/) [Luke Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-davies/) > [Why are we reading if not in hope that the writer will magnify and dramatize our days, will illuminate and inspire us with wisdom,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/why-are-we-reading-if-not-in-hope-that-the-writer-will-magnify-and/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [Sometimes tears roll down from our eyes not because we wanted to but because when our words can't explain the pain we feel then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/usman-ismaheel/sometimes-tears-roll-down-from-our-eyes-not-because-we-wanted-to-but/) [Usman Ismaheel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/usman-ismaheel/) > [“What this have we done?” asked Stanislaw in very bad English, honestly bewildered. “Curfew?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-brazytis/what-this-have-we-done-asked-stanislaw-in-very-bad-english-honestly/) [Sarah Brazytis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-brazytis/) > [I am bewildered at the length to which people will go to portray me so negatively,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/i-am-bewildered-at-the-length-to-which-people-will-go-to-portray-me/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [I was sad to leave Europe in 1890, after my student days in Germany... But then, once back in New York, I experienced an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-stieglitz/i-was-sad-to-leave-europe-in-1890-after-my-student-days-in-germany/) [Alfred Stieglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-stieglitz/) [Browse all 141 Bewildered quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bewildered/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The current period of regression is registering some success in \"producing people\" who are subordinated to external power, diverted to such \"superficial things\" as \"fashionable consumption\" and other pursuits more fitting for the \"bewildered herd\" than participation in determining the course of individual and social life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Noam Chomsky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-current-period-of-regression-is-registering-some-success-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bewildered" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-current-period-of-regression-is-registering-some-success-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a1/noam-chomsky-42_bewildered_the-current-period-of-regression-is-regi_2815828.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a1/noam-chomsky-42_bewildered_the-current-period-of-regression-is-regi_2815828.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a1/noam-chomsky-42_bewildered_the-current-period-of-regression-is-regi_2815828.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The current period of regression is registering some success in \"producing people\" who are subordinated to…” — Noam Chomsky", "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": "Noam Chomsky", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The current period of regression is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-current-period-of-regression-is-registering-some-success-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-current-period-of-regression-is-registering-some-success-in/#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 } } ] } ```