--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But, writing in the late 1940s, he found…" description: "\"“But, writing in the late 1940s, he found himself commending the ‘traditionalism’ of the revolutionary Emiliano Zapata. It was Zapata, he wrote, who ha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/681/pankaj-mishra-2875_traditionalism_but-writing-in-the-late-1940s-he-found-h_2690558.jpg" --- # But, writing in the late 1940s, he found himself… ![“But, writing in the late 1940s, he found himself commending the ‘traditionalism’ of the revolutionary Emiliano Zapata. It was Zapata, he wrote, who had freed ‘Mexican reality from the constricting schemes of liberalism, and the abuses of the conservatives and neo-conservatives’. Such…” quote by Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/681/pankaj-mishra-2875_traditionalism_but-writing-in-the-late-1940s-he-found-h_2690558.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/681/pankaj-mishra-2875_traditionalism_but-writing-in-the-late-1940s-he-found-h_2690558.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/681/pankaj-mishra-2875_traditionalism_but-writing-in-the-late-1940s-he-found-h_2690558.jpg) > ““But, writing in the late 1940s, he found himself commending the ‘traditionalism’ of the revolutionary Emiliano Zapata. It was Zapata, he wrote, who had freed ‘Mexican reality from the constricting schemes of liberalism, and the abuses of the conservatives and neo-conservatives’. Such ‘traditionalists’, ranging from Gandhi to Rabindranath Tagore to Liang Qichao, had also emerged in many other non-Western societies in the first half of the twentieth century.”” [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Traditionalist movements in non‑Western societies emerged as a response to liberal and conservative extremes, seeking a rooted cultural identity. **In simple terms:** Traditionalism offered a cultural anchor against extremes. Key Takeaway Recognize the value of cultural roots. Themes history politics culture Mood analytical critical Type historical political When to use this quote - academic study - political analysis Key Concepts nationalism identity colonialism Questions to Reflect On - What modern issues could benefit from traditional perspectives? - How do we balance tradition and innovation? A Different Perspective Traditionalism can resist progressive change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emiliano Zapata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emiliano-zapata-217876/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rabindranath-tagore/) [Traditionalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traditionalism/) [Traditionalism Revolutionary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traditionalism-revolutionary-2654145/) [Traditionalists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traditionalists-636659/) [Traditionalists Ranging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traditionalists-ranging-2654146/) [Zapata Wrote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zapata-wrote-2654147/) ## Related quotes > [“Most teachers at the National Academy of Design discouraged students from visiting "291", lest they be influenced by radical American painters such as John…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-pollock/most-teachers-at-the-national-academy-of-design-discouraged-students/) [Lindsay Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsay-pollock/) > [Traditionalists often study what is taught, not what there is to create.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-parker/traditionalists-often-study-what-is-taught-not-what-there-is-to-create/) [Ed Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-parker/) > [Traditionalists will have to master techniques of sustained activism formerly monopolized by the left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/traditionalists-will-have-to-master-techniques-of-sustained-activism/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [Some conservatives are traditionalists, and the idea of breaking things up and changing things is concerning to them at times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-schlapp/some-conservatives-are-traditionalists-and-the-idea-of-breaking/) [Matt Schlapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-schlapp/) > [The true friends of the people are neither revolutionaries, nor innovators, but traditionalists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-x/the-true-friends-of-the-people-are-neither-revolutionaries-nor/) [Pope Pius X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-x/) > [The significant mistake of the traditionalists is they require the people to start where the church is instead of the church starting where the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leith-anderson/the-significant-mistake-of-the-traditionalists-is-they-require-the/) [Leith Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leith-anderson/) > [The general public will almost always stand behind the traditionalists. In the public eye, architecture is about comfort, about shelter, about bricks and mortar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-tschumi/the-general-public-will-almost-always-stand-behind-the/) [Bernard Tschumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-tschumi/) > [Traditionalists are pessimists about the future and optimists about the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/traditionalists-are-pessimists-about-the-future-and-optimists-about/) [Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/) > [...the great movement of apostasy being organized in every country for the establishment of a One-World Church which shall have neither dogmas, nor hierarchy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-x/the-great-movement-of-apostasy-being-organized-in-every-country-for/) [Pope Pius X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-x/) > [“They are by Rabindranath Tagore.’ Joseph’s voice was soft. ‘And you are right, Constable, they are very beautiful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-ellis/they-are-by-rabindranath-tagore-joseph-s-voice-was-soft-and-you-are/) [Joy Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-ellis/) > [Gandhi, when he was on the salt march, had everyone singing the song of Rabindranath Tagore, which goes, 'Walk alone, walk alone...' Now there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-nussbaum/gandhi-when-he-was-on-the-salt-march-had-everyone-singing-the-song-of/) [Martha Nussbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-nussbaum/) > [“The great Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore wrote, “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. / I awoke and saw that life was service.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/the-great-indian-poet-rabindranath-tagore-wrote-i-slept-and-dreamt/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [The land of Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore, and Subash Chandra Bose has mesmerised me. I am really happy to meet such lovely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajinikanth/the-land-of-ramakrishna-paramhansa-swami-vivekananda-rabindranath/) [Rajinikanth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajinikanth/) > [“As the childhood leaves a deep mark in a person’s life, there is a strong influence of childhood in choosing the favourite writer. Say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/md-ziaul-haque/as-the-childhood-leaves-a-deep-mark-in-a-person-s-life-there-is-a/) [Md. Ziaul Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/md-ziaul-haque/) > [Rabindranath Tagore writes that the song he wanted to sing has never happened because he spent his days "stringing and unstringing" his instrument. Whenever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-rupp/rabindranath-tagore-writes-that-the-song-he-wanted-to-sing-has-never/) [Joyce Rupp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-rupp/) ## More by Pankaj Mishra > [“Nationalism has again become a seductive but treacherous antidote to an experience of disorder and meaninglessness: the unexpectedly rowdy anticlimax, in a densely populated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/nationalism-has-again-become-a-seductive-but-treacherous-antidote-to/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [I feel very privileged to get to read and write and not to have to do things that I don't like, and I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/i-feel-very-privileged-to-get-to-read-and-write-and-not-to-have-to-do/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [There was great political uncertainty in South Asia at the time of the Buddha. The older small tribal societies were cracking up and gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/there-was-great-political-uncertainty-in-south-asia-at-the-time-of/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [Buddhism resonated very powerfully with a lot of my preoccupations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/buddhism-resonated-very-powerfully-with-a-lot-of-my-preoccupations/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [Our tolerance of the intolerable found a low threshold as early as the late 1950s with the grotesque excesses of McCarthyism, which destroyed so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/our-tolerance-of-the-intolerable-found-a-low-threshold-as-early-as/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [Freedom of speech doesn't guarantee great literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/freedom-of-speech-doesn-t-guarantee-great-literature/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [“As Keynes wrote, with devastating understatement, ‘The age of economic internationalism was not particularly successful in avoiding war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/as-keynes-wrote-with-devastating-understatement-the-age-of-economic/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [“Voltaire was soon turned, with Catherine’s encouragement, into a patron saint for the secular Russian aristocracy. Voltairianism, vaguely signifying rationalism, scepticism and reformism, became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/voltaire-was-soon-turned-with-catherine-s-encouragement-into-a-patron/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [“Today, the belief in progress, necessary for life in a Godless universe, can no longer be sustained, except, perhaps, in the Silicon Valley mansions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/today-the-belief-in-progress-necessary-for-life-in-a-godless-universe/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [We are always boosting or trying to prop up the ego by fulfilling some desire or other, and always craving affirmation from the outside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/we-are-always-boosting-or-trying-to-prop-up-the-ego-by-fulfilling/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [I don't think of myself as particularly earnest. I have long bouts of cynicism and skepticism. So much of my early life was full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/i-don-t-think-of-myself-as-particularly-earnest-i-have-long-bouts-of/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [“Marx reproduced medieval and Reformation millenarian expectations in his utopia of a classless, stateless society.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/marx-reproduced-medieval-and-reformation-millenarian-expectations-in/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [“History, largely experienced previously as a series of natural disasters, could now be seen as a movement in which everyone could potentially enlist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/history-largely-experienced-previously-as-a-series-of-natural/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [Writers in the nineteenth century - people like George Eliot and Flaubert - were accustomed to addressing particular communities with which they shared not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/writers-in-the-nineteenth-century-people-like-george-eliot-and/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [Most suffering is human-made and avoidable. It's mostly in your head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/most-suffering-is-human-made-and-avoidable-it-s-mostly-in-your-head/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) [Explore all 147 Pankaj Mishra quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) ## More Traditionalism quotes > [“It is necessary to have “watchers” at hand who will bear witness to the values of Tradition in ever more uncompromising and firm ways,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-evola/it-is-necessary-to-have-watchers-at-hand-who-will-bear-witness-to-the/) [Julius Evola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-evola/) > [“Human history is the ancient story of the umbilical conflict between a lone individual versus a cabalistic society. A love-hate relationship defines our personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/human-history-is-the-ancient-story-of-the-umbilical-conflict-between/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [Tradition is the living faith of the dead. Traditionalism is the dead faith of the living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaroslav-pelikan/tradition-is-the-living-faith-of-the-dead-traditionalism-is-the-dead/) [Jaroslav Pelikan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaroslav-pelikan/) > [“We've always done it this way" is invalid when that way hasn't led to more life, greater growth, or maximum efficiency. Take that how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-w-matthews/we-ve-always-done-it-this-way-is-invalid-when-that-way-hasn-t-led-to/) [Aaron W. Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-w-matthews/) > [“There are secularised cultures, but at the core of all of them, the spirit of Tradition remains, religious or otherwise. By defending the multiplicity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-dugin/there-are-secularised-cultures-but-at-the-core-of-all-of-them-the/) [Alexander Dugin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-dugin/) > [Tradition is the living faith of dead people to which we must add our chapter while we have the gift of life. Traditionalism is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaroslav-pelikan/tradition-is-the-living-faith-of-dead-people-to-which-we-must-add-our/) [Jaroslav Pelikan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaroslav-pelikan/) > [“Tradition is the living faith of the dead, traditionalism is the dead faith of the living. And, I suppose I should add, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaroslav-pelikan/tradition-is-the-living-faith-of-the-dead-traditionalism-is-the-dead-2/) [Jaroslav Pelikan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaroslav-pelikan/) > [I'm very optimistic that there are sincere believers out there that are okay with tradition but don't want to endorse traditionalism for the sake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/i-m-very-optimistic-that-there-are-sincere-believers-out-there-that/) [LeCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [“The danger lies not in the imaginary hydra of revolution, but in a stubborn traditionalism that impedes progress.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-danger-lies-not-in-the-imaginary-hydra-of-revolution-but-in-a/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“While traditionalism can thwart the planners and molders of industry, education, and society in general, fatalism can so stultify a people that passive resignation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-e-weller/while-traditionalism-can-thwart-the-planners-and-molders-of-industry/) [Jack E. Weller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-e-weller/) > [ “Consistently, \[Yves\] Congar emphasized the distinction between Tradition and traditionalism. The latter was an unyielding commitment to the past. The former was a living… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ellsberg/consistently-yves-congar-emphasized-the-distinction-between-tradition/) [Robert Ellsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ellsberg/) > [I don't like overt traditionalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbie-robertson/i-don-t-like-overt-traditionalism/) [Robbie Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robbie-robertson/) > [“There is a love for structure in them that I recognize, and a desire to worship correctness that I know and I share. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-lockwood/there-is-a-love-for-structure-in-them-that-i-recognize-and-a-desire/) [Patricia Lockwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-lockwood/) > [But that is not because these principles are traditional; it is because they are biblical. There is certainly an arrogant, hide-bound type of traditionalism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/but-that-is-not-because-these-principles-are-traditional-it-is/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [For me, experimenting involves traditionalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradford-cox/for-me-experimenting-involves-traditionalism/) [Bradford Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradford-cox/) [Browse all 20 Traditionalism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traditionalism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But, writing in the late 1940s, he found himself commending the ‘traditionalism’ of the revolutionary Emiliano Zapata. It was Zapata, he wrote, who had freed ‘Mexican reality from the constricting schemes of liberalism, and the abuses of the conservatives and neo-conservatives’. 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