--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Does it seem to you impossible to imagine…" description: "\"Does it seem to you impossible to imagine anything more inextricable than the social contract, when you think of the frightful number of relations that..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a05/pierre-joseph-proudhon-11634_absolutism_does-it-seem-to-you-impossible-to-imagin_248538.jpg" --- # Does it seem to you impossible to imagine anything more… ![“Does it seem to you impossible to imagine anything more inextricable than the social contract, when you think of the frightful number of relations that it must regulate -- something like squaring the circle, or finding perpetual motion? That is the reason why, wearied of the struggle, you fall…” quote by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a05/pierre-joseph-proudhon-11634_absolutism_does-it-seem-to-you-impossible-to-imagin_248538.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a05/pierre-joseph-proudhon-11634_absolutism_does-it-seem-to-you-impossible-to-imagin_248538.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a05/pierre-joseph-proudhon-11634_absolutism_does-it-seem-to-you-impossible-to-imagin_248538.jpg) > “Does it seem to you impossible to imagine anything more inextricable than the social contract, when you think of the frightful number of relations that it must regulate -- something like squaring the circle, or finding perpetual motion? That is the reason why, wearied of the struggle, you fall back on absolutism and force.” [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The social contract is so complex it feels impossible to fully grasp, leading exhausted people to seek absolute authority. **In simple terms:** Complex social rules push people toward authoritarianism. Key Takeaway Recognize complexity, avoid oversimplification. Themes politics philosophy authority Mood thoughtful critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - political debate - legal reform - community organizing Key Concepts social contract complexity absolutism Questions to Reflect On - How can we simplify social obligations without losing nuance? - What alternatives to absolutism exist? A Different Perspective Complexity can be reduced through dialogue, not force. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolutism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutism/) [Circles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circles/) [Perpetual motion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perpetual-motion/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social contract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-contract/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [The oldest theory of contract is I think negative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-pollock/the-oldest-theory-of-contract-is-i-think-negative/) [Frederick Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-pollock/) > [Now I think a lot of wrestlers want to get signed so that way they can be with a company where they can learn,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-sydal/now-i-think-a-lot-of-wrestlers-want-to-get-signed-so-that-way-they/) [Matt Sydal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-sydal/) > [I always thought once you get your contract, I think that's when the accolades and all that stuff comes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-harris-jr/i-always-thought-once-you-get-your-contract-i-think-that-s-when-the/) [Chris Harris, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-harris-jr/) > [When you sign a contract you only think about staying for all of it, but that depends on many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thiago-silva/when-you-sign-a-contract-you-only-think-about-staying-for-all-of-it/) [Thiago Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thiago-silva/) > [All parties without exception, when they seek for power, are varieties of absolutism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/all-parties-without-exception-when-they-seek-for-power-are-varieties/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [The idea of God is the type and foundation of the principle of authority and absolutism, which it is our task to destroy or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/the-idea-of-god-is-the-type-and-foundation-of-the-principle-of/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [All things are made of atoms-little particles that move around in perpetual motion, attracting each other when they are a little distance apart, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/all-things-are-made-of-atoms-little-particles-that-move-around-in/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [Marketing's job is never done. It's about perpetual motion. We must continue to innovate every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-comstock/marketing-s-job-is-never-done-it-s-about-perpetual-motion-we-must/) [Beth Comstock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-comstock/) > [“Leo Szilard, in 1929, showed that the very act of acquiring information about a system increases its entropy in proportion to the amount of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basil-mahon/leo-szilard-in-1929-showed-that-the-very-act-of-acquiring-information/) [Basil Mahon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basil-mahon/) > [“He scolded his listeners for being eager to sell off their few productive assets in exchange for articles of prestige. “You say you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-branch/he-scolded-his-listeners-for-being-eager-to-sell-off-their-few/) [Taylor Branch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-branch/) > [This game wears on you. It tears you down. It's perpetual motion for some people who've achieved a level of independence, like Madonna and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-fiasco/this-game-wears-on-you-it-tears-you-down-it-s-perpetual-motion-for/) [Lupe Fiasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-fiasco/) > [“Marketing is a never-ending story. It’s about perpetual motion where innovation plays the lead role.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacey-kehoe/marketing-is-a-never-ending-story-it-s-about-perpetual-motion-where/) [Stacey Kehoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacey-kehoe/) > [“You drive, walk, eat, look at television, read, and all the while, beyond you and the cozy circle created by your lady around herself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-dowell/you-drive-walk-eat-look-at-television-read-and-all-the-while-beyond/) [Coleman Dowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-dowell/) > [“Maybe it came from whacking at two-by-fours and dreaming about perpetual motion. I don't know. All I know is that compared to her, Shelly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendelin-van-draanen/maybe-it-came-from-whacking-at-two-by-fours-and-dreaming-about/) [Wendelin Van Draanen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendelin-van-draanen/) > [Painting' and 'religious experience' are the same thing. It is a question of the perpetual motion of a right idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-nicholson/painting-and-religious-experience-are-the-same-thing-it-is-a-question/) [Ben Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-nicholson/) ## More by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon > [When deeds speak, words are nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/when-deeds-speak-words-are-nothing/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [In any given society the authority of man over man runs in inverse proportion to the intellectual development of that society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/in-any-given-society-the-authority-of-man-over-man-runs-in-inverse/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [Communism is inequality, but not as property is. Property is exploitation of the weak by the strong. Communism is exploitation of the strong by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/communism-is-inequality-but-not-as-property-is-property-is/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [ The faults of which we ask you \[God\] the remittance, it is you who make us commit them; the traps of which we implore… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/the-faults-of-which-we-ask-you-god-the-remittance-it-is-you-who-make/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [The proprietor, producing neither by his own labor nor by his implement, and receiving products in exchange for nothing, is either a parasite or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/the-proprietor-producing-neither-by-his-own-labor-nor-by-his/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [The great are only great because we are on our knees. Let us rise!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/the-great-are-only-great-because-we-are-on-our-knees-let-us-rise/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [The social revolution is seriously compromised if it comes through a political revolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/the-social-revolution-is-seriously-compromised-if-it-comes-through-a/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [Property is impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/property-is-impossible/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [Justice is a faculty that may be developed. This development is what constitutes the education of the human race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/justice-is-a-faculty-that-may-be-developed-this-development-is-what/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [To be governed ... is to be watched, inspected, directed, indoctrinated, numbered, estimated, regulated, commanded, controlled, law-driven, preached at, spied upon, censured, checked, valued,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/to-be-governed-is-to-be-watched-inspected-directed-indoctrinated/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [Communism--the first expression of the social nature--is the first term of social development--the thesis; property, the reverse of communism, is the second term--the antithesis.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/communism-the-first-expression-of-the-social-nature-is-the-first-term/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [Democracy is nothing but the Tyranny of Majorities, the most abominable tyranny of all, for it is not based on the authority of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/democracy-is-nothing-but-the-tyranny-of-majorities-the-most/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [“Of a real, true contract, on whatsoever subject, there is no vestige in Rousseau's book. To give an exact idea of his theory, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/of-a-real-true-contract-on-whatsoever-subject-there-is-no-vestige-in/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [the government can do nothing for you. But you can do everything for yourselves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/the-government-can-do-nothing-for-you-but-you-can-do-everything-for/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [All my economic ideas as developed over twenty-five years can be summed up in the words: agricultural-industrial federation. All my political ideas boil down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/all-my-economic-ideas-as-developed-over-twenty-five-years-can-be/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) [Explore all 57 Pierre-Joseph Proudhon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) ## More Absolutism quotes > [Those who claim absolutism is merely a myth are right that it has been misused simply as a byword for political centralisation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-wilson/those-who-claim-absolutism-is-merely-a-myth-are-right-that-it-has/) Peter Wilson > [In the light of absolute values (religious or ethical) man himself is judged to be limited or imperfect, while he can occasionally accomplish acts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-hulme/in-the-light-of-absolute-values-religious-or-ethical-man-himself-is/) [T. E. Hulme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-hulme/) > [Peace cannot be built on exclusivism, absolutism, and intolerance. But neither can it be built on vague liberal slogans and pious programs gestated in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/peace-cannot-be-built-on-exclusivism-absolutism-and-intolerance-but/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [As Camille Paglia's success has demonstrated, what is most marketable is absolutism and attitude undiluted by thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kaminer/as-camille-paglia-s-success-has-demonstrated-what-is-most-marketable/) [Wendy Kaminer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-kaminer/) > [Absolutism is a guarantee of objectionable morals in the same way that absolutism in government is a guarantee of objectionable government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-briffault/absolutism-is-a-guarantee-of-objectionable-morals-in-the-same-way/) [Robert Briffault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-briffault/) > [The absolutist trumpets his plain vision; the relativist sees only someone who is unaware of his own spectacles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-blackburn/the-absolutist-trumpets-his-plain-vision-the-relativist-sees-only/) [Simon Blackburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-blackburn/) > [“George Bush made a mistake when he referred to the Saddam Hussein regime as 'evil.' Every liberal and leftist knows how to titter at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/george-bush-made-a-mistake-when-he-referred-to-the-saddam-hussein/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“We humans, through old habits, and because of the inherent structure of human knowledge have a tendency to make static, definite, and, in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-korzybski/we-humans-through-old-habits-and-because-of-the-inherent-structure-of/) [Alfred Korzybski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-korzybski/) > [The absolutist takes himself to speak to the ages, with the tongue of angels, but the relativist hears only one version among others, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-blackburn/the-absolutist-takes-himself-to-speak-to-the-ages-with-the-tongue-of/) [Simon Blackburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-blackburn/) > [The saving principles and doctrines of the Church are established, fixed, and unchangeable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-e-faust/the-saving-principles-and-doctrines-of-the-church-are-established/) [James E. Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-e-faust/) > [Moral relativism says morality is relative, not absolute, I want to show moral relativism, in its popular form, is logically incoherent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/moral-relativism-says-morality-is-relative-not-absolute-i-want-to/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [As liberals, men like Richter viewed socialism as the great modern counter-revolution, and believed that the achievement of the socialist goal would lead both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-raico/as-liberals-men-like-richter-viewed-socialism-as-the-great-modern/) [Ralph Raico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-raico/) > [The uniting of Orthodoxy with state absolutism came about on the soil of a non-belief in the Divineness of the earth, in the earthly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-berdyaev/the-uniting-of-orthodoxy-with-state-absolutism-came-about-on-the-soil/) [Nikolai Berdyaev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-berdyaev/) > [“The science of absolutism or liberation (Vitaraag Vignan) begins upon the attainment of samkit (the right belief that 'I am pure Soul').”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/the-science-of-absolutism-or-liberation-vitaraag-vignan-begins-upon/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“In an absolutism, the autocrat is visible and tangible. The real despotism of republican institutions is far deeper, more insidious, because it rests on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-berkman/in-an-absolutism-the-autocrat-is-visible-and-tangible-the-real/) [Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/) [Browse all 84 Absolutism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Does it seem to you impossible to imagine anything more inextricable than the social contract, when you think of the frightful number of relations that it must regulate -- something like squaring the circle, or finding perpetual motion? 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