--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...History shows that ... (people) can be…" description: "\"...History shows that ... (people) can be deflected from their natural tendencies by artful propaganda, bogus crises, or other political trickery.\" — R..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b2/robert-higgs-12637_anti-war_history-shows-that-people-can-be-deflect_2167224.jpg" --- # ...History shows that ... (people) can be deflected from… ![“...History shows that ... (people) can be deflected from their natural tendencies by artful propaganda, bogus crises, or other political trickery.” quote by Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b2/robert-higgs-12637_anti-war_history-shows-that-people-can-be-deflect_2167224.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b2/robert-higgs-12637_anti-war_history-shows-that-people-can-be-deflect_2167224.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b2/robert-higgs-12637_anti-war_history-shows-that-people-can-be-deflect_2167224.jpg) > “...History shows that ... (people) can be deflected from their natural tendencies by artful propaganda, bogus crises, or other political trickery.” [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People can be diverted from natural inclinations by propaganda and crises. **In simple terms:** Propaganda and crises can deflect natural tendencies. Key Takeaway Stay critical and seek truth. Themes propaganda psychology political manipulation Mood skeptical alert Type analytical educational When to use this quote - media literacy - critical thinking - policy analysis - public education Key Concepts Cognitive bias information warfare Questions to Reflect On - What signs indicate manipulation? - How can societies build resilience? A Different Perspective Overcoming entrenched narratives is difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anti war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anti-war/) [Antiwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antiwar/) [Crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crisis/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Propaganda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/propaganda/) [Trickery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trickery/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [A Warrior of Light never resorts to trickery, but he knows how to distract his opponent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/a-warrior-of-light-never-resorts-to-trickery-but-he-knows-how-to/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Through ignorance, through faith, through intelligence, through trickery and cunning, through illumination, the reader rewrites the text with the same words of the original…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/through-ignorance-through-faith-through-intelligence-through-trickery/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [In the struggle for supremacy the various political parties outdo each other in trickery, deceit, cunning, and shady machinations, confident that the one who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/in-the-struggle-for-supremacy-the-various-political-parties-outdo/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Winterson has her own unmistakeable voice, tuned to express her obsessional preoccupation with sexual passion raised to the power of revealed religion. (...) The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-glendinning/winterson-has-her-own-unmistakeable-voice-tuned-to-express-her/) [Victoria Glendinning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-glendinning/) > [Riding upon the back of a waterhorse - what mortal had ever stayed in such a seat for so long? On a horse made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecilia-dart-thornton/riding-upon-the-back-of-a-waterhorse-what-mortal-had-ever-stayed-in/) [Cecilia Dart-Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecilia-dart-thornton/) > [Good advertising should give the reader essential facts about the product or company advertised and should do so engagingly without trickery or hogwash.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-burnett/good-advertising-should-give-the-reader-essential-facts-about-the/) [Leo Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-burnett/) > [The affairs of the world are no more than so much trickery, and a man who toils for money or honour or whatever else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-affairs-of-the-world-are-no-more-than-so-much-trickery-and-a-man/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Lobbying is the world's second - oldest profession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-press/lobbying-is-the-world-s-second-oldest-profession/) [Bill Press](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-press/) > [Think hard about the reasons for believing and not believing, what your religion teaches you and demands so inexorably that you believe. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-meslier/think-hard-about-the-reasons-for-believing-and-not-believing-what/) [Jean Meslier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-meslier/) > [Fairness means not to use fraud and trickery in the exchange of commodities and services and the exchange of feelings...Exploitation and manipulation produce boredom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/fairness-means-not-to-use-fraud-and-trickery-in-the-exchange-of/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [The craftiest trickery are too short and ragged a cloak to cover a bad heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-kaspar-lavater/the-craftiest-trickery-are-too-short-and-ragged-a-cloak-to-cover-a/) [Johann Kaspar Lavater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-kaspar-lavater/) > [“Those who don't feel this Love pulling them like a river, those who don't drink dawn like a cup of spring water or take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/those-who-don-t-feel-this-love-pulling-them-like-a-river-those-who/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [It is human nature to want to believe in the wizardry of the magician--but also to turn against him and to scorn him the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/it-is-human-nature-to-want-to-believe-in-the-wizardry-of-the-magician/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [Exploitation and manipulation produce boredom and triviality; they cripple man, and all factors that make man into a psychic cripple turn him also into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/exploitation-and-manipulation-produce-boredom-and-triviality-they/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [The magic of drama is infinitely more powerful than the magic of trickery. It is as available to the conjurer as it is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milbourne-christopher/the-magic-of-drama-is-infinitely-more-powerful-than-the-magic-of/) Milbourne Christopher ## More by Robert Higgs > [Recipients of transfers set a bad example for others, including their children, other relatives, and friends, who see that one can receive goods, services,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/recipients-of-transfers-set-a-bad-example-for-others-including-their/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [In debates between anarchists and statists, the burden of proof clearly should rest on those who place their trust in the state. Anarchy's mayhem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/in-debates-between-anarchists-and-statists-the-burden-of-proof/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [“Anarchists did not try to carry out genocide against the Armenians in Turkey; they did not deliberately starve millions of Ukrainians; they did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/anarchists-did-not-try-to-carry-out-genocide-against-the-armenians-in/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [We need to have a modicum of faith in people's common sense, creativity and will to survive and prosper even in the face of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/we-need-to-have-a-modicum-of-faith-in-people-s-common-sense/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [To continue on the road we Americans have traveled for the past century is ultimately to deliver ourselves completely into the hands of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/to-continue-on-the-road-we-americans-have-traveled-for-the-past/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [Inflation is not a benign element in the economy's operation. It is, as it has always been, the most dangerous and destructive form of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/inflation-is-not-a-benign-element-in-the-economy-s-operation-it-is-as/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [Until the 1930s, the Constitution served as a major constraint on federal economic interventionism. The government's powers were understood to be just as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/until-the-1930s-the-constitution-served-as-a-major-constraint-on/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [No doubt, anarchy, once established, might not last forever. But if your house is on fire, the sensible course of action is to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/no-doubt-anarchy-once-established-might-not-last-forever-but-if-your/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [By adopting programs to distribute substantial amounts of income, a nation guarantees that its government will become more powerful and invasive in other ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/by-adopting-programs-to-distribute-substantial-amounts-of-income-a/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [All nonstate threats to life, liberty, and property appear to be relatively petty and therefore can be dealt with. Only states can pose truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/all-nonstate-threats-to-life-liberty-and-property-appear-to-be/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [This is the true lesson of our history: war, preparation for war, and foreign military interventions have served for the most part not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/this-is-the-true-lesson-of-our-history-war-preparation-for-war-and/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [Liberty in the United States will never be reestablished so long as elites and masses alike look to the president to perform supernatural feats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/liberty-in-the-united-states-will-never-be-reestablished-so-long-as/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [The beginning of political wisdom is the realization that despite everything you’ve always been taught, the government is not really on your side; indeed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/the-beginning-of-political-wisdom-is-the-realization-that-despite/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [“When the contentious questions are mainly economic (put aside such inflammatory but mainly noneconomic matters as capital punishment or abortion) they tend to fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/when-the-contentious-questions-are-mainly-economic-put-aside-such/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [For members of the political class, the crucial question is always: how can we push out the frontier, how can we augment the government's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/for-members-of-the-political-class-the-crucial-question-is-always-how/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) [Explore all 54 Robert Higgs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) ## More Anti war quotes > [We know the candidate Barack Obama, what he was like - the anti-war government nig... America was a source for division around the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/we-know-the-candidate-barack-obama-what-he-was-like-the-anti-war/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [In the eyes of empire builders men are not men but instruments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/in-the-eyes-of-empire-builders-men-are-not-men-but-instruments/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [I was involved in the anti-war movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-was-involved-in-the-anti-war-movement/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [My first wish is to see this plague of mankind banished from the earth, and the sons and daughters of this world employed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/my-first-wish-is-to-see-this-plague-of-mankind-banished-from-the/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [One reason the United States finds itself at the edge of a foreign policy disaster is its underinformed citizenry, a key weakness in democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-halper/one-reason-the-united-states-finds-itself-at-the-edge-of-a-foreign/) Stefan Halper > [A good soldier is a blind, heartless, soulless, murderous machine. He is not a man. His is not a brute, for brutes kill only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/a-good-soldier-is-a-blind-heartless-soulless-murderous-machine-he-is/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [The moral and constitutional obligations of our representatives in Washington are to protect our liberty, not coddle the world, precipitating no-win wars, while bringing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/the-moral-and-constitutional-obligations-of-our-representatives-in/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [The way I'm going now is to focus on peace, to create peace. As Sister Corita said, "I don't go to anti-war rallies. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-hong-kingston/the-way-i-m-going-now-is-to-focus-on-peace-to-create-peace-as-sister/) [Maxine Hong Kingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-hong-kingston/) > [Here's the thing. Just because you're pro-troops doesn't mean you're pro-war. And just because you're anti-war doesn't mean you're anti-troops. Just because you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-keith/here-s-the-thing-just-because-you-re-pro-troops-doesn-t-mean-you-re/) [Toby Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-keith/) > [The worst evils which mankind has ever had to endure were inflicted by bad governments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-worst-evils-which-mankind-has-ever-had-to-endure-were-inflicted/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/repetition-does-not-transform-a-lie-into-a-truth/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [You cannot be on one hand dedicated to peace and on the other dedicated to violence. Those two things are irreconcilable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/you-cannot-be-on-one-hand-dedicated-to-peace-and-on-the-other/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [Free nations don't develop weapons of mass destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/free-nations-don-t-develop-weapons-of-mass-destruction/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [...Uncalled-for aggression arouses the hatred of the civilian population...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/uncalled-for-aggression-arouses-the-hatred-of-the-civilian-population/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [Once conscription was introduced during the First World War, and once Britain's wars ceased being confined to the empire or to continental Europe and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-colley/once-conscription-was-introduced-during-the-first-world-war-and-once/) [Linda Colley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-colley/) [Browse all 486 Anti war quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anti-war/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "...History shows that ... 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