--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Look at what left-wing movements were…" description: "\"Look at what left-wing movements were like in the 19th century - they were all about progress, the engineering of the world, the reshaping of nature, a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b7/roger-scruton-971_environment_look-at-what-left-wing-movements-were-li_2177132.jpg" --- # Look at what left-wing movements were like in the 19th… ![“Look at what left-wing movements were like in the 19th century - they were all about progress, the engineering of the world, the reshaping of nature, and so on. It's only postwar, really, that people on the left have come to see the environment as a critical issue.” quote by Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b7/roger-scruton-971_environment_look-at-what-left-wing-movements-were-li_2177132.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b7/roger-scruton-971_environment_look-at-what-left-wing-movements-were-li_2177132.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b7/roger-scruton-971_environment_look-at-what-left-wing-movements-were-li_2177132.jpg) > “Look at what left-wing movements were like in the 19th century - they were all about progress, the engineering of the world, the reshaping of nature, and so on. It's only postwar, really, that people on the left have come to see the environment as a critical issue.” [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. In the 19th century leftist groups focused on industrial progress and reshaping nature, while environmental concern only became central after WWII. **In simple terms:** Early left ignored environment; later left prioritizes it. Key Takeaway Recognize how political priorities shift over time. Themes politics environment history ideology progress Mood reflective analytical Type historical political philosophical When to use this quote - policy debates - education curricula - activist strategies - media narratives Key Concepts conservatism industrialization environmentalism Questions to Reflect On - How do historical contexts shape current political agendas? - Can progress be redefined without harming nature? A Different Perspective Environmental urgency may be sidelined by economic growth goals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [19th century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/19th-century/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Left wing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-wing/) [Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look/) [Look Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look-left-1482714/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Nature Postwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-postwar-4686682/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Don't look left nor right and never compete. Never. Watching the other guy is what kills all forms of energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-vreeland/don-t-look-left-nor-right-and-never-compete-never-watching-the-other/) [Diana Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-vreeland/) > [Run, don't look back at what you left in the past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-randy/run-don-t-look-back-at-what-you-left-in-the-past/) [Prince Randy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-randy/) > [Always look at what you have left. Never look at what you have lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-schuller/always-look-at-what-you-have-left-never-look-at-what-you-have-lost/) [Robert H. 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I just virtually slapped you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hey-hey-you-look-right-now-look-left-i-just-virtually-slapped-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If u are in trouble and really wants help Dnt Look left, right or down, Look up to the heavens, the heavens never fail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kgedzah/if-u-are-in-trouble-and-really-wants-help-dnt-look-left-right-or-down/) [Kgedzah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kgedzah/) > [My own view is that left-wing positions largely come about from resentment - I agree with Nietzsche about this - a resentment about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/my-own-view-is-that-left-wing-positions-largely-come-about-from/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [We look to the left and to the right And we need help but nobody's in sight Where is the man that we all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-livingstone/we-look-to-the-left-and-to-the-right-and-we-need-help-but-nobody-s-in/) [Ken Livingstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-livingstone/) > [When you need an answer, look over your left shoulder and ask your death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/when-you-need-an-answer-look-over-your-left-shoulder-and-ask-your/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) ## More by Roger Scruton > [Beauty is vanishing from our world because we live as though it does not matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/beauty-is-vanishing-from-our-world-because-we-live-as-though-it-does/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [“So conceived, the English police force served to emphasize a fundamental truth about the English law, which is that it exists not to control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/so-conceived-the-english-police-force-served-to-emphasize-a/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [My 2018 ended with a hate storm, in response to my appointment as chair of the government's Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/my-2018-ended-with-a-hate-storm-in-response-to-my-appointment-as/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [I've never been an optimist, but that's fine because pessimists have the possibility of being agreeably surprised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/i-ve-never-been-an-optimist-but-that-s-fine-because-pessimists-have/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [Unlike every other product that is now manufactured for the table, wine exists in as many varieties as there are people who produce it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/unlike-every-other-product-that-is-now-manufactured-for-the-table/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [The abstract, unreal freedom of the liberal intellect was really nothing more than childish disobedience, amplified into anarchy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/the-abstract-unreal-freedom-of-the-liberal-intellect-was-really/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [“I think we can all see the force of the idea that there are certain things that cannot be done to human beings –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/i-think-we-can-all-see-the-force-of-the-idea-that-there-are-certain/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [When art becomes merely shock value, our sense of humanity is slowly degraded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/when-art-becomes-merely-shock-value-our-sense-of-humanity-is-slowly/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [“Western democracies did not create the virtue of citizenship; on the contrary, they grew from it. Nothing is more evident in The Federalist than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/western-democracies-did-not-create-the-virtue-of-citizenship-on-the/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [“If one looks back to the French Revolution, one sees just how easy it is for the doctrine of “human rights” to become an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/if-one-looks-back-to-the-french-revolution-one-sees-just-how-easy-it/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [“I say it was immediately apparent, but it was not apparent to the intellectual class, which has remained largely wedded to the post-war consensus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/i-say-it-was-immediately-apparent-but-it-was-not-apparent-to-the/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [Conservatives hold on to things not only because they are attached to them, but also because they do not see the sense in radical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/conservatives-hold-on-to-things-not-only-because-they-are-attached-to/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [“Academic philosophers in the English speaking world still regard philosophy as Locke defined it in the 17th century, as “the handmaiden of the sciences”:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/academic-philosophers-in-the-english-speaking-world-still-regard/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [Delia Smith is, actually, my bete noire. I consider her a most pernicious influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/delia-smith-is-actually-my-bete-noire-i-consider-her-a-most/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [Modern art was born from a desire to destroy kitsch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/modern-art-was-born-from-a-desire-to-destroy-kitsch/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) [Explore all 317 Roger Scruton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) ## More 19th century quotes > [Though my grandmother had picked up modern ideas in America, she still had some conflicting 19th-century Irish notions. 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The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/washington-was-no-politician-as-we-understand-the-word-replied/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [Then years back, when I moved to California, I happened to see a book about fashions of 19th-century Victorian England, only four pages of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/then-years-back-when-i-moved-to-california-i-happened-to-see-a-book/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Like the railroads that brought us together in the 19th century, these trails will bring us together in the 20th and 21st centuries. 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Luddites were those frenzied traditionalists of the early 19th century who toured \[England\] wrecking new weaving machines on the theory that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-michener/luddites-were-those-frenzied-traditionalists-of-the-early-19th/) [James A. 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