--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Concentrated power has always been the…" description: "\"Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty.\" — Ronald Reagan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/ronald-reagan-119_enemy_concentrated-power-has-always-been-the-e_1792587.jpg" --- # Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty. ![“Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty.” quote by Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/ronald-reagan-119_enemy_concentrated-power-has-always-been-the-e_1792587.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/ronald-reagan-119_enemy_concentrated-power-has-always-been-the-e_1792587.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/ronald-reagan-119_enemy_concentrated-power-has-always-been-the-e_1792587.jpg) > “Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty.” [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Concentrated power threatens freedom; power should be dispersed to protect liberty. **In simple terms:** Power concentrated harms liberty. Key Takeaway Distribute power to safeguard freedom. Themes politics freedom power dynamics Mood serious determined Type political philosophical When to use this quote - government policy - activism - community organizing Key Concepts Checks and balances decentralization Questions to Reflect On - How can citizens prevent power concentration? - What structures best protect liberty? A Different Perspective Power can be abused even when dispersed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Concentrated Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concentrated-power-267277/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Enemy Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy-liberty-632794/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Power Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-enemy-1958603/) ## Related quotes > [Our Founding Fathers well understood that concentrated power is the enemy of liberty and the rights of man. They knew that the American experiment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/our-founding-fathers-well-understood-that-concentrated-power-is-the/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty. -Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/call-of-duty/concentrated-power-has-always-been-the-enemy-of-liberty-ronald-reagan/) [Call Of Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/call-of-duty/) > [Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty. Democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/concentrated-power-has-always-been-the-enemy-of-liberty-democracy-is/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Truth is always the enemy of power. And power the enemy of truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/truth-is-always-the-enemy-of-power-and-power-the-enemy-of-truth/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/power-is-not-only-what-you-have-but-what-the-enemy-thinks-you-have/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Do not underestimate the power of an enemy, no matter how great or small, to rise against you another day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/attila-the-hun/do-not-underestimate-the-power-of-an-enemy-no-matter-how-great-or/) [Attila the Hun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/attila-the-hun/) > [“Remember that power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/remember-that-power-is-not-only-what-you-have-but-what-the-enemy/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [The Church is the handmaid of tyranny and the steady enemy of liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/the-church-is-the-handmaid-of-tyranny-and-the-steady-enemy-of-liberty/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [Christianity is the enemy of liberty and civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-bebel/christianity-is-the-enemy-of-liberty-and-civilization/) [August Bebel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-bebel/) > [Christianity is the enemy of liberty and civilization. It has kept mankind in slavery and oppression. The Church and the State have always fraternally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-bebel/christianity-is-the-enemy-of-liberty-and-civilization-it-has-kept/) [August Bebel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-bebel/) > [In France, religion had been considered the enemy of liberty, but in America, as George Washington expressed it, religion and morality were the 'twin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-james-kennedy/in-france-religion-had-been-considered-the-enemy-of-liberty-but-in/) [D. James Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-james-kennedy/) > [There is no limit to the power of the human mind. The more concentrated it is, the more power is brought to bear on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/there-is-no-limit-to-the-power-of-the-human-mind-the-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good intentions of those who create it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/concentrated-power-is-not-rendered-harmless-by-the-good-intentions-of/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [From the aspect of energy, renewed by radio-active phenomena, material corpuscles may now be treated as transient reservoirs of concentrated power. Though never found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/from-the-aspect-of-energy-renewed-by-radio-active-phenomena-material/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [From the weak nations' point of view, it is better if there are many powerful countries then if there are just a few. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-galeano/from-the-weak-nations-point-of-view-it-is-better-if-there-are-many/) [Eduardo Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-galeano/) ## More by Ronald Reagan > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [I've long believed one of the mainsprings of our own liberty has been the widespread ownership of property among our people and the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-long-believed-one-of-the-mainsprings-of-our-own-liberty-has-been/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [You know, by the time you reach my age, you've made plenty of mistakes if you've lived your life properly. So you learn. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/you-know-by-the-time-you-reach-my-age-you-ve-made-plenty-of-mistakes/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Yes, across Europe, this wall will fall. For it cannot withstand faith; it cannot withstand truth. The wall cannot withstand freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/yes-across-europe-this-wall-will-fall-for-it-cannot-withstand-faith/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Simple fairness dictates that government must not raise taxes on families struggling to pay their bills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/simple-fairness-dictates-that-government-must-not-raise-taxes-on/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The time has come to turn to God and reassert our trust in Him for the healing of America - our country is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/the-time-has-come-to-turn-to-god-and-reassert-our-trust-in-him-for/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Professional politicians like to talk about the value of experience in government. Nuts! The only experience you gain in politics is how to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/professional-politicians-like-to-talk-about-the-value-of-experience/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The WPA was one of the most productive elements of FDR's alphabet soup of agencies because it put people to work building roads, bridges,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/the-wpa-was-one-of-the-most-productive-elements-of-fdr-s-alphabet/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Where there's liberty, art succeeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/where-there-s-liberty-art-succeeds/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Since I came to the White House, I got two hearing aids, a colon operation, skin cancer, a prostate operation, and I was shot.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/since-i-came-to-the-white-house-i-got-two-hearing-aids-a-colon/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [A moment I've been dreading. George brought his ne're-do-well son around this morning and asked me to find the kid a job. Not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/a-moment-i-ve-been-dreading-george-brought-his-ne-re-do-well-son/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [On Father's Day, we pay tribute to all in our society who have taken on the responsibilitie s and joys of fatherhood. Whether our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/on-father-s-day-we-pay-tribute-to-all-in-our-society-who-have-taken/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don't care who gets the credit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/there-is-no-limit-to-the-amount-of-good-you-can-do-if-you-don-t-care/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [It's not that liberals aren't smart, it's just that so much of what they know isn't so](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/it-s-not-that-liberals-aren-t-smart-it-s-just-that-so-much-of-what/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Love your country, not for her power or wealth, but for her selflessness and her idealism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/love-your-country-not-for-her-power-or-wealth-but-for-her/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) [Explore all 1,244 Ronald Reagan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) ## More Enemy quotes > [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? 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Prearranged surprises are rare and difficult because in order to plan one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/the-surprise-of-an-army-is-now-next-to-an-impossibility-prearranged/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) > [“Never let your Enemies become your Advocates.” by A. K. Hasan”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-k-hasan/never-let-your-enemies-become-your-advocates-by-a-k-hasan/) [A.K. Hasan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-k-hasan/) > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [Pain held no terror for him. Pain was, if not friend, then family, something he had grown up with in his crèche, learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/pain-held-no-terror-for-him-pain-was-if-not-friend-then-family/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [To achieve victory we must mass our forces at the hub of all power & movement. The enemy's 'Center of Gravity'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-achieve-victory-we-must-mass-our-forces-at-the-hub-of-all-power/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't see why we and the Chinese should have to be enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/i-don-t-see-why-we-and-the-chinese-should-have-to-be-enemies/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/the-invention-of-gunpowder-and-the-constant-improvement-of-firearms/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Perfection is the enemy of greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/perfection-is-the-enemy-of-greatness/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [In this business, you find the enemy, then go after and destroy him. 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