--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In this century history stopped paying…" description: "\"“In this century history stopped paying attention to the old psychological orientation of reality. I mean, these days, character isn't destiny any more..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/533/salman-rushdie-153_death_in-this-century-history-stopped-paying-a_1036178.jpg" --- # In this century history stopped paying attention to the… ![“In this century history stopped paying attention to the old psychological orientation of reality. I mean, these days, character isn't destiny any more. Economy is destiny. Ideology is destiny. Bombs are destiny. What does a famine, a gas chamber, a grenade care how you lived your life? Crisis…” quote by Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/533/salman-rushdie-153_death_in-this-century-history-stopped-paying-a_1036178.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/533/salman-rushdie-153_death_in-this-century-history-stopped-paying-a_1036178.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/533/salman-rushdie-153_death_in-this-century-history-stopped-paying-a_1036178.jpg) > ““In this century history stopped paying attention to the old psychological orientation of reality. I mean, these days, character isn't destiny any more. Economy is destiny. Ideology is destiny. Bombs are destiny. What does a famine, a gas chamber, a grenade care how you lived your life? Crisis comes, death comes, and your pathetic individual self doesn't have a thing to do with it, only to suffer the effects.”” [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that modern forces—economics, ideology, war—override personal character in shaping destiny, reducing individuals to passive sufferers of large‑scale crises. **In simple terms:** Big forces dominate fate, leaving individuals powerless. Key Takeaway Recognize structural forces, seek collective action. Themes power destiny individualism society crisis Mood somber reflective Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - political activism - community organizing - historical analysis - personal resilience Key Concepts determinism structuralism existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond to systemic forces? - Can individual actions still matter? A Different Perspective It may overstate loss of agency, ignoring personal impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Ideology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideology/) [Life crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-crisis/) [Paying Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paying-attention/) ## Related quotes > [“Study history, Alleluia. In this century history stopped paying attention to the old psychological orientation of reality. I mean, these days, character isn't destiny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/study-history-alleluia-in-this-century-history-stopped-paying/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“reality is perception perception change…reality is fluid so if by reality you mean reliably tangible objects and immutable events then theres no such thing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/reality-is-perception-perception-change-reality-is-fluid-so-if-by/) [dean koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [I think the business of writing a great deal of it is the business of paying attention to your characters, to the world they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-think-the-business-of-writing-a-great-deal-of-it-is-the-business-of/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Mainly, the more faddish and newer stages of life are really just marketing schemes. Tweenhood. The young old. The quarter-life crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/mainly-the-more-faddish-and-newer-stages-of-life-are-really-just/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) > [It's the typical mid-life crisis kind of thing, where you just stop and wonder, 'Should I go back to university and get a law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/it-s-the-typical-mid-life-crisis-kind-of-thing-where-you-just-stop/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [The only time you lose at something is when you don't learn from that experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-norris/the-only-time-you-lose-at-something-is-when-you-don-t-learn-from-that/) [Chuck Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-norris/) > [It was mid-life crisis time and you can't have more of a mid-life crisis than going off on a motorbike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-myers/it-was-mid-life-crisis-time-and-you-can-t-have-more-of-a-mid-life/) [Dave Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-myers/) > [At any decade in your life, our results suggest that there is a 40 to 50 percent chance of having a life crisis. There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-robinson/at-any-decade-in-your-life-our-results-suggest-that-there-is-a-40-to/) [Oliver Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-robinson/) > [In times of life crisis, whether wild fires or smoldering stress, the first thing I do is go back to basics... am I eating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albert/in-times-of-life-crisis-whether-wild-fires-or-smoldering-stress-the/) [Edward Albert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albert/) > [You can't have a mid-life crisis in the airline industry because every day is a crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-kelleher/you-can-t-have-a-mid-life-crisis-in-the-airline-industry-because/) [Herb Kelleher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-kelleher/) > [While it may come as a profound surprise to those of us who are in the throes of an emotional or life crisis, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/while-it-may-come-as-a-profound-surprise-to-those-of-us-who-are-in/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [Through dance, people meet demons, ward off death, shake off sin and evil, come to terms with life crises, mediate paradoxes, resolve conflict, revitalize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lynne-hanna/through-dance-people-meet-demons-ward-off-death-shake-off-sin-and/) [Judith Lynne Hanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lynne-hanna/) > [I don't think the job of the antiracist is to convert the far-out heathen racist, or give them their 'come to Jesus' moment, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/i-don-t-think-the-job-of-the-antiracist-is-to-convert-the-far-out/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [“During life's crisis...try to worry less and smile more. Keep your head up because It will get better...it always does!✌”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-pina/during-life-s-crisis-try-to-worry-less-and-smile-more-keep-your-head/) [Timothy Pina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-pina/) > [What's success anyway? Is success about making the most money? No, money for the most part turns people into jerks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-sacca/what-s-success-anyway-is-success-about-making-the-most-money-no-money/) [Chris Sacca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-sacca/) ## More by Salman Rushdie > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [It's a terrible thing that your life turns into a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/it-s-a-terrible-thing-that-your-life-turns-into-a-good-story/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. A woman's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/sometimes-by-a-woodland-stream-he-watched-the-water-rush-over-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I want to write novels. I want to write stories. I want to do the stuff that I became a writer to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-want-to-write-novels-i-want-to-write-stories-i-want-to-do-the-stuff/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If you want to be a serious writer, then you have to write what there is to write about. 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I remember in 1989, two months before the fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-not-a-prophet-but-i-always-thought-it-was-natural-for/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'd wanted to create a storm so that I could become more famous and richer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-d-wanted-to-create-a-storm-so-that-i-could-become-more-famous-and/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Who what am I? My answer: I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/who-what-am-i-my-answer-i-am-the-sum-total-of-everything-that-went/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“...proving once again that there was no escape from recurrence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/proving-once-again-that-there-was-no-escape-from-recurrence/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“information, in a stream-of-consciousness soliloquy that revealed the extent to which he had internalised the adversarial fragmentation of American culture and made it a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/information-in-a-stream-of-consciousness-soliloquy-that-revealed-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [A little bit of one story joins onto an idea from another, and hey presto, . . . not old tales but new ones.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/a-little-bit-of-one-story-joins-onto-an-idea-from-another-and-hey/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm a novelist. Fortunately I don't have to rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-a-novelist-fortunately-i-don-t-have-to-rule-the-world/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The First Amendment defends all forms of speech including hate speech, which is why groups like Ku Klux Klan are allowed to utter their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-first-amendment-defends-all-forms-of-speech-including-hate-speech/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) [Explore all 1,087 Salman Rushdie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. 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Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. 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