--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Society which seeks to eliminate the…" description: "\"“The Society which seeks to eliminate the very possibility of causing offence is already halfway down the road to tyranny.”\" — Simon Young" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4df/simon-young-278450_quote_the-society-which-seeks-to-eliminate-the_1752451.jpg" --- # The Society which seeks to eliminate the very possibility… ![“The Society which seeks to eliminate the very possibility of causing offence is already halfway down the road to tyranny.” quote by Simon Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4df/simon-young-278450_quote_the-society-which-seeks-to-eliminate-the_1752451.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4df/simon-young-278450_quote_the-society-which-seeks-to-eliminate-the_1752451.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4df/simon-young-278450_quote_the-society-which-seeks-to-eliminate-the_1752451.jpg) > ““The Society which seeks to eliminate the very possibility of causing offence is already halfway down the road to tyranny.”” [Simon Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-young/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Eliminating all offense leads toward tyranny, warning against excessive censorship **In simple terms:** Removing all offense can create oppressive control Key Takeaway Guard free expression while respecting dignity Themes politics ethics freedom Mood political philosophical Type Tyranny:1 Road Tyranny:0 Offence Halfway:0 Causing Offence:0 Society Seeks:0 When to use this quote - The claim may overlook cultural nuance in speech regulation Key Concepts censorship social harmony authoritarian risk Questions to Reflect On - cautious - thoughtful A Different Perspective How much offense is acceptable in society?;What safeguards prevent censorship from becoming tyranny? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Causing Offence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causing-offence-1616879/) [Offence Halfway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/offence-halfway-1616878/) [Road Tyranny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/road-tyranny-1032257/) [Society Seeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society-seeks-1616880/) [Tyranny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyranny/) ## Related quotes > [The road to tyranny, we must never forget, begins with the destruction of the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/the-road-to-tyranny-we-must-never-forget-begins-with-the-destruction/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [As man seeks justice in equality, so society seeks order in anarchy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/as-man-seeks-justice-in-equality-so-society-seeks-order-in-anarchy/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [Banks are an almost irresistible attraction for that element of our society which seeks unearned money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-edgar-hoover/banks-are-an-almost-irresistible-attraction-for-that-element-of-our/) [J. Edgar Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-edgar-hoover/) > [Just as Wall Street needs to break the hold of the bonus culture, which drives risk-taking that is rational for individuals but damaging to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-schekman/just-as-wall-street-needs-to-break-the-hold-of-the-bonus-culture/) [Randy Schekman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-schekman/) > [“If you know only one language, you're a prisoner, stuck in the tyranny of that one language.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-cohen/if-you-know-only-one-language-you-re-a-prisoner-stuck-in-the-tyranny/) [Andrew Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-cohen/) > [The terrorist attacks of September 11th and the courageous actions of our armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq remind us that friends of tyranny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-levin/the-terrorist-attacks-of-september-11th-and-the-courageous-actions-of/) [Carl Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-levin/) > [The world is a wonderfully weird place, consensual reality is significantly flawed, no institution can be trusted, certainty is a mirage, security a delusion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-world-is-a-wonderfully-weird-place-consensual-reality-is/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Sometimes labeling is only useful, like with OCD. Once you're labeled you can be treated. On other occasions labeling leads to tyranny, like with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/sometimes-labeling-is-only-useful-like-with-ocd-once-you-re-labeled/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-well-informed-citizenry-is-the-best-defense-against-tyranny/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“...you are strong only as long as you don't deprive people of everything . For a person you've taken everything from is no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/you-are-strong-only-as-long-as-you-don-t-deprive-people-of-everything/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [“If I do not do this thing, then it may go on and on. Nothing of the greater good comes without struggle and sacrifice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-kent/if-i-do-not-do-this-thing-then-it-may-go-on-and-on-nothing-of-the/) [Kathleen Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-kent/) > [Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/single-acts-of-tyranny-may-be-ascribed-to-the-accidental-opinion-of-a/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [There's a dishonest tyranny in the liberal/progressive/socialist agenda that comes down and says 'we are here because we care about you; we want what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-west/there-s-a-dishonest-tyranny-in-the-liberal-progressive-socialist/) [Allen West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-west/) > [When we are capable of living in the moment free from the tyranny of "shoulds," free from the nagging sensation that this moment isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-z-borysenko/when-we-are-capable-of-living-in-the-moment-free-from-the-tyranny-of/) [Joan Z. Borysenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-z-borysenko/) > [There is something more important than any ultimate weapon. That is the ultimate position-the position of total control over Earth that lies somewhere out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-is-something-more-important-than-any-ultimate-weapon-that-is/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) ## More Tyranny quotes > [There is something more important than any ultimate weapon. That is the ultimate position-the position of total control over Earth that lies somewhere out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-is-something-more-important-than-any-ultimate-weapon-that-is/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [When we are capable of living in the moment free from the tyranny of "shoulds," free from the nagging sensation that this moment isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-z-borysenko/when-we-are-capable-of-living-in-the-moment-free-from-the-tyranny-of/) [Joan Z. Borysenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-z-borysenko/) > [There's a dishonest tyranny in the liberal/progressive/socialist agenda that comes down and says 'we are here because we care about you; we want what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-west/there-s-a-dishonest-tyranny-in-the-liberal-progressive-socialist/) [Allen West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-west/) > [Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/single-acts-of-tyranny-may-be-ascribed-to-the-accidental-opinion-of-a/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“If I do not do this thing, then it may go on and on. Nothing of the greater good comes without struggle and sacrifice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-kent/if-i-do-not-do-this-thing-then-it-may-go-on-and-on-nothing-of-the/) [Kathleen Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-kent/) > [“...you are strong only as long as you don't deprive people of everything . For a person you've taken everything from is no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/you-are-strong-only-as-long-as-you-don-t-deprive-people-of-everything/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-well-informed-citizenry-is-the-best-defense-against-tyranny/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Sometimes labeling is only useful, like with OCD. Once you're labeled you can be treated. On other occasions labeling leads to tyranny, like with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/sometimes-labeling-is-only-useful-like-with-ocd-once-you-re-labeled/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [The world is a wonderfully weird place, consensual reality is significantly flawed, no institution can be trusted, certainty is a mirage, security a delusion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-world-is-a-wonderfully-weird-place-consensual-reality-is/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [The terrorist attacks of September 11th and the courageous actions of our armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq remind us that friends of tyranny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-levin/the-terrorist-attacks-of-september-11th-and-the-courageous-actions-of/) [Carl Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-levin/) > [“If you know only one language, you're a prisoner, stuck in the tyranny of that one language.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-cohen/if-you-know-only-one-language-you-re-a-prisoner-stuck-in-the-tyranny/) [Andrew Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-cohen/) > [Just as Wall Street needs to break the hold of the bonus culture, which drives risk-taking that is rational for individuals but damaging to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-schekman/just-as-wall-street-needs-to-break-the-hold-of-the-bonus-culture/) [Randy Schekman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-schekman/) > [The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, selfappointed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/the-accumulation-of-all-powers-legislative-executive-and-judiciary-in/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [When the people are afraid of the government, that's tyranny. But when the government is afraid of the people, that's liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/when-the-people-are-afraid-of-the-government-that-s-tyranny-but-when/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [ “In this confusion we begin to see what lies behind John Paul II's startling warning about democracy "effectively mov\[ing\] towards a form of totalitarianism."… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-cardinal-pell/in-this-confusion-we-begin-to-see-what-lies-behind-john-paul-ii-s/) [George Cardinal Pell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-cardinal-pell/) [Browse all 1,682 Tyranny quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyranny/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The Society which seeks to eliminate the very possibility of causing offence is already halfway down the road to tyranny.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Simon Young" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-young/the-society-which-seeks-to-eliminate-the-very-possibility-of-causing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Tyranny" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-young/the-society-which-seeks-to-eliminate-the-very-possibility-of-causing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4df/simon-young-278450_quote_the-society-which-seeks-to-eliminate-the_1752451.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4df/simon-young-278450_quote_the-society-which-seeks-to-eliminate-the_1752451.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4df/simon-young-278450_quote_the-society-which-seeks-to-eliminate-the_1752451.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The Society which seeks to eliminate the very possibility of causing offence is already halfway down the…” — Simon Young", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Simon Young", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-young/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The Society which seeks to eliminate...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-young/the-society-which-seeks-to-eliminate-the-very-possibility-of-causing/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-young/the-society-which-seeks-to-eliminate-the-very-possibility-of-causing/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```