---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In China,” he said, “we can criticize…"
description: "\"“In China,” he said, “we can criticize Darwin, but not the government. In America, you can criticize the government, but not Darwin.”\" — Stephen C. Meyer"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fa/stephen-c-meyer-34460_china_in-china-he-said-we-can-criticize-darwin_2624710.png"
---

#  In China,” he said, “we can criticize Darwin, but not the…

![“In China,” he said, “we can criticize Darwin, but not the government. In America, you can criticize the government, but not Darwin.” quote by Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fa/stephen-c-meyer-34460_china_in-china-he-said-we-can-criticize-darwin_2624710.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fa/stephen-c-meyer-34460_china_in-china-he-said-we-can-criticize-darwin_2624710.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fa/stephen-c-meyer-34460_china_in-china-he-said-we-can-criticize-darwin_2624710.png)

> ““In China,” he said, “we can criticize Darwin, but not the government. In America, you can criticize the government, but not Darwin.””

[Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Highlights differing limits on criticism in China vs. America, pointing out political versus scientific constraints.

**In simple terms:** Criticism limits differ: politics in China, science in America.

Key Takeaway

Recognize cultural constraints on discourse.

Themes

freedom of speech politics science culture critique

Mood

critical insightful provocative

Type

philosophical political

When to use this quote

- public discourse
- academic debate
- media analysis

Key Concepts

Censorship political climate intellectual freedom

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you navigate criticism in your field?
- What limits should be challenged?

A Different Perspective

Political criticism may be suppressed; scientific critique can be controversial.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[China](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/china/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/)

## Related quotes

> [In China we can criticize Darwin but not the government. In America you can criticize the government but not Darwin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-china-we-can-criticize-darwin-but-not-the-government-in-america/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [A Chinese paleontologist lectures around the world saying that recent fossil finds in his country are inconsistent with the Darwinian theory of evolution. His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillip-e-johnson/a-chinese-paleontologist-lectures-around-the-world-saying-that-recent/)

[Phillip E. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillip-e-johnson/)

> [The Negro loves America enough to criticize her fundamentally. Most white Americans simply can't be bothered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-oliver-killens/the-negro-loves-america-enough-to-criticize-her-fundamentally-most/)

[John Oliver Killens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-oliver-killens/)

> [We'll continue to speak out in a respectful way; never challenging somebody's love for America when you criticize their strategies or their point of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/we-ll-continue-to-speak-out-in-a-respectful-way-never-challenging/)

[George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/)

> [“America is the place where you cannot kill your Government by killing the men who conduct it. The only way you can kill government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/america-is-the-place-where-you-cannot-kill-your-government-by-killing-2/)

[Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/)

> [I would like to suggest to you that the extent to which government in America has departed from the original design of in habiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/i-would-like-to-suggest-to-you-that-the-extent-to-which-government-in/)

[Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/)

> [We must have free and fair elections and end the corruption of our government. America will only survive if we do those things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-paulina-luna/we-must-have-free-and-fair-elections-and-end-the-corruption-of-our/)

[Anna Paulina Luna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-paulina-luna/)

> [Free enterprise, individual opportunity, limited government. They made America great; only they can keep America strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reince-priebus/free-enterprise-individual-opportunity-limited-government-they-made/)

[Reince Priebus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reince-priebus/)

> [It is not the policy of the government in America to give aid to works of any kind. They let things take their natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/it-is-not-the-policy-of-the-government-in-america-to-give-aid-to/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [How do you pledge allegiance to a government? That's all America is: a government. There's no such thing as 'we're Americans.' That's just trivial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-stanhope/how-do-you-pledge-allegiance-to-a-government-that-s-all-america-is-a/)

[Doug Stanhope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-stanhope/)

> [It is in the American interest to put an end to Nationhood. That is the goal in global government. America must get out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman-rostow/it-is-in-the-american-interest-to-put-an-end-to-nationhood-that-is/)

Walt Whitman Rostow

> [America's greatness is not found in the size of its government. America's greatness resides in the hearts and the minds of the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perry/america-s-greatness-is-not-found-in-the-size-of-its-government/)

[Rick Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perry/)

> [Despite the never-ending debate on the question of the role of government in America, there's been a strong tradition of protecting our undisputed, important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-mossberg/despite-the-never-ending-debate-on-the-question-of-the-role-of/)

[Walt Mossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-mossberg/)

> [“The ugliest government is the one which is spreading fear to its own people! The finest government is the one which encourages its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/the-ugliest-government-is-the-one-which-is-spreading-fear-to-its-own/)

[Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [“With so many thinkers “spending so much energy fighting over words and ink, we have forgotten to criticize government authority; we have forgotten to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-osnos/with-so-many-thinkers-spending-so-much-energy-fighting-over-words-and/)

[Evan Osnos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-osnos/)

## More by Stephen C. Meyer

> [“If Darwin is right, Agassiz argued, then we should find not just one or a few missing links, but innumerable links shading almost imperceptibly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/if-darwin-is-right-agassiz-argued-then-we-should-find-not-just-one-or/)

[Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/)

> [It would be just like programmers to shorten 'the year 2000 problem' to 'Y2K'- exactly the kind of thinking that created this situation in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/it-would-be-just-like-programmers-to-shorten-the-year-2000-problem-to/)

[Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/)

> [The information contained in an English sentence or computer software does not derive from the chemistry of the ink or the physics of magnetism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/the-information-contained-in-an-english-sentence-or-computer-software/)

[Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/)

> [“For many, his reference to the work of a transcendent mind merely demonstrated that he was unable to abandon an outmoded idealistic approach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/for-many-his-reference-to-the-work-of-a-transcendent-mind-merely/)

[Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/)

> [“What is the great difference,” he wrote, “between supposing that God makes variable species or that he makes laws by which species vary?” A”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/what-is-the-great-difference-he-wrote-between-supposing-that-god/)

[Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/)

> [The fact remains that the materialistic view is a truncated view of reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/the-fact-remains-that-the-materialistic-view-is-a-truncated-view-of/)

[Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/)

> [“Agassiz trained an army of able young naturalists who took his method to other universities, and they in turn passed them on to their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/agassiz-trained-an-army-of-able-young-naturalists-who-took-his-method/)

[Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/)

> [The heart cannot exalt in what the mind rejects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/the-heart-cannot-exalt-in-what-the-mind-rejects/)

[Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/)

> [“Those who rejected it wholesale, as Agassiz did, consigned themselves to increasing irrelevance. AGASSIZ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/those-who-rejected-it-wholesale-as-agassiz-did-consigned-themselves/)

[Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/)

> [ “Darwin’s picture of the history of life “contradict\[ed\] what the animal forms buried in the rocky strata of our earth tell us of their… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/darwin-s-picture-of-the-history-of-life-contradict-ed-what-the-animal/)

[Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/)

> [“Since the most exquisitely delicate structures, as well as embryonic phases of growth of the most perishable nature, have been preserved from very early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/since-the-most-exquisitely-delicate-structures-as-well-as-embryonic/)

[Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/)

> [“As science advanced in the late nineteenth century, it increasingly excluded appeals to divine action or divine ideas as a way of explaining phenomena…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/as-science-advanced-in-the-late-nineteenth-century-it-increasingly/)

[Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/)

> [Everyone has motives. Let's acknowledge that and get on with the interesting part.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/everyone-has-motives-let-s-acknowledge-that-and-get-on-with-the/)

[Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/)

[Explore all 14 Stephen C. Meyer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/)

## More China quotes

> [I don't want to go into space because of war. I think we would if it was triggered. If China said they want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-don-t-want-to-go-into-space-because-of-war-i-think-we-would-if-it/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [ \[The Dalai Lama\] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-told-me-some-years-ago-i-ve-made-every-concession-to/)

[Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/)

> [One of the things the United States does well is building coalitions. What the U.S. knows is that if you don't have a coalition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/one-of-the-things-the-united-states-does-well-is-building-coalitions/)

[Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/)

> [Personally, I prefer contemporary films, but the market calls for more period choices, especially since China opened up a cinema market in Hong Kong.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-yen/personally-i-prefer-contemporary-films-but-the-market-calls-for-more/)

[Donnie Yen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-yen/)

> [There is no precedent of an advanced economy withdrawing from a trade agreement as deep and as complex as the European Union.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-johnson/there-is-no-precedent-of-an-advanced-economy-withdrawing-from-a-trade/)

[Jo Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-johnson/)

> [In China, people are moving from bigger cars to small hatches, and interestingly, the Indian market is graduating to bigger cars and sedans. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winfried-vahland/in-china-people-are-moving-from-bigger-cars-to-small-hatches-and/)

[Winfried Vahland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winfried-vahland/)

> [Broken china lasts longer than unbroken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-renard/broken-china-lasts-longer-than-unbroken/)

[Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/)

> [Language is so specific to art, all the way to the past in China. Previously, people were not allowed to include various regional dialects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jia-zhangke/language-is-so-specific-to-art-all-the-way-to-the-past-in-china/)

[Jia Zhangke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jia-zhangke/)

> [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/)

> [India may be overtaking China as the world's most polluted country. Even now, which country is worse depends on the day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-inskeep/india-may-be-overtaking-china-as-the-world-s-most-polluted-country/)

[Steve Inskeep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-inskeep/)

> [If China someday gains a more fair, just, and accountable system of government, it will be due to the hard work and efforts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/if-china-someday-gains-a-more-fair-just-and-accountable-system-of/)

[Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/)

> [We're always willing to look at ways NAFTA can work better. But it's a fine line between looking at ways to make it work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-harper/we-re-always-willing-to-look-at-ways-nafta-can-work-better-but-it-s-a/)

[Stephen Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-harper/)

> [The situation with Tibet has to change. China is one of the last huge dictatorships, holding on to these colonies, provinces. That has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-yauch/the-situation-with-tibet-has-to-change-china-is-one-of-the-last-huge/)

[Adam Yauch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-yauch/)

> [Put plainly, China seems determined to steal its way up the economic ladder, at our expense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-a-wray/put-plainly-china-seems-determined-to-steal-its-way-up-the-economic/)

[Christopher A. Wray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-a-wray/)

> [The remarkable thing about the Chinese is that they've operated differently than the Russians, the Iranians, and the North Koreans. By and large, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-sanger/the-remarkable-thing-about-the-chinese-is-that-they-ve-operated/)

[David E. Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-sanger/)

[Browse all 3,827 China quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/china/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“In China,” he said, “we can criticize Darwin, but not the government. In America, you can criticize the government, but not Darwin.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Stephen C. Meyer"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/in-china-he-said-we-can-criticize-darwin-but-not-the-government-in/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "China"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/in-china-he-said-we-can-criticize-darwin-but-not-the-government-in/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fa/stephen-c-meyer-34460_china_in-china-he-said-we-can-criticize-darwin_2624710.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fa/stephen-c-meyer-34460_china_in-china-he-said-we-can-criticize-darwin_2624710.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fa/stephen-c-meyer-34460_china_in-china-he-said-we-can-criticize-darwin_2624710.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“In China,” he said, “we can criticize Darwin, but not the government. In America, you can criticize the…” — Stephen C. Meyer",
                "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": "Stephen C. Meyer",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“In China,” he said, “we can...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/in-china-he-said-we-can-criticize-darwin-but-not-the-government-in/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/in-china-he-said-we-can-criticize-darwin-but-not-the-government-in/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
