--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What people don't seem to ever understand…" description: "\"What people don't seem to ever understand is that any infrastructure that exists under your regime, in your current government, will be appropriated an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/531/ted-rall-13770_building_what-people-don-t-seem-to-ever-understan_98692.png" --- # What people don't seem to ever understand is that any… ![“What people don't seem to ever understand is that any infrastructure that exists under your regime, in your current government, will be appropriated and inherited by the next regime. I mean, the KGB came out of the NKVD which came out of the Tsarist version of the same thing. And now, the FSB…” quote by Ted Rall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/531/ted-rall-13770_building_what-people-don-t-seem-to-ever-understan_98692.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/531/ted-rall-13770_building_what-people-don-t-seem-to-ever-understan_98692.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/531/ted-rall-13770_building_what-people-don-t-seem-to-ever-understan_98692.png) > “What people don't seem to ever understand is that any infrastructure that exists under your regime, in your current government, will be appropriated and inherited by the next regime. I mean, the KGB came out of the NKVD which came out of the Tsarist version of the same thing. And now, the FSB operates out of the old KGB building in Moscow. The infrastructure remains exactly the same. There's a little bit of reshuffling of personnel, and that's it. The way to make sure that there's no FSB today would have been for the Tsar to not have built an infrastructure for it in the 1800s.” [Ted Rall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-rall/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Institutions and bureaucratic structures tend to outlive the regimes that create them; new governments inherit and repurpose existing frameworks rather than building entirely new ones. **In simple terms:** Governments inherit old institutions. Key Takeaway State infrastructure is persistent across regimes. Themes political history institutional continuity power dynamics bureaucracy Mood analytical critical Type historical political commentary When to use this quote - Post‑revolutionary state building - policy reform - organizational restructuring Key Concepts path dependence organizational inertia Practical Applications - Plan reforms that work within existing structures. Questions to Reflect On - What mechanisms allow a new regime to truly transform inherited structures? - Can continuity be an advantage for stability? A Different Perspective Radical change can still occur by dismantling or radically reshaping inherited institutions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Russia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/russia/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) ## Related quotes > [My notion of the KGB came from romantic spy stories. 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I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) ## More by Ted Rall > [I was reading through all these NSA programs that Snowden has revealed, and one of the ones that fascinated me was that smart TVs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-rall/i-was-reading-through-all-these-nsa-programs-that-snowden-has/) [Ted Rall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-rall/) > [“What you read at Columbia is Plato's Republic and Homer's Iliad. What you learn at Columbia is that reading isn't education. Education is figuring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-rall/what-you-read-at-columbia-is-plato-s-republic-and-homer-s-iliad-what/) [Ted Rall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-rall/) > [I'm a better editorial cartoonist by default because so many editorial cartoonists out there are so awful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-rall/i-m-a-better-editorial-cartoonist-by-default-because-so-many/) [Ted Rall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-rall/) > [“I suppose I could have been nicer when I was at Columbia. I could have been polite, respectful, turned in my papers on time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-rall/i-suppose-i-could-have-been-nicer-when-i-was-at-columbia-i-could-have/) [Ted Rall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-rall/) > [Imagine foreign troops sitting idly, laughing as hooligans trashed the Smithsonian, stole the gold from Fort Knox and burned down the Department of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-rall/imagine-foreign-troops-sitting-idly-laughing-as-hooligans-trashed-the/) [Ted Rall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-rall/) > [I think Maus I is better than Maus II. The standard here is whether or not it's as good as a great book of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-rall/i-think-maus-i-is-better-than-maus-ii-the-standard-here-is-whether-or/) [Ted Rall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-rall/) > [When you have birds you stare at them a lot and their eyes are recessed on their head. When they look at something they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-rall/when-you-have-birds-you-stare-at-them-a-lot-and-their-eyes-are/) [Ted Rall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-rall/) > [Anyone should be able to read comics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-rall/anyone-should-be-able-to-read-comics/) [Ted Rall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-rall/) > [The best thing about being a cartoonist is to walk into a bar or someone's apartment and they don't know you, but they've taped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-rall/the-best-thing-about-being-a-cartoonist-is-to-walk-into-a-bar-or/) [Ted Rall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-rall/) > [The experts who managed the original Marshall Plan say Afghanistan needs a commitment of at least $5 to $10 billion over 5 to 10…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-rall/the-experts-who-managed-the-original-marshall-plan-say-afghanistan/) [Ted Rall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-rall/) > [Up until 1995, I still had a day job that I hated. I was still personally involved in things in the 90s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-rall/up-until-1995-i-still-had-a-day-job-that-i-hated-i-was-still/) [Ted Rall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-rall/) > [I never consciously do any work directly influenced from any movie, unless I'm doing a parody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-rall/i-never-consciously-do-any-work-directly-influenced-from-any-movie/) [Ted Rall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-rall/) > [I don't think anyone has written a great graphic novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-rall/i-don-t-think-anyone-has-written-a-great-graphic-novel/) [Ted Rall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-rall/) > [I think Dilbert is actually a radical strip.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-rall/i-think-dilbert-is-actually-a-radical-strip/) [Ted Rall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-rall/) > [At this point, American workers are pretty respectful of the bosses they loathe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-rall/at-this-point-american-workers-are-pretty-respectful-of-the-bosses/) [Ted Rall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-rall/) [Explore all 49 Ted Rall quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-rall/) ## More Building quotes > [You, of Canada, are building a magnificent record of achievement. My country rejoices in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/you-of-canada-are-building-a-magnificent-record-of-achievement-my/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [One of the things the United States does well is building coalitions. 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We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I've done so many other projects where you're in a room with a reader and you're acting your lines out: 'We have to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/i-ve-done-so-many-other-projects-where-you-re-in-a-room-with-a-reader/) [Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/) > [Absolutely, you can improve and become better at toughness. It's a talent, but it can be acquired, too. I think of it like building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-harbaugh/absolutely-you-can-improve-and-become-better-at-toughness-it-s-a/) [Jim Harbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-harbaugh/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I'd like to play Ian Paisley, actually. I'd need building up, though he's very frail now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-neeson/i-d-like-to-play-ian-paisley-actually-i-d-need-building-up-though-he/) [Liam Neeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-neeson/) > [Death is but an aspect of life, and the destruction of one material form is but a prelude to building up of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-is-but-an-aspect-of-life-and-the-destruction-of-one-material/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Some architects have a preconceived notion of what a building should be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-w-fentress/some-architects-have-a-preconceived-notion-of-what-a-building-should/) [Curtis W. Fentress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-w-fentress/) > [As for the forces, electromagnetism and gravity we experience in everyday life. But the weak and strong forces are beyond our ordinary experience. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/as-for-the-forces-electromagnetism-and-gravity-we-experience-in/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [I'm 30. I'm about to hit my prime now. I need to act and keep building.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dillian-whyte/i-m-30-i-m-about-to-hit-my-prime-now-i-need-to-act-and-keep-building/) [Dillian Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dillian-whyte/) > [The essential functions of the mind consist in understanding and in inventing, in other words, in building up structures by structuring reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/the-essential-functions-of-the-mind-consist-in-understanding-and-in/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [Practically every time I speak up at a school conference, a political event, or my apartment building association's annual meeting, I'm met with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-druckerman/practically-every-time-i-speak-up-at-a-school-conference-a-political/) [Pamela Druckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-druckerman/) Browse all 5,974 Building quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What people don't seem to ever understand is that any infrastructure that exists under your regime, in your current government, will be appropriated and inherited by the next regime. 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