--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We call it a Society; and go about…" description: "\"We call it a Society; and go about professing openly the totalest separation, isolation. Our life is not a mutual helpfulness; but rather, cloaked unde..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edc/thomas-carlyle-207_competition_we-call-it-a-society-and-go-about-profes_2773020.jpg" --- # We call it a Society; and go about professing openly the… ![“We call it a Society; and go about professing openly the totalest separation, isolation. Our life is not a mutual helpfulness; but rather, cloaked under due laws-of-war, named fair competition and so forth, it is a mutual hostility.” quote by Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edc/thomas-carlyle-207_competition_we-call-it-a-society-and-go-about-profes_2773020.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edc/thomas-carlyle-207_competition_we-call-it-a-society-and-go-about-profes_2773020.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edc/thomas-carlyle-207_competition_we-call-it-a-society-and-go-about-profes_2773020.jpg) > “We call it a Society; and go about professing openly the totalest separation, isolation. Our life is not a mutual helpfulness; but rather, cloaked under due laws-of-war, named fair competition and so forth, it is a mutual hostility.” [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society is built on competition and hidden hostility rather than mutual aid. **In simple terms:** Society thrives on competition, not cooperation. Key Takeaway Recognize underlying societal antagonism. Themes society conflict competition Mood critical analytical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - policy analysis - social activism - community building - history Key Concepts political theory philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What mechanisms foster genuine mutual aid? - How can we transform competitive structures? A Different Perspective May overlook cooperative examples. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Competition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competition/) [Divorce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divorce/) [Helpfulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helpfulness/) [Hostility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hostility/) [Isolation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isolation/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Separation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/separation/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [Our Twentieth Century has proved to be more cruel than preceding centuries, and the first fifty years have not erased all its horrors. 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Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) ## More by Thomas Carlyle > [O thou that pinest in the imprisonment of the Actual, and criest bitterly to the gods for a kingdom wherein to rule and create,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/o-thou-that-pinest-in-the-imprisonment-of-the-actual-and-criest/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Whose school-hours are all the days and nights of our existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/whose-school-hours-are-all-the-days-and-nights-of-our-existence/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [No sadder proof can be given by a man of his own littleness than disbelief in great men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/no-sadder-proof-can-be-given-by-a-man-of-his-own-littleness-than/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Fame, we may understand, is no sure test of merit, but only a probability of such: it is an accident, not a property, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/fame-we-may-understand-is-no-sure-test-of-merit-but-only-a/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The sincere alone can recognize sincerity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-sincere-alone-can-recognize-sincerity/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Be a pattern to others, and then all will go well; for as a whole city is affected by the licentious passions and vices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/be-a-pattern-to-others-and-then-all-will-go-well-for-as-a-whole-city/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The glory of a workman, still more of a master workman, that he does his work well, ought to be his most precious possession;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-glory-of-a-workman-still-more-of-a-master-workman-that-he-does/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [All human things do require to have an ideal in them; to have some soul in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/all-human-things-do-require-to-have-an-ideal-in-them-to-have-some/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Insurrection, never so necessary, is a most sad necessity; and governors who wait for that to instruct them are surely getting into the fatalest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/insurrection-never-so-necessary-is-a-most-sad-necessity-and-governors/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [What is philosophy but a continual battle against custom?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/what-is-philosophy-but-a-continual-battle-against-custom/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Let Time and Chance combine, combine! Let Time and Chance combine! 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