--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think there's great potential for…" description: "\"I think there's great potential for autonomy, but we have to remember that we live in a world where people may have free will but have not invented the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a1/thomas-frank-4078_autonomy_i-think-there-s-great-potential-for-auto_1635875.png" --- # I think there's great potential for autonomy, but we have… ![“I think there's great potential for autonomy, but we have to remember that we live in a world where people may have free will but have not invented their circumstances.” quote by Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a1/thomas-frank-4078_autonomy_i-think-there-s-great-potential-for-auto_1635875.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a1/thomas-frank-4078_autonomy_i-think-there-s-great-potential-for-auto_1635875.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a1/thomas-frank-4078_autonomy_i-think-there-s-great-potential-for-auto_1635875.png) > “I think there's great potential for autonomy, but we have to remember that we live in a world where people may have free will but have not invented their circumstances.” [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights tension between human free will and the constraints of societal structures. **In simple terms:** People can choose, but circumstances limit them. Key Takeaway Recognize limits of autonomy. Themes freedom determinism social critique Mood critical thoughtful Type political philosophical When to use this quote - policy making - education reform - career planning Key Concepts political philosophy economic inequality Questions to Reflect On - What structures most restrict personal freedom? - Can autonomy be expanded through policy? A Different Perspective Free will is often overstated in political discourse. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Autonomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autonomy/) [Autonomy Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autonomy-remember-525044/) [Circumstances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circumstances/) [Free will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-will/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Great Potential](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-potential-248991/) [Invented Circumstances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invented-circumstances-525045/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Potential Autonomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/potential-autonomy-525043/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Everyone has the potential to be great, because everyone has the potential to serve." Martin Luther King”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-hofmann/everyone-has-the-potential-to-be-great-because-everyone-has-the/) [Margaret Hofmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-hofmann/) > [“Being innovative is to allow yourself to expose your mind to something great that has potential to change lives and the world positively and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ifeanyi-enoch-onuoha/being-innovative-is-to-allow-yourself-to-expose-your-mind-to/) [IFEANYI ENOCH ONUOHA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ifeanyi-enoch-onuoha/) > [There is great potential to use computer vision technology in a constructive and benevolent way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fei-fei-li/there-is-great-potential-to-use-computer-vision-technology-in-a/) [Fei-Fei Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fei-fei-li/) > [Alaska has great potential for new oil and gas development.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-murkowski/alaska-has-great-potential-for-new-oil-and-gas-development/) [Frank Murkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-murkowski/) > [Everyone was telling me you have this great potential and you can be on top. I didn't believe that, but everyone was just telling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabby-douglas/everyone-was-telling-me-you-have-this-great-potential-and-you-can-be/) [Gabby Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabby-douglas/) > [We are a country with great potential. We have the political will to make deep changes in a just and equitable way, to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-papandreou/we-are-a-country-with-great-potential-we-have-the-political-will-to/) [George Papandreou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-papandreou/) > [This moment is precious and full of great potential: all we have to do is figure out the little changes that will make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-oz/this-moment-is-precious-and-full-of-great-potential-all-we-have-to-do/) [Daphne Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-oz/) > [I joined RB because it is an exciting club with great potential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naby-keita/i-joined-rb-because-it-is-an-exciting-club-with-great-potential/) [Naby Keita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naby-keita/) > [The human race is a remarkable creature, one with great potential, and I hope that 'Star Trek' has helped to show us what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-roddenberry/the-human-race-is-a-remarkable-creature-one-with-great-potential-and/) [Gene Roddenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-roddenberry/) > [I've always tried to make the strip animated, even when the characters aren't moving, with expressions or perspectives or some sort of exaggeration. There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/i-ve-always-tried-to-make-the-strip-animated-even-when-the-characters/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [Forensic science offers great potential, as it draws on almost every discipline and, in doing so, creates widespread opportunity for innovation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-walport/forensic-science-offers-great-potential-as-it-draws-on-almost-every/) [Mark Walport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-walport/) > [There is an enormous amount to be learned about the sea; like most wildernesses, it has great potential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/there-is-an-enormous-amount-to-be-learned-about-the-sea-like-most/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [In order to do something you've never done, you've got to become someone you've never been. I think that all of us have great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-brown/in-order-to-do-something-you-ve-never-done-you-ve-got-to-become/) [Les Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-brown/) > [Children's books have great potential to reveal new possibilities to readers, because the intended audience is at an age of genuine learning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-shraya/children-s-books-have-great-potential-to-reveal-new-possibilities-to/) [Vivek Shraya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-shraya/) > [I've never been in the position where that conversation is a serious conversation before the movie even comes out. On one side of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-packer/i-ve-never-been-in-the-position-where-that-conversation-is-a-serious/) [Will Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-packer/) ## More by Thomas Frank > [I was in a bad mood when I wrote that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/i-was-in-a-bad-mood-when-i-wrote-that/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [“above all, intellectual. Anti-intellectualism is one of the grand unifying themes of the backlash, the mutant strain of class war that underpins so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/above-all-intellectual-anti-intellectualism-is-one-of-the-grand/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [The only truly individualistic health-care choice - where you receive care that is unpolluted by anyone else's funds - is to forgo insurance altogether,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/the-only-truly-individualistic-health-care-choice-where-you-receive/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [Conservatism is not a doctrine of contentment. Not a doctrine for the satisfied and the smug. It's a politics that's at war with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/conservatism-is-not-a-doctrine-of-contentment-not-a-doctrine-for-the/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [A president aiming for 'Great' or 'Near Great' status must do more. He must give lots of interviews, make records accessible, and heap the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/a-president-aiming-for-great-or-near-great-status-must-do-more-he/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [“Innovation liberalism is "a liberalism of the rich," to use the straightforward phrase of local labor leader Harris Gruman. This doctrine has no patience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/innovation-liberalism-is-a-liberalism-of-the-rich-to-use-the/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [Media bias has been a favorite theme of the Right for decades, of course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/media-bias-has-been-a-favorite-theme-of-the-right-for-decades-of/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [Presidential legacies are valuable things, too valuable to be left up to historians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/presidential-legacies-are-valuable-things-too-valuable-to-be-left-up/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [A lot of populists after populism died just became socialists. At the beginning of the 20th century, socialism looked like it was going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/a-lot-of-populists-after-populism-died-just-became-socialists-at-the/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [“And so the catastrophe of 1929–33 did to the certainties of laissez-faire economics what science did to nineteenth-century religion and what the slaughter of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/and-so-the-catastrophe-of-1929-33-did-to-the-certainties-of-laissez/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [Vibrancy is so universally desirable, so totemic in its powers, that even though we aren't sure what the word means, we know the quality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/vibrancy-is-so-universally-desirable-so-totemic-in-its-powers-that/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [Under the administration of George W. Bush, you will recall, federal spending grew pretty significantly. At the same time, the number of people directly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/under-the-administration-of-george-w-bush-you-will-recall-federal/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [Massive inequality, we have learned, isn't the best way to run an economy after all. And when you think about it, it's also profoundly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/massive-inequality-we-have-learned-isn-t-the-best-way-to-run-an/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [Governing was always difficult for conservatives, but as they return to the opposition, they are rediscovering their skill at blame evasion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/governing-was-always-difficult-for-conservatives-but-as-they-return/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [Back in the days when the market was a kind of secular god and all the world thrilled to behold the amazing powers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/back-in-the-days-when-the-market-was-a-kind-of-secular-god-and-all/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) [Explore all 116 Thomas Frank quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) ## More Autonomy quotes > [I don't want to be famous famous. I'm happy on the second tier, where I have autonomy on a professional level but I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-reece/i-don-t-want-to-be-famous-famous-i-m-happy-on-the-second-tier-where-i/) [Gabrielle Reece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-reece/) > [“The idea of autonomy denies that we are born into a world that existed prior to us. It posits an essential aloneness; an autonomous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-b-crawford/the-idea-of-autonomy-denies-that-we-are-born-into-a-world-that/) [Matthew B. Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-b-crawford/) > [It’s hard to feel attracted to someone who has abandoned her sense of autonomy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/it-s-hard-to-feel-attracted-to-someone-who-has-abandoned-her-sense-of/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [The first step toward maintaining autonomy in any programmed environment is to be aware that there's programming going on. It's as simple as understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/the-first-step-toward-maintaining-autonomy-in-any-programmed/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [Autonomy is impossible as long as one is driven by anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/autonomy-is-impossible-as-long-as-one-is-driven-by-anything/) [Gabor Mate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“Father had stretched out his long legs and was tilting back in his chair. Mother sat with her knees crossed, in blue slacks, smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/father-had-stretched-out-his-long-legs-and-was-tilting-back-in-his/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [Throughout the last century there were multiple attempts at giving Afghan women more autonomy, to change marriage laws, to abolish the practice of bride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/throughout-the-last-century-there-were-multiple-attempts-at-giving/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [We could encourage the best qualities of youthfulness - curiosity, adventure, resilience, the capacity for surprising insight simply by being more flexible about time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/we-could-encourage-the-best-qualities-of-youthfulness-curiosity/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [“She isn't anybody's,' Rook said darkly. 'Son. she's not yours, either," Sarah Fleet said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaida-jones/she-isn-t-anybody-s-rook-said-darkly-son-she-s-not-yours-either-sarah/) [Jaida Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaida-jones/) > [The Palestinian Arabs will have their autonomy, we will have our security. We shall live together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/menachem-begin/the-palestinian-arabs-will-have-their-autonomy-we-will-have-our/) [Menachem Begin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/menachem-begin/) > [Autonomy means women defining themselves and the values by which they will live, and beginning to think of institutional arrangements which will order their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/autonomy-means-women-defining-themselves-and-the-values-by-which-they/) [Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/) > [“Autonomous people assert themselves against the status quo. They don't accept the prevailing opinion just because it's the one given to them. Nothing creative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-brito/autonomous-people-assert-themselves-against-the-status-quo-they-don-t/) [Maria Brito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-brito/) > [Black people cannot and will not become integrated into American society on any terms but those of self-determination and autonomy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/black-people-cannot-and-will-not-become-integrated-into-american/) [Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/) > [The civil magistrate cannot function without some ethical guidance, without some standard of good and evil. If that standard is not to be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-civil-magistrate-cannot-function-without-some-ethical-guidance/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Who hath desires must ever fearful be; Who lives in fear cannot be counted free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burton/who-hath-desires-must-ever-fearful-be-who-lives-in-fear-cannot-be/) [Robert Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burton/) [Browse all 418 Autonomy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autonomy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think there's great potential for autonomy, but we have to remember that we live in a world where people may have free will but have not invented their circumstances.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Frank" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/i-think-there-s-great-potential-for-autonomy-but-we-have-to-remember/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Autonomy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/i-think-there-s-great-potential-for-autonomy-but-we-have-to-remember/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a1/thomas-frank-4078_autonomy_i-think-there-s-great-potential-for-auto_1635875.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a1/thomas-frank-4078_autonomy_i-think-there-s-great-potential-for-auto_1635875.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a1/thomas-frank-4078_autonomy_i-think-there-s-great-potential-for-auto_1635875.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think there's great potential for autonomy, but we have to remember that we live in a world where people…” — Thomas Frank", "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": "Thomas Frank", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think there's great potential for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/i-think-there-s-great-potential-for-autonomy-but-we-have-to-remember/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/i-think-there-s-great-potential-for-autonomy-but-we-have-to-remember/#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 } } ] } ```