--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Liberalism is totalitarianism with a…" description: "\"Liberalism is totalitarianism with a human face.\" — Thomas Sowell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0a/thomas-sowell-247_liberalism_liberalism-is-totalitarianism-with-a-hum_1501602.jpg" --- # Liberalism is totalitarianism with a human face. ![“Liberalism is totalitarianism with a human face.” quote by Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0a/thomas-sowell-247_liberalism_liberalism-is-totalitarianism-with-a-hum_1501602.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0a/thomas-sowell-247_liberalism_liberalism-is-totalitarianism-with-a-hum_1501602.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0a/thomas-sowell-247_liberalism_liberalism-is-totalitarianism-with-a-hum_1501602.jpg) > “Liberalism is totalitarianism with a human face.” [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Liberalism masks authoritarian control with humane rhetoric, concealing power dynamics. **In simple terms:** Liberalism can hide control. Key Takeaway Question political narratives. Themes politics ideology power Mood critical analytical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - policy analysis - public discourse - education Key Concepts authoritarianism humanistic veneer Questions to Reflect On - How to distinguish genuine compassion? - What safeguards prevent abuse? A Different Perspective Not all liberal policies are oppressive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Human face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-face/) [Liberalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberalism/) [Liberalism Totalitarianism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberalism-totalitarianism-5506147/) [Totalitarianism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/totalitarianism/) [Totalitarianism Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/totalitarianism-human-3577039/) ## Related quotes > [This is naturally the most important thing, the dark traces left by the era of totalitarianism in the human mind, where is - are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-woodruff/this-is-naturally-the-most-important-thing-the-dark-traces-left-by/) [Judy Woodruff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-woodruff/) > [Peter Beinart excoriates the doughface liberals who during the Cold War put anti-imperialism before anti-totalitarianism and demanded total moral purity on the part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-lowry/peter-beinart-excoriates-the-doughface-liberals-who-during-the-cold/) [Rich Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-lowry/) > [I'm a fuzzy-headed warm-hearted liberal, and I think fuzzy-headed warm-hearted liberalism is an ideological stance that needs defending-if necessary, with a hob-nailed boot-kick to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/i-m-a-fuzzy-headed-warm-hearted-liberal-and-i-think-fuzzy-headed-warm/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [As long as human beings are imperfect, there will always be arguments for extending the power of government to deal with these imperfections. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/as-long-as-human-beings-are-imperfect-there-will-always-be-arguments/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The greatest danger to the liberal vision are facts about the consequences of liberalism itself and the laws, policies, and ways of life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-greatest-danger-to-the-liberal-vision-are-facts-about-the/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Someone once said that a fool can put on his coat better than a wise man can put it on for him. The implications…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/someone-once-said-that-a-fool-can-put-on-his-coat-better-than-a-wise/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [No segment of the population has lost more by the agendas of the liberal constituencies of the Democratic Party than the black population. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/no-segment-of-the-population-has-lost-more-by-the-agendas-of-the/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Who sees the human face correctly: the photographer, the mirror, or the painter?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/who-sees-the-human-face-correctly-the-photographer-the-mirror-or-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [More was revealed in a human face than a human being can bear face to face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/more-was-revealed-in-a-human-face-than-a-human-being-can-bear-face-to/) [Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/) > [I long for another human face just as I fear it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/i-long-for-another-human-face-just-as-i-fear-it/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [“The horrible monsters in this world are the ones that wear human face”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/69rascal/the-horrible-monsters-in-this-world-are-the-ones-that-wear-human-face/) [69rascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/69rascal/) > [True worth is as inevitably discovered by the facial expression, as its opposite is sure to be clearly represented there. The human face is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-kaspar-lavater/true-worth-is-as-inevitably-discovered-by-the-facial-expression-as/) [Johann Kaspar Lavater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-kaspar-lavater/) > [Our human face happens to be one of the most powerful channels that we all use to communicate social and emotional states: everything from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rana-el-kaliouby/our-human-face-happens-to-be-one-of-the-most-powerful-channels-that/) [Rana el Kaliouby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rana-el-kaliouby/) > [I wanted to put a human face on anxiety disorders. I thought people who suffer from anxiety might recognize themselves and gain some comfort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-stossel/i-wanted-to-put-a-human-face-on-anxiety-disorders-i-thought-people/) [Scott Stossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-stossel/) > [“I like the fact that she thinks. The human face is so legible that it sometimes seems possible to watch their thoughts, the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-bradley-rede/i-like-the-fact-that-she-thinks-the-human-face-is-so-legible-that-it/) [Laura Bradley Rede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-bradley-rede/) ## More by Thomas Sowell > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [There is no bigger waste of time than doing 90% of what is necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/there-is-no-bigger-waste-of-time-than-doing-90-of-what-is-necessary/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [If you have always believed that everyone should play by the same rules and be judged by the same standards, that would have gotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/if-you-have-always-believed-that-everyone-should-play-by-the-same/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“In 1962, Democratic President John F. Kennedy, like both Democratic and Republican Presidents and Secretaries of the Treasury in earlier years, pointed out that “it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/in-1962-democratic-president-john-f-kennedy-like-both-democratic-and/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Ideological bigotry has become the norm on even our most prestigious campuses, where students can go for years without reading or hearing anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/ideological-bigotry-has-become-the-norm-on-even-our-most-prestigious/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Bailing out people who made ill-advised mortgages makes no more sense that bailing out people who lost their life savings in Las Vegas casinos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/bailing-out-people-who-made-ill-advised-mortgages-makes-no-more-sense/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“One third of all Scots in the mid-nineteenth century moved from one county to another”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/one-third-of-all-scots-in-the-mid-nineteenth-century-moved-from-one/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The difference is that we have the hardest and most painful evidence that there was a Holocaust. But, for the global warming scenario that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-difference-is-that-we-have-the-hardest-and-most-painful-evidence/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“Just as price fluctuations allocate scarce resources which have alternative uses, price controls which limit those fluctuations reduce the incentives for individuals to limit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/just-as-price-fluctuations-allocate-scarce-resources-which-have/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The greatest danger to the liberal vision are facts about the consequences of liberalism itself and the laws, policies, and ways of life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-greatest-danger-to-the-liberal-vision-are-facts-about-the/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Having spent years ruining the housing markets with their interference, leading to a housing meltdown that has taken the whole economy down with it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/having-spent-years-ruining-the-housing-markets-with-their/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Do all children have some inherent right to live in America if they have done nothing wrong? If not, then why should the children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/do-all-children-have-some-inherent-right-to-live-in-america-if-they/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [What 'eminent domain' laws mean in practice is that politicians have a right to seize your property and turn it over to someone else,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/what-eminent-domain-laws-mean-in-practice-is-that-politicians-have-a/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“those parts of the British Isles without the advantage of coal deposits or ports, industrialization was as handicapped as in other countries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/those-parts-of-the-british-isles-without-the-advantage-of-coal/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The whole idea of equal justice under law is completely incompatible with the idea of judges deciding cases according to "empathy".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-whole-idea-of-equal-justice-under-law-is-completely-incompatible/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) [Explore all 823 Thomas Sowell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## More Human face quotes > [“I like the fact that she thinks. The human face is so legible that it sometimes seems possible to watch their thoughts, the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-bradley-rede/i-like-the-fact-that-she-thinks-the-human-face-is-so-legible-that-it/) [Laura Bradley Rede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-bradley-rede/) > [I wanted to put a human face on anxiety disorders. 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The human face is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-kaspar-lavater/true-worth-is-as-inevitably-discovered-by-the-facial-expression-as/) [Johann Kaspar Lavater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-kaspar-lavater/) > [“The horrible monsters in this world are the ones that wear human face”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/69rascal/the-horrible-monsters-in-this-world-are-the-ones-that-wear-human-face/) [69rascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/69rascal/) > [I long for another human face just as I fear it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/i-long-for-another-human-face-just-as-i-fear-it/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [More was revealed in a human face than a human being can bear face to face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/more-was-revealed-in-a-human-face-than-a-human-being-can-bear-face-to/) [Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/) > [Who sees the human face correctly: the photographer, the mirror, or the painter?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/who-sees-the-human-face-correctly-the-photographer-the-mirror-or-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [There is no sight so ugly as the human face in anger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-fitzhugh/there-is-no-sight-so-ugly-as-the-human-face-in-anger/) [Louise Fitzhugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-fitzhugh/) > [The thing about the human face is that we're so genetically programmed to recognize differences in human faces that, when you're digitally affecting faces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-mostow/the-thing-about-the-human-face-is-that-we-re-so-genetically/) [Jonathan Mostow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-mostow/) > [“Contrary to popular opinion, leadership is not a reserved position for a particular group of people who were elected or appointed, ordained or enthroned.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/contrary-to-popular-opinion-leadership-is-not-a-reserved-position-for/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Communism is fascism with a human face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/communism-is-fascism-with-a-human-face/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [“Despite himself, Beauvoir laughed. "There is strong shadow where there is much light." ... But most he loved a happy human face.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-penny/despite-himself-beauvoir-laughed-there-is-strong-shadow-where-there/) [Louise Penny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-penny/) > [When I was a graduate student in computer science in the early 2000s, computers were barely able to detect sharp edges in photographs, let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fei-fei-li/when-i-was-a-graduate-student-in-computer-science-in-the-early-2000s/) [Fei-Fei Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fei-fei-li/) > [Age plays cruel tricks on the human face; all our repressed feelings become visible on the surface, where they harden like a mask.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/age-plays-cruel-tricks-on-the-human-face-all-our-repressed-feelings/) [Sue Grafton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-grafton/) [Browse all 72 Human face quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-face/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Liberalism is totalitarianism with a human face.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Sowell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/liberalism-is-totalitarianism-with-a-human-face/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Human face" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/liberalism-is-totalitarianism-with-a-human-face/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0a/thomas-sowell-247_liberalism_liberalism-is-totalitarianism-with-a-hum_1501602.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0a/thomas-sowell-247_liberalism_liberalism-is-totalitarianism-with-a-hum_1501602.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0a/thomas-sowell-247_liberalism_liberalism-is-totalitarianism-with-a-hum_1501602.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Liberalism is totalitarianism with a human face.” — Thomas Sowell", "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 Sowell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Liberalism is totalitarianism with a human...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/liberalism-is-totalitarianism-with-a-human-face/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/liberalism-is-totalitarianism-with-a-human-face/#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 } } ] } ```