--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing could be more jolting and…" description: "\"Nothing could be more jolting and discordant with the vision of today's intellectuals than the fact that it was businessmen, devout religious leaders a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce0/thomas-sowell-247_around-the-world_nothing-could-be-more-jolting-and-discor_1552871.jpg" --- # Nothing could be more jolting and discordant with the… ![“Nothing could be more jolting and discordant with the vision of today's intellectuals than the fact that it was businessmen, devout religious leaders and Western imperialists who together destroyed slavery around the world. And if it doesn't fit their vision, it is the same to them as if it never…” quote by Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce0/thomas-sowell-247_around-the-world_nothing-could-be-more-jolting-and-discor_1552871.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce0/thomas-sowell-247_around-the-world_nothing-could-be-more-jolting-and-discor_1552871.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce0/thomas-sowell-247_around-the-world_nothing-could-be-more-jolting-and-discor_1552871.jpg) > “Nothing could be more jolting and discordant with the vision of today's intellectuals than the fact that it was businessmen, devout religious leaders and Western imperialists who together destroyed slavery around the world. And if it doesn't fit their vision, it is the same to them as if it never happened.” [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. The abolition of slavery involved complex alliances, contradicting simplistic narratives of moral progress. **In simple terms:** Slavery ended through diverse, often contradictory forces. Key Takeaway Recognize history's complexity. Themes history slavery politics Mood thoughtful critical Type historical philosophical When to use this quote - education - policy analysis - social justice activism - historical research Key Concepts moral ambiguity power structures historical revisionism Questions to Reflect On - How do we honor victims while acknowledging complicity? - What lessons can we draw for modern reforms? A Different Perspective The quote may downplay moral agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Around the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/around-the-world/) [Businessman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/businessman/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Religious leaders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-leaders/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) [Western](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/western/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [This national argument is usually interpreted as a battle between imperialists led by Roosevelt and Lodge and anti-imperialists led by William Jennings Bryan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-appleman-williams/this-national-argument-is-usually-interpreted-as-a-battle-between/) William Appleman Williams > [“In the American South, there are hundreds of Civil War battle monuments and preserved plantation manor houses for every exhibit that in any way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-hochschild/in-the-american-south-there-are-hundreds-of-civil-war-battle/) [Adam Hochschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-hochschild/) > [There's still nearly the same amount of slavery, if not more, in the world today, as there was at the height of the slave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/there-s-still-nearly-the-same-amount-of-slavery-if-not-more-in-the/) [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/) > [I really do think I can make a contribution in helping eliminate the disparity here in Australia and doing my small bit to help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-forrest/i-really-do-think-i-can-make-a-contribution-in-helping-eliminate-the/) [Andrew Forrest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-forrest/) > [There is no shortage of ways that people profit indirectly from the misery and cruelty in other places. Even now, the shirts we wear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-h-winters/there-is-no-shortage-of-ways-that-people-profit-indirectly-from-the/) [Ben H. Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-h-winters/) > [It the British System is the most gigantic system of slavery the world has yet seen, and therefore it is that freedom gradually disappears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-charles-carey/it-the-british-system-is-the-most-gigantic-system-of-slavery-the/) [Henry Charles Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-charles-carey/) > [We are not imperialists. We don't even try to take over Canada. 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These are artificial divisions which we, in our pan-African concept will seek…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mugabe/africa-must-revert-to-what-it-was-before-the-imperialists-divided-it/) [Robert Mugabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mugabe/) > [USA is suffering between imperialists and anti-imperialists. That is the situation. The most powerful country in the world is on its way back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/usa-is-suffering-between-imperialists-and-anti-imperialists-that-is/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Otherwise, we will not be able to defeat the U.S. imperialists who boast of their technological superiority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-il-sung/otherwise-we-will-not-be-able-to-defeat-the-u-s-imperialists-who/) [Kim Il-sung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-il-sung/) > [“What imperialists actually wanted was expansion of political power without the foundation of the body politic. Imperialist expansion had been touched off by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/what-imperialists-actually-wanted-was-expansion-of-political-power/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) ## 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 Around the world quotes > [Public infrastructure around the world is facing unprecedented stress, with hurricanes, cyclones, floods and forest fires all increasing in frequency and intensity. 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These immigrants have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/throughout-our-history-the-words-of-the-declaration-have-inspired/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [It's difficult to believe in yourself because the idea of self is an artificial construction. You are, in fact, part of the glorious oneness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-brand/it-s-difficult-to-believe-in-yourself-because-the-idea-of-self-is-an/) [Russell Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-brand/) > [We know the candidate Barack Obama, what he was like - the anti-war government nig... 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Before I left, I went to a tailor in Savile Row…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-hamilton/once-as-an-experiment-i-travelled-around-the-world-with-a-single-suit/) [George Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-hamilton/) > [Thanks to all members of the military around the world for giving me the ultimate motivation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalya-neidhart/thanks-to-all-members-of-the-military-around-the-world-for-giving-me/) [Natalya Neidhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalya-neidhart/) > [I look at what's happening around the world and I see Iran four years closer to a bomb. 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