--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You cannot take any people, of any color…" description: "\"You cannot take any people, of any color, and exempt them from the requirements of civilization - including work, behavioral standards, personal respon..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d24/thomas-sowell-247_civilization_you-cannot-take-any-people-of-any-color_343406.jpg" --- # You cannot take any people, of any color, and exempt them… ![“You cannot take any people, of any color, and exempt them from the requirements of civilization - including work, behavioral standards, personal responsibility, and all the other basic things that the clever intelligentsia disdain - without ruinous consequences to them and to society at large.” quote by Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d24/thomas-sowell-247_civilization_you-cannot-take-any-people-of-any-color_343406.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d24/thomas-sowell-247_civilization_you-cannot-take-any-people-of-any-color_343406.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d24/thomas-sowell-247_civilization_you-cannot-take-any-people-of-any-color_343406.jpg) > “You cannot take any people, of any color, and exempt them from the requirements of civilization - including work, behavioral standards, personal responsibility, and all the other basic things that the clever intelligentsia disdain - without ruinous consequences to them and to society at large.” [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. Society must hold everyone to shared standards of work and responsibility, otherwise both individuals and the community suffer. **In simple terms:** All must meet basic societal duties. Key Takeaway Uphold universal standards. Themes responsibility equality social order Mood serious concerned Type political social commentary When to use this quote - employment policies - public education - community programs - social welfare Key Concepts civilization behavioral norms economic impact Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance personal liberty with societal duties? - What are the risks of exempting groups from norms? A Different Perspective Enforcing standards can clash with individual freedoms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Clever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clever/) [Color](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/) [Consequence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consequence/) [Consequences Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consequences-society-3186241/) [Disdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disdain/) [Exempt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exempt/) [Intelligentsia Disdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligentsia-disdain-3186240/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Personal responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-responsibility/) [Requirements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/requirements/) [Requirements Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/requirements-civilization-3186242/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Standards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standards/) ## Related quotes > [“We had better want the consequences of what we believe or disbelieve, because the consequences will come! . . . But how can a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-a-maxwell/we-had-better-want-the-consequences-of-what-we-believe-or-disbelieve/) [Neal A. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-a-maxwell/) > [Private choices are not private; they all have public consequences...Our society is the sum total of what millions of individuals do in their private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-e-faust/private-choices-are-not-private-they-all-have-public-consequences-our/) [James E. Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-e-faust/) > [The vision of the anointed is one in which ills as poverty, irresponsible sex, and crime derive primarily from 'society,' rather than from individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-anointed-is-one-in-which-ills-as-poverty/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The great escape of our times is escape from personal responsibility for the consequences of one's own behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-great-escape-of-our-times-is-escape-from-personal-responsibility/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“Though age will naturally exempt a person from personal service, it cannot exempt him from his share of the charge, because the men are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/though-age-will-naturally-exempt-a-person-from-personal-service-it/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [All Americans should be exempt from the atrocities of Obamacare - no exception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-scott/all-americans-should-be-exempt-from-the-atrocities-of-obamacare-no/) [Austin Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-scott/) > [Their chief residence was Bagdad, where they remained until the eleventh century, an age fatal in Oriental history, from the disasters of which the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-d-israeli/their-chief-residence-was-bagdad-where-they-remained-until-the/) [Isaac D'Israeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-d-israeli/) > [When anybody says, 'Why me?' Why is 'me' exempt?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-vanderbilt/when-anybody-says-why-me-why-is-me-exempt/) [Gloria Vanderbilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-vanderbilt/) > [Parents are by no means exempt from the intoxication of dominion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/parents-are-by-no-means-exempt-from-the-intoxication-of-dominion/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Catholic schools in Indonesia routinely accept non-Catholic students, but exempt them from studying religion. Obama's school documents, though, wrongly list him as being Indonesian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-klein/catholic-schools-in-indonesia-routinely-accept-non-catholic-students/) [Aaron Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-klein/) > [“I’m exempt from anything I damned will feel like on the grounds that I’ll kick anyone’s ass who says otherwise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-r-green/i-m-exempt-from-anything-i-damned-will-feel-like-on-the-grounds-that/) [Simon R. Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-r-green/) > [It becomes one, while exempt from woes, to look to the dangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/it-becomes-one-while-exempt-from-woes-to-look-to-the-dangers/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“Nobody is exempt from the surprises of life!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/nobody-is-exempt-from-the-surprises-of-life/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I am more exempt and more distant than any man in the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-de-fermat/i-am-more-exempt-and-more-distant-than-any-man-in-the-world/) [Pierre de Fermat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-de-fermat/) > [When I was depressed, nobody expected anything of me, nor did I expect anything of myself. I was exempt from life's demands and risks.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-palmer/when-i-was-depressed-nobody-expected-anything-of-me-nor-did-i-expect/) [Parker Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-palmer/) ## 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 Civilization quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/) [Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/) > [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“The voice in the head that never stops speaking becomes a civilization that is obsessed with form and therefore knows nothing of the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-voice-in-the-head-that-never-stops-speaking-becomes-a/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [We released 400,000 classified documents, the most extraordinary history of a war to ever have been released in our civilization. Those documents cover 109,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/we-released-400-000-classified-documents-the-most-extraordinary/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Whenever we touch nature we get clean. People who have got dirty through too much civilization take a walk in the woods, or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/whenever-we-touch-nature-we-get-clean-people-who-have-got-dirty/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/the-invention-of-gunpowder-and-the-constant-improvement-of-firearms/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“The mission is, not to replace old world mindlessness with new world mindlessness, but to put an end to all forms of brainless authoritarianism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-mission-is-not-to-replace-old-world-mindlessness-with-new-world/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Once we allow ourselves to be disobedient to the test of an accountant's profit, we have begun to change our civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/once-we-allow-ourselves-to-be-disobedient-to-the-test-of-an/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-josiah-brewer/our-laws-and-our-institutions-must-necessarily-be-based-upon-and/) [David Josiah Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-josiah-brewer/) [Browse all 4,084 Civilization quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You cannot take any people, of any color, and exempt them from the requirements of civilization - including work, behavioral standards, personal responsibility, and all the other basic things that the clever intelligentsia disdain - without ruinous consequences to them and to society at large.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Sowell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/you-cannot-take-any-people-of-any-color-and-exempt-them-from-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Civilization" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/you-cannot-take-any-people-of-any-color-and-exempt-them-from-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d24/thomas-sowell-247_civilization_you-cannot-take-any-people-of-any-color_343406.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d24/thomas-sowell-247_civilization_you-cannot-take-any-people-of-any-color_343406.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d24/thomas-sowell-247_civilization_you-cannot-take-any-people-of-any-color_343406.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You cannot take any people, of any color, and exempt them from the requirements of civilization - including…” — 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": "You cannot take any people, of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/you-cannot-take-any-people-of-any-color-and-exempt-them-from-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/you-cannot-take-any-people-of-any-color-and-exempt-them-from-the/#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 } } ] } ```