--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In a totalitarian state like North Korea…" description: "\"In a totalitarian state like North Korea, a group of neighbors gathering once a week to watch the latest episode of a forbidden soap opera is committin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/tom-malinowski-5887_civil-society_in-a-totalitarian-state-like-north-korea_427377.jpg" --- # In a totalitarian state like North Korea, a group of… ![“In a totalitarian state like North Korea, a group of neighbors gathering once a week to watch the latest episode of a forbidden soap opera is committing a political act, and forming, with the market traders who deliver them this treasure, a rudimentary civil society.” quote by Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/tom-malinowski-5887_civil-society_in-a-totalitarian-state-like-north-korea_427377.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/tom-malinowski-5887_civil-society_in-a-totalitarian-state-like-north-korea_427377.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/tom-malinowski-5887_civil-society_in-a-totalitarian-state-like-north-korea_427377.jpg) > “In a totalitarian state like North Korea, a group of neighbors gathering once a week to watch the latest episode of a forbidden soap opera is committing a political act, and forming, with the market traders who deliver them this treasure, a rudimentary civil society.” [Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. In oppressive regimes, ordinary cultural gatherings become acts of resistance and seed community structures. **In simple terms:** Simple gatherings can defy tyranny and build society. Key Takeaway Recognize everyday acts as political. Themes resistance community culture politics authoritarianism Mood defiant hopeful cautious Type political social When to use this quote - watching forbidden TV - sharing stories - supporting market traders - building trust - organizing meetings Key Concepts civil society cultural resistance social capital Questions to Reflect On - How does art foster solidarity under oppression? - What risks do participants accept? A Different Perspective Such acts may be limited by surveillance and severe punishment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civil society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-society/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Korea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/korea/) [North korea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/north-korea/) [Opera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opera/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Soap opera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soap-opera/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Totalitarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/totalitarian/) [Totalitarian state](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/totalitarian-state/) ## Related quotes > [“committing political harikari.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-gillard/committing-political-harikari/) [Julia Gillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-gillard/) > [The totalitarian states can do great things, but there is one thing they cannot do: they cannot give the factory-worker a rifle and tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-totalitarian-states-can-do-great-things-but-there-is-one-thing/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“A tax-supported, compulsory educational system is the complete model of the totalitarian state...The most vindictive resentment may be expected from the pedagogic profession for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-paterson/a-tax-supported-compulsory-educational-system-is-the-complete-model/) [Isabel Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-paterson/) > [“Does human nature undergo a true change in the cauldron of totalitarian violence? Does man lose his innate yearning for freedom? The fate of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/does-human-nature-undergo-a-true-change-in-the-cauldron-of/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [There are two options for any society: total prohibition as in a totalitarian state, or total license. Both avoid the ardours of decision. Both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-d-james/there-are-two-options-for-any-society-total-prohibition-as-in-a/) [P. D. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-d-james/) > [If one holds these high principles clearly before one's eyes, and compares them with the life and spirit of our times, then it appears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/if-one-holds-these-high-principles-clearly-before-one-s-eyes-and/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [We do not want to see a Hong Kong that enjoys freedoms on paper but whose autonomous status conceals the workings of a totalitarian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wong/we-do-not-want-to-see-a-hong-kong-that-enjoys-freedoms-on-paper-but-2/) [Joshua Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wong/) > [In a war a totalitarian state has a free hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feyerabend/in-a-war-a-totalitarian-state-has-a-free-hand/) [Paul Feyerabend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feyerabend/) > [“The Maoist mechanisms of social control have been loosened. A totalitarian state has become merely an authoritarian one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/the-maoist-mechanisms-of-social-control-have-been-loosened-a/) [Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/) > [One thing that all the totalitarian states did was make the great leader's face everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wu/one-thing-that-all-the-totalitarian-states-did-was-make-the-great/) [Tim Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wu/) > [I always think that reforms and turning China into a free country is a long and tortuous process. Despite this, in a totalitarian state,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-xiaobo/i-always-think-that-reforms-and-turning-china-into-a-free-country-is/) [Liu Xiaobo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-xiaobo/) > [“You can build the Empire State Building. Train the Prussian army. Elevate the hierarchy of a totalitarian state higher than the throne of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/you-can-build-the-empire-state-building-train-the-prussian-army/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [We do not want to see a Hong Kong that enjoys freedoms on paper, but whose autonomous status conceals the workings of a totalitarian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wong/we-do-not-want-to-see-a-hong-kong-that-enjoys-freedoms-on-paper-but/) [Joshua Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wong/) > [Puzzlement and doubt are, however, already crimes in the totalitarian state. The mind that is open for questions is open for dissent. In the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joost-meerloo/puzzlement-and-doubt-are-however-already-crimes-in-the-totalitarian/) [Joost Meerloo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joost-meerloo/) > [The U.S.S.R. was a totalitarian state in which judges and prosecutors were controlled by the ruling party. The result was injustice, oppression and corruption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/the-u-s-s-r-was-a-totalitarian-state-in-which-judges-and-prosecutors/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) ## More by Tom Malinowski > [Ever since the end of the Cold War, it has been our paramount interest in Europe to strengthen NATO and to extend it -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/ever-since-the-end-of-the-cold-war-it-has-been-our-paramount-interest/) [Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/) > [Arresting opposition leaders and restricting civil society will not stop people from protesting, but it can create leaderless movements that leave no one with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/arresting-opposition-leaders-and-restricting-civil-society-will-not/) [Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/) > [Let's face it: much of what we truly value in life is rooted in our experience of repression and conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/let-s-face-it-much-of-what-we-truly-value-in-life-is-rooted-in-our/) [Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/) > [Kim Jong Un, like all totalitarian leaders, wants above all to ensure his survival. He is convinced that a nuclear strike capability is necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/kim-jong-un-like-all-totalitarian-leaders-wants-above-all-to-ensure/) [Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/) > [I haven't met a single person, Republican or Democrat, who thinks it's just fine for members of Congress to sit on the boards of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/i-haven-t-met-a-single-person-republican-or-democrat-who-thinks-it-s/) [Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/) > [Words matter. Words can be a fire to the gasoline of disturbed minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/words-matter-words-can-be-a-fire-to-the-gasoline-of-disturbed-minds/) [Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/) > [The rule of law that China's dissidents ask for is important to U.S. businesses investing in China as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/the-rule-of-law-that-china-s-dissidents-ask-for-is-important-to-u-s/) [Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/) > [We already ban foreign donations to political candidates, and we should strengthen that ban with closer scrutiny of credit card donations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/we-already-ban-foreign-donations-to-political-candidates-and-we/) [Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/) > [Protecting those with pre-existing conditions was one of the greatest health care reforms in our country's history and must be protected at all costs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/protecting-those-with-pre-existing-conditions-was-one-of-the-greatest/) [Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/) > [As a former Assistant Secretary of State, Senior Director on the National Security Council, and Washington Director for Human Rights Watch, I hope to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/as-a-former-assistant-secretary-of-state-senior-director-on-the/) [Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/) > [Putin interfered in our election because he wanted an American president who sees the world as he does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/putin-interfered-in-our-election-because-he-wanted-an-american/) [Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/) > [The House Foreign Affairs Committee can and should become the principal institution in Washington exercising foreign policy oversight and serving as an alternative voice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/the-house-foreign-affairs-committee-can-and-should-become-the/) [Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/) > [In America, we have holidays and monuments that celebrate heroes from our past, most of whom have legacies that are settled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/in-america-we-have-holidays-and-monuments-that-celebrate-heroes-from/) [Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/) > [By the time I joined the Obama administration in 2014, it was widely expected that the president of the United States would raise human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/by-the-time-i-joined-the-obama-administration-in-2014-it-was-widely/) [Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/) > [A state that calculates that using a weapon or tactic of war is in its interest will generally find a way to do so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/a-state-that-calculates-that-using-a-weapon-or-tactic-of-war-is-in/) [Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/) [Explore all 100 Tom Malinowski quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/) ## More Civil society quotes > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [The first person who, having enclosed a plot of land, took it into his head to say this is mine and found people simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/the-first-person-who-having-enclosed-a-plot-of-land-took-it-into-his/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [Even if a civil society were to be dissolved by the consent of all its members (e.g., if a people inhabiting an island decided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/even-if-a-civil-society-were-to-be-dissolved-by-the-consent-of-all/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [ \[T\]here are, at bottom, basically two ways to order social affairs, Coercively, through the mechanisms of the state - what we can call political… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-crane/t-here-are-at-bottom-basically-two-ways-to-order-social-affairs/) [Ed Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-crane/) > [“In Hobbes’ state of nature, when a male individual conquers (contracts with) a female individual he becomes her sexual master and she becomes his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carole-pateman/in-hobbes-state-of-nature-when-a-male-individual-conquers-contracts/) [Carole Pateman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carole-pateman/) > [“SHOW THE WORLD YOUR STRONG COMPASSION: GIVE YOUR VOICE TO VOICELESS YAZIDI GIRLS!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/widad-akrawi/show-the-world-your-strong-compassion-give-your-voice-to-voiceless/) [Widad Akrawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/widad-akrawi/) > [For achieving good governance political will is necessary. Good governance is a political process. Though role of civil society is critical, without political will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/for-achieving-good-governance-political-will-is-necessary-good/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [“Remember what the fashion big mouths were saying about Jessica Simpson? Looking at her magazine pictures, sucking their teeth, going, "Oh, look at her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whoopi-goldberg/remember-what-the-fashion-big-mouths-were-saying-about-jessica/) [Whoopi Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whoopi-goldberg/) > [Arresting opposition leaders and restricting civil society will not stop people from protesting, but it can create leaderless movements that leave no one with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/arresting-opposition-leaders-and-restricting-civil-society-will-not/) [Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/) > [It's clear that it is in the best interest of business to be part of the conservation, along with governments and civil society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/it-s-clear-that-it-is-in-the-best-interest-of-business-to-be-part-of/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [“What is remarkable in Burke’s first performance,” wrote his great nineteenth-century biographer John Morley, “is his discernment of the important fact that behind the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-levin/what-is-remarkable-in-burke-s-first-performance-wrote-his-great/) [Yuval Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-levin/) > [Security against foreign danger is one of the primitive objects of civil society. It is an avowed and essential object of the American Union.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/security-against-foreign-danger-is-one-of-the-primitive-objects-of/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [“Everybody is satisfied, that a conservation and secure enjoyment of our natural rights is the great and ultimate purpose of civil society; and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/everybody-is-satisfied-that-a-conservation-and-secure-enjoyment-of/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“The state of civil society, which necessarily generates this aristocracy, is a state of nature; and much more truly so than a savage and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-state-of-civil-society-which-necessarily-generates-this/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Every government has signed up to a voluntary legal commitment under at least one of the international covenants and conventions based on the Universal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-robinson/every-government-has-signed-up-to-a-voluntary-legal-commitment-under/) [Mary Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-robinson/) [Browse all 322 Civil society quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-society/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In a totalitarian state like North Korea, a group of neighbors gathering once a week to watch the latest episode of a forbidden soap opera is committing a political act, and forming, with the market traders who deliver them this treasure, a rudimentary civil society.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Malinowski" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/in-a-totalitarian-state-like-north-korea-a-group-of-neighbors/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Civil society" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/in-a-totalitarian-state-like-north-korea-a-group-of-neighbors/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/tom-malinowski-5887_civil-society_in-a-totalitarian-state-like-north-korea_427377.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/tom-malinowski-5887_civil-society_in-a-totalitarian-state-like-north-korea_427377.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/tom-malinowski-5887_civil-society_in-a-totalitarian-state-like-north-korea_427377.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In a totalitarian state like North Korea, a group of neighbors gathering once a week to watch the latest…” — Tom Malinowski", "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": "Tom Malinowski", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In a totalitarian state like North...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/in-a-totalitarian-state-like-north-korea-a-group-of-neighbors/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/in-a-totalitarian-state-like-north-korea-a-group-of-neighbors/#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 } } ] } ```