--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The U.S. generally wants to solve…" description: "\"The U.S. generally wants to solve problems with coercion. That's kind of the default way the American state wants to try to solve problems. So there ar..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/trevor-paglen-4201_coercion_the-u-s-generally-wants-to-solve-problem_1315518.png" --- # The U.S. generally wants to solve problems with coercion… ![“The U.S. generally wants to solve problems with coercion. That's kind of the default way the American state wants to try to solve problems. So there are many parallels between that: mass incarceration, mass surveillance, and militarism.” quote by Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/trevor-paglen-4201_coercion_the-u-s-generally-wants-to-solve-problem_1315518.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/trevor-paglen-4201_coercion_the-u-s-generally-wants-to-solve-problem_1315518.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/trevor-paglen-4201_coercion_the-u-s-generally-wants-to-solve-problem_1315518.png) > “The U.S. generally wants to solve problems with coercion. That's kind of the default way the American state wants to try to solve problems. So there are many parallels between that: mass incarceration, mass surveillance, and militarism.” [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The United States often defaults to forceful measures—incarceration, surveillance, militarism—to address issues, reflecting a systemic reliance on coercion. **In simple terms:** America tends to use force to solve problems. Key Takeaway Question coercive solutions, seek alternatives. Themes power control state violence surveillance Mood critical concerned Type analytical political When to use this quote - policy reform - community activism - legal challenges - public awareness campaigns Key Concepts political theory critical theory human rights Questions to Reflect On - How might we redesign institutions to prioritize consent? - What non‑violent alternatives exist for security? A Different Perspective Coercive approaches can overlook root causes and harm civil liberties. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Coercion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coercion/) [Coercion Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coercion-kind-4302807/) [Incarceration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incarceration/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Mass incarceration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass-incarceration/) [Mass Surveillance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass-surveillance-535845/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Problems Coercion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problems-coercion-4366494/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) ## Related quotes > [“Learning is possible only when there is no coercion of any kind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/learning-is-possible-only-when-there-is-no-coercion-of-any-kind/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I think mass surveillance is a bad idea because a surveillance society is one in which people understand that they are constantly monitored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/i-think-mass-surveillance-is-a-bad-idea-because-a-surveillance/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [The Internet was supposed to be the greatest tool of global communications and means of sharing knowledge in human history. And it is. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/the-internet-was-supposed-to-be-the-greatest-tool-of-global/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [What would the infrastructure of the Internet look like if mass surveillance wasn't its business model?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/what-would-the-infrastructure-of-the-internet-look-like-if-mass/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-new-jim-crow-mass-incarceration-in-the-age-of-colorblindness/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [We are the in midst of a bipartisan moment as it relates to criminal justice reform and dealing with mass incarceration in America which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakeem-jeffries/we-are-the-in-midst-of-a-bipartisan-moment-as-it-relates-to-criminal/) [Hakeem Jeffries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakeem-jeffries/) > [Arguably the most important parallel between mass incarceration and Jim Crow is that both have served to define the meaning and significance of race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/arguably-the-most-important-parallel-between-mass-incarceration-and/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [There are more African Americans under correctional control, in prison or jail, on probation or parole, than were enslaved in 1850 a decade before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/there-are-more-african-americans-under-correctional-control-in-prison/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [When you talk about "white privilege", you're talking about something systemic. When you're talking about "black privilege" it's something spiritual because we as black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlamagne-tha-god/when-you-talk-about-white-privilege-you-re-talking-about-something/) [Charlamagne Tha God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlamagne-tha-god/) > [“We should ask ourselves whether efforts to achieve "cosmetic" racial diversity- that is, reform efforts that make institutions look good on the surface without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/we-should-ask-ourselves-whether-efforts-to-achieve-cosmetic-racial/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The prison industrial complex, to put it in its crassest term, is a system of industrial mass incarceration. So there's what you call bureaucratic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-jarecki/the-prison-industrial-complex-to-put-it-in-its-crassest-term-is-a/) [Eugene Jarecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-jarecki/) > [“The impact of the new caste system is most tragically felt among the young. In Chicago (as in other cities across the United States),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-impact-of-the-new-caste-system-is-most-tragically-felt-among-the/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The mass incarceration of poor people of color, particularly black men, has emerged as a new caste system, one specifically designed to address the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-mass-incarceration-of-poor-people-of-color-particularly-black-men/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [If we continue to tell ourselves the popular myths about racial progress or, worse yet, if we say to ourselves that the problem of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-we-continue-to-tell-ourselves-the-popular-myths-about-racial/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Our criminal justice system has swallowed up too many people I love. I am proud to join the ACLU in the fight to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-k-williams/our-criminal-justice-system-has-swallowed-up-too-many-people-i-love-i/) [Michael K. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-k-williams/) ## More by Trevor Paglen > [I believe that art can make relevant and progressive contributions to culture and society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/i-believe-that-art-can-make-relevant-and-progressive-contributions-to/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Photography has become so fundamental to the way we see that 'photography' and 'seeing' are becoming more and more synonymous. The ubiquity of photography…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/photography-has-become-so-fundamental-to-the-way-we-see-that/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [I'm pretty cynical about the future, but I feel like that's not an ethical position for me to take. It's not okay for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/i-m-pretty-cynical-about-the-future-but-i-feel-like-that-s-not-an/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Civilian law around aviation is much looser than those governing military. Civilian planes can basically fly wherever they want in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/civilian-law-around-aviation-is-much-looser-than-those-governing/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [I think the automation of vision is a much bigger deal than the invention of perspective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/i-think-the-automation-of-vision-is-a-much-bigger-deal-than-the/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Many of the things that shape the way the world looks are, quite frankly, invisible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/many-of-the-things-that-shape-the-way-the-world-looks-are-quite/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Geosynchronous spacecraft will be among civilization's most enduring remnants, quietly circling Earth until the Earth is no more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/geosynchronous-spacecraft-will-be-among-civilization-s-most-enduring/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Traditionally, images have functioned as representations of something in the world, but we are quickly approaching the point where vast majority of images are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/traditionally-images-have-functioned-as-representations-of-something/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Images can make realities out of people and struggles - the reality we give them. Images really matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/images-can-make-realities-out-of-people-and-struggles-the-reality-we/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [It's productive and fun to try interpreting cave paintings, but ultimately, they can't teach us anything beyond what we imagine them to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/it-s-productive-and-fun-to-try-interpreting-cave-paintings-but/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Anything humans can do in space, robots can do better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/anything-humans-can-do-in-space-robots-can-do-better/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Before Christianity became the Roman Empire's official religion in the 4th Century, 'mystery religions,' organized around a central canon of secret knowledge, were widespread.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/before-christianity-became-the-roman-empire-s-official-religion-in/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [When we look up into the starry night sky, we tend to see reflections of ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/when-we-look-up-into-the-starry-night-sky-we-tend-to-see-reflections/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [“The CIA, an agency designed to operate outside the law, was now free to pursue its vision of a new world, to create new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/the-cia-an-agency-designed-to-operate-outside-the-law-was-now-free-to/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Once, I got lost in the middle of the desert and had to follow the North Star to find the dirt road where my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/once-i-got-lost-in-the-middle-of-the-desert-and-had-to-follow-the/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) [Explore all 114 Trevor Paglen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) ## More Coercion quotes > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [Coercion is the basis of every law in the universe,--human or divine. A law is not law without coercion behind it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/coercion-is-the-basis-of-every-law-in-the-universe-human-or-divine-a/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [“Love is not coercion, and the state is only an agent of coercion. It has no other function and can work no other way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-mcdurmon/love-is-not-coercion-and-the-state-is-only-an-agent-of-coercion-it/) [Joel McDurmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-mcdurmon/) > [“Therapy requires a collaborative working relationship in which both partners act on the basis of their implicit confidence in the value and efficacy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/therapy-requires-a-collaborative-working-relationship-in-which-both/) [Judith Lewis Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lewis-herman/) > [The First Amendment exists to protect our religious liberty--to ensure that all Americans are able to seek out worship God with all our hearts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/the-first-amendment-exists-to-protect-our-religious-liberty-to-ensure/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [There’s one thing that’s been 'learned' maybe from Tunisia and Egypt that I think is a mistake. And that is that the existing ruler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-sharp/there-s-one-thing-that-s-been-learned-maybe-from-tunisia-and-egypt/) [Gene Sharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-sharp/) > [Economic freedom is an essential requisite for political freedom. By enabling people to cooperate with one another without coercion or central direction, it reduces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/economic-freedom-is-an-essential-requisite-for-political-freedom-by/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [“Men are moral beings in their untrammelled nature. If constraint and coercion can once be removed they will be happy and if they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/men-are-moral-beings-in-their-untrammelled-nature-if-constraint-and/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [“If you require force to promote your ideal, there is something wrong with your ideal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jsb-morse/if-you-require-force-to-promote-your-ideal-there-is-something-wrong/) [JSB Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jsb-morse/) > [The idea of painless, nonthreatening coercion is an illusion. Fear is the inseparable companion of coercion, and its inescapable consequence. If you think it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holt/the-idea-of-painless-nonthreatening-coercion-is-an-illusion-fear-is/) [John Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holt/) > [To say that we mutually agree to coercion is not to say that we are required to enjoy it, or even to pretend we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/to-say-that-we-mutually-agree-to-coercion-is-not-to-say-that-we-are/) [Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/) > [“There are always a dozen reasons for doing nothing," Ann liked to say--it was a favourite apologia, indeed, for many of her misdemeanours. "There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/there-are-always-a-dozen-reasons-for-doing-nothing-ann-liked-to-say/) [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [The state is the only institution entitled to apply coercion and compulsion and to inflict harm upon individuals. This tremendous power cannot be abandoned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-state-is-the-only-institution-entitled-to-apply-coercion-and/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [So what is government?... Very simply, it is an agency of coercion. Of course, there are other agencies of coercion - such as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-browne/so-what-is-government-very-simply-it-is-an-agency-of-coercion-of/) [Harry Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-browne/) > [“Coercing attitude drains your strength.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/coercing-attitude-drains-your-strength/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) [Browse all 310 Coercion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coercion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The U.S. generally wants to solve problems with coercion. 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