--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As the interpretation of reality by the…" description: "\"“As the interpretation of reality by the power structure, ideology is always subordinated ultimately to the interests of the structure. Therefore, it h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ba/vaclav-havel-2013_quote_as-the-interpretation-of-reality-by-the_1588100.jpg" --- # As the interpretation of reality by the power structure… ![“As the interpretation of reality by the power structure, ideology is always subordinated ultimately to the interests of the structure. Therefore, it has a natural tendency to disengage itself from reality, to create a world of appearances, to become ritual... Increasingly, the virtuosity of the…” quote by Václav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ba/vaclav-havel-2013_quote_as-the-interpretation-of-reality-by-the_1588100.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ba/vaclav-havel-2013_quote_as-the-interpretation-of-reality-by-the_1588100.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ba/vaclav-havel-2013_quote_as-the-interpretation-of-reality-by-the_1588100.jpg) > ““As the interpretation of reality by the power structure, ideology is always subordinated ultimately to the interests of the structure. Therefore, it has a natural tendency to disengage itself from reality, to create a world of appearances, to become ritual... Increasingly, the virtuosity of the ritual becomes more important than the reality hidden behind it.”” [Václav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ideology serves power, creating rituals that mask reality and prioritize appearance over truth. **In simple terms:** Power hides truth behind rituals. Key Takeaway Question appearances, seek truth. Themes politics ideology truth Mood skeptical analytical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - journalism - activism - education - policy analysis Key Concepts critical theory social construction Questions to Reflect On - What rituals in your life conceal truth? - How can you discern genuine substance? A Different Perspective Rituals can also provide social cohesion; not all are deceptive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ideology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideology/) [Ritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ritual/) ## Related quotes > [“Fiction is a mix of reality, the interpretation of that reality and a lot of "what if".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-sellers/fiction-is-a-mix-of-reality-the-interpretation-of-that-reality-and-a/) Jim Sellers > [“Scripture is not only the authoritative guide for the way of salvation, but it furnishes man with an authoritative interpretation of reality as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-r-van-til/scripture-is-not-only-the-authoritative-guide-for-the-way-of/) [Henry R. Van Til](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-r-van-til/) > [The interpretation of our reality through patterns not our own, serves only to make us ever more unknown, ever less free, ever more solitary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/the-interpretation-of-our-reality-through-patterns-not-our-own-serves/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“The key question is does the wrong interpretation of reality change reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/the-key-question-is-does-the-wrong-interpretation-of-reality-change/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [We live" writes Pursewarden somewhere, "lives based upon selected fictions. Our view of reality is conditioned by our position in space and time -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/we-live-writes-pursewarden-somewhere-lives-based-upon-selected/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [Ideology is not the product of thought; it is the habit or the ritual of showing respect for certain formulas to which, for various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/ideology-is-not-the-product-of-thought-it-is-the-habit-or-the-ritual/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [An aphorism is a mental exercise, psychical, logical, linguistic, spiritual, ritual, emotional and rational, it is a major conceptual and literary activity, a mixture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-brown/an-aphorism-is-a-mental-exercise-psychical-logical-linguistic/) [William C. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-brown/) > [Hypostatized into a ritual pattern, Marxian theory becomes ideology. But its content and function distinguish it from classical forms of ideology; it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-marcuse/hypostatized-into-a-ritual-pattern-marxian-theory-becomes-ideology/) [Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/) > [“And the ritual of Prayer embraces all these movements: (a) There is the ascending, vertical movement which corre- sponds to the faithful's erect stance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-corbin/and-the-ritual-of-prayer-embraces-all-these-movements-a-there-is-the/) [Henry Corbin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-corbin/) > [Rituals are how we step into our private field of dreams, a small Elysium all our own. 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Whether bred in the bogs of superstition or clothed in the brocades of dogma and ritual,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-mannes/fear-has-always-been-a-diminisher-of-life-whether-bred-in-the-bogs-of/) [Marya Mannes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-mannes/) > [There are so many spiders, and their rituals, their mating rituals, their courtship ritual, can be very, very different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-rossellini/there-are-so-many-spiders-and-their-rituals-their-mating-rituals/) [Isabella Rossellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-rossellini/) > [Santa Claus has nothing to do with it," the latke said. "Christmas and Hanukah are completely different things." "But different things can often blend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/santa-claus-has-nothing-to-do-with-it-the-latke-said-christmas-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is a comfort in rituals, and rituals provide a framework for stability when you are trying to find answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-norville/there-is-a-comfort-in-rituals-and-rituals-provide-a-framework-for/) [Deborah Norville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-norville/) ## More by Václav Havel > [I am convinced that we will never build a democratic state based on rule of law if we do not at the same time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/i-am-convinced-that-we-will-never-build-a-democratic-state-based-on/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [People who live in the post-totalitarian system know only too well that the question of whether one or several political parties are in power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/people-who-live-in-the-post-totalitarian-system-know-only-too-well/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [“For by this very fact, individuals confirm the system, fulfill the system, make the system, are the system.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/for-by-this-very-fact-individuals-confirm-the-system-fulfill-the/) [Václav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Hope is not a feeling of certainty that everything ends well. Hope is just a feeling that life and work have a meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/hope-is-not-a-feeling-of-certainty-that-everything-ends-well-hope-is/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [This is a confusing and uncertain period, when a thousand wise words can go completely unnoticed, and one thoughtless word can provoke an utterly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/this-is-a-confusing-and-uncertain-period-when-a-thousand-wise-words/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [If by believing you mean praying to an anthropomorphic deity who created the world and half controls it and half observes it, then I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/if-by-believing-you-mean-praying-to-an-anthropomorphic-deity-who/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Human beings are compelled to live within a lie, but they can be compelled to do so only because they are in fact capable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/human-beings-are-compelled-to-live-within-a-lie-but-they-can-be/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Our country, if that is what we want, can now permanently radiate love, understanding, the power of the spirit and of ideas. 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You work with space, you have a camera, you have a frame, and then a fraction of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastiao-salgado/i-have-a-way-to-photograph-you-work-with-space-you-have-a-camera-you/) [Sebastiao Salgado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastiao-salgado/) > [Every profession has an ideology and a drive for power that goes far beyond its achievements and it is the task of democracy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feyerabend/every-profession-has-an-ideology-and-a-drive-for-power-that-goes-far/) [Paul Feyerabend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feyerabend/) > [We are in a world where globalization, which is an ideology, has forgotten and put aside the people, the people's interests, aspirations, and dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marine-le-pen/we-are-in-a-world-where-globalization-which-is-an-ideology-has/) [Marine Le Pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marine-le-pen/) > [Orthodox churches, autocracy and national traditions are supposed to form a new national ideology in Russia. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-bocelli/i-prefer-to-work-for-my-country-in-a-free-and-independent-way-i-was/) [Andrea Bocelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-bocelli/) > [The Congress may have made mistakes, but their ideology is not wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahesh-bhatt/the-congress-may-have-made-mistakes-but-their-ideology-is-not-wrong/) [Mahesh Bhatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahesh-bhatt/) > [I have what I call an iron prescription that helps me keep sane when I naturally drift toward preferring one ideology over another and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/i-have-what-i-call-an-iron-prescription-that-helps-me-keep-sane-when/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [“Once you let them establish their ideology in you, they will drive you crazy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/once-you-let-them-establish-their-ideology-in-you-they-will-drive-you/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [The U.S. always needs an enemy. 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