--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People who live in the post-totalitarian…" description: "\"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, and how ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/853/vaclav-havel-2013_human-beings_people-who-live-in-the-post-totalitarian_12201.jpg" --- # People who live in the post-totalitarian system know only… ![“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, and how these parties define and label themselves, is of far less importance than the question of whether or not it is possible to live like a human being.” quote by Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/853/vaclav-havel-2013_human-beings_people-who-live-in-the-post-totalitarian_12201.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/853/vaclav-havel-2013_human-beings_people-who-live-in-the-post-totalitarian_12201.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/853/vaclav-havel-2013_human-beings_people-who-live-in-the-post-totalitarian_12201.jpg) > “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, and how these parties define and label themselves, is of far less importance than the question of whether or not it is possible to live like a human being.” [Vaclav 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. In societies moving beyond authoritarian rule, the legitimacy of political structures is secondary to the ability of individuals to live with dignity and humanity. **In simple terms:** Human dignity outweighs party politics. Key Takeaway Freedom to live humanely is paramount. Themes political legitimacy human rights post-authoritarian transition individual dignity Mood hopeful reflective Type philosophical political When to use this quote - living under a new democracy - civil society rebuilding - personal freedom in transitional states Key Concepts political power human agency ethical governance Practical Applications - policy design that protects personal freedoms - civic education emphasizing human dignity Questions to Reflect On - How does political structure affect personal freedom? - What safeguards ensure human dignity in new regimes? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Importance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/importance/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Labels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labels/) [Parties Define](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parties-define-370676/) [Parties Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parties-power-370675/) [Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political parties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-parties/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Post Totalitarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/post-totalitarian-370674/) [Posts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/posts/) [Totalitarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/totalitarian/) [Totalitarian Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/totalitarian-know-370673/) [Totalitarianism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/totalitarianism/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [The post-totalitarian malady has taken its most acute form in Romania. And it has taken place for very specific reasons. The repression here has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavian-paler/the-post-totalitarian-malady-has-taken-its-most-acute-form-in-romania/) [Octavian Paler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavian-paler/) > [“In a post-totalitarian dictatorship, the grins of the people are the nightmares of the dictators.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xiaobo-liu/in-a-post-totalitarian-dictatorship-the-grins-of-the-people-are-the/) [Xiaobo Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xiaobo-liu/) > [I have read somewhere that in a totalitarian system martyrdom does better than thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/i-have-read-somewhere-that-in-a-totalitarian-system-martyrdom-does/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [The Sheldon Adelsons, the Koch brothers, the George Soroses, what we want to try to do is force them into the parties, not so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-shields/the-sheldon-adelsons-the-koch-brothers-the-george-soroses-what-we/) [Mark Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-shields/) > [It’s ridiculous to talk about freedom in a society dominated by huge corporations. What kind of freedom is there inside a corporation? They’re totalitarian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-ridiculous-to-talk-about-freedom-in-a-society-dominated-by-huge/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The strongest argument against totalitarianism may be a recognition of a universal human nature; that all humans have innate desires for life, liberty and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-strongest-argument-against-totalitarianism-may-be-a-recognition/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [To be corrupted by totalitarianism, one does not have to live in a totalitarian country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/to-be-corrupted-by-totalitarianism-one-does-not-have-to-live-in-a/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [It belongs among the refinements of totalitarian government in our century that they don't permit their opponents to die a great, dramatic martyr's death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/it-belongs-among-the-refinements-of-totalitarian-government-in-our/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [“Even though Christ Himself would not deliver us from the power of the Totalitarian State, as He did not deliver Himself, we must see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/even-though-christ-himself-would-not-deliver-us-from-the-power-of-the/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“It all fit. The love of power, the focus on Russia to the exclusion of the rest of the world—with an exception made perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/it-all-fit-the-love-of-power-the-focus-on-russia-to-the-exclusion-of/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [“Cult (totalistic type): a group or movement exhibiting a great or excessive devotion or dedication to some person, idea, or thing and employing unethically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-jolyon-west/cult-totalistic-type-a-group-or-movement-exhibiting-a-great-or/) [Louis Jolyon West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-jolyon-west/) > [Totalitarianism, however, does not so much promise an age of faith as an age of schizophrenia. A society becomes totalitarian when its structure becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/totalitarianism-however-does-not-so-much-promise-an-age-of-faith-as/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“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/) > [“For "totalitarian" is not only a terroristic political coordination of society, but also a non-terroristic economic-technical coordination which operates through the manipulation of needs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-marcuse/for-totalitarian-is-not-only-a-terroristic-political-coordination-of/) [Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/) > [“Totalitarian politics—far from being simply antisemitic or racist or imperialist or communist—use and abuse their own ideological and political elements until the basis of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/totalitarian-politics-far-from-being-simply-antisemitic-or-racist-or/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) ## More by Vaclav 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/) > [“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. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/our-country-if-that-is-what-we-want-can-now-permanently-radiate-love/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [I cannot imagine that I could strive for something if I did not carry hope in me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/i-cannot-imagine-that-i-could-strive-for-something-if-i-did-not-carry/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [People, your Government has returned to you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/people-your-government-has-returned-to-you/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [A person who has been seduced by the consumer value system, whose identity is dissolved in an amalgam of the accouterments trappings of mass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/a-person-who-has-been-seduced-by-the-consumer-value-system-whose/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Whether all is really lost or not depends entirely on whether or not I am lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/whether-all-is-really-lost-or-not-depends-entirely-on-whether-or-not/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Sober perseverance is more effective than enthusiastic emotions, which are all too capable of being transferred, with little difficulty, to something different each day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/sober-perseverance-is-more-effective-than-enthusiastic-emotions-which/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [The exercise of power is determined by thousands of interactions between the world of the powerful and that of the powerless, all the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/the-exercise-of-power-is-determined-by-thousands-of-interactions/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [It's not true that you should first think up an idea for a better world and only then "put it into practice," but, rather,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/it-s-not-true-that-you-should-first-think-up-an-idea-for-a-better/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Modern science kills God and takes his place on the vacant throne. Science is the sole legitimate arbiter of all relavent truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/modern-science-kills-god-and-takes-his-place-on-the-vacant-throne/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) [Explore all 190 Vaclav Havel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) ## More Human beings quotes > [Houses are like the human beings that inhabit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/houses-are-like-the-human-beings-that-inhabit-them/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/) [Kenan Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenan-malik/) > [Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-pink/human-beings-have-an-innate-inner-drive-to-be-autonomous-self/) [Daniel H. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-pink/) > [Gambling has held human beings in thrall for millennia. It has been engaged in everywhere, from the dregs of society to the most respectable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-bernstein/gambling-has-held-human-beings-in-thrall-for-millennia-it-has-been/) [Peter L. Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-bernstein/) > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [What is music? Music is language. A human being wants to express ideas in this language, but not ideas that can be translated into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-webern/what-is-music-music-is-language-a-human-being-wants-to-express-ideas/) [Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-webern/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [I think everybody, or the great majority of human beings, have this aspiration to become other: to live a different identity, at least for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/i-think-everybody-or-the-great-majority-of-human-beings-have-this/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [“Is there any holy beings like human beings?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/is-there-any-holy-beings-like-human-beings/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I recognize I am essentially a failed human being in the sense that I can't possibly live up to the expectations of an Almighty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-recognize-i-am-essentially-a-failed-human-being-in-the-sense-that-i/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [A composer knows that music is written by human beings for human beings and that music is a continuation of life, not something separated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-eisler/a-composer-knows-that-music-is-written-by-human-beings-for-human/) [Hanns Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanns-eisler/) > [“According to this model, human beings are, at least in one aspect, sensation-receiving machines; and although our receptory apparatus is competent to select and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cruce-stark/according-to-this-model-human-beings-are-at-least-in-one-aspect/) [Cruce Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cruce-stark/) > [For our purposes as human beings, the mind is the center of everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/for-our-purposes-as-human-beings-the-mind-is-the-center-of-everything/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [Human beings seek community, and permanent openness is hard to sustain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/human-beings-seek-community-and-permanent-openness-is-hard-to-sustain/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) [Browse all 6,948 Human beings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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, and how these parties define and label themselves, is of far less importance than the question of whether or not it is possible to live like a human being.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vaclav Havel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/people-who-live-in-the-post-totalitarian-system-know-only-too-well/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Human beings" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/people-who-live-in-the-post-totalitarian-system-know-only-too-well/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/853/vaclav-havel-2013_human-beings_people-who-live-in-the-post-totalitarian_12201.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/853/vaclav-havel-2013_human-beings_people-who-live-in-the-post-totalitarian_12201.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/853/vaclav-havel-2013_human-beings_people-who-live-in-the-post-totalitarian_12201.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People who live in the post-totalitarian system know only too well that the question of whether one or…” — Vaclav Havel", "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": "Vaclav Havel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "People who live in the post-totalitarian...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/people-who-live-in-the-post-totalitarian-system-know-only-too-well/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/people-who-live-in-the-post-totalitarian-system-know-only-too-well/#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 } } ] } ```