--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no stopping the world's tendency…" description: "\"There is no stopping the world's tendency to throw off imposed restraints, the religious authority that is based on the ignorance of the many, the poli..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f52/van-wyck-brooks-22156_authority_there-is-no-stopping-the-world-s-tendenc_504060.jpg" --- # There is no stopping the world's tendency to throw off… ![“There is no stopping the world's tendency to throw off imposed restraints, the religious authority that is based on the ignorance of the many, the political authority that is based on the knowledge of the few.” quote by Van Wyck Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f52/van-wyck-brooks-22156_authority_there-is-no-stopping-the-world-s-tendenc_504060.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f52/van-wyck-brooks-22156_authority_there-is-no-stopping-the-world-s-tendenc_504060.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f52/van-wyck-brooks-22156_authority_there-is-no-stopping-the-world-s-tendenc_504060.jpg) > “There is no stopping the world's tendency to throw off imposed restraints, the religious authority that is based on the ignorance of the many, the political authority that is based on the knowledge of the few.” [Van Wyck Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-wyck-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Societies resist imposed limits; religious power stems from mass ignorance, political power from elite knowledge. **In simple terms:** Authority thrives on knowledge gaps. Key Takeaway Question and balance power structures. Themes authority knowledge society power ignorance elite Mood critical reflective skeptical Type analytical philosophical political When to use this quote - activism - academic debate - policy reform - education - media analysis Key Concepts political theory social critique epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How do you identify when authority is protective versus oppressive? - What role should informed minorities play in governance? A Different Perspective Authority can be justified when expertise truly serves the public good. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Ignorance Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance-political-917257/) [Imposed Restraints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imposed-restraints-4286459/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-authority-608560/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Religious Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-authority-1330464/) [Restraints Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/restraints-religious-4286458/) [Stopping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stopping/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“History is the record of what human beings have been impelled to do by their ignorance and the enormous bumptiousness that makes them canonize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/history-is-the-record-of-what-human-beings-have-been-impelled-to-do/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Israel's highest aspiration may be to be a light among the nations, but it is also a normal nation, where regular people want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bari-weiss/israel-s-highest-aspiration-may-be-to-be-a-light-among-the-nations/) [Bari Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bari-weiss/) > [There is a crisis of religious authority world wide, and there are many reasons. One is colonialism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-durie/there-is-a-crisis-of-religious-authority-world-wide-and-there-are/) [Mark Durie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-durie/) > [Rediscovering the controversies that occupied early Christianity sharpens our awareness of the major issue in the whole debate, then and now: What is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/rediscovering-the-controversies-that-occupied-early-christianity/) [Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/) > [“And the extraordinary thing is that according to these texts all powers, all the power and glory of the kingdoms, all that has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/and-the-extraordinary-thing-is-that-according-to-these-texts-all/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [Fascism is a system of political authority and social order intended to reinforce the unity, energy, and purity of communities in which liberal democracy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-o-paxton/fascism-is-a-system-of-political-authority-and-social-order-intended/) [Robert O. 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Unrestrained political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-f-cooper/the-disposition-of-all-power-is-to-abuses-nor-does-it-at-all-mend-the/) [James F. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-f-cooper/) > [If they're making you miserable let go of them because they're stopping you from finding someone that could make you happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/if-they-re-making-you-miserable-let-go-of-them-because-they-re/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [There are something like 300 anti-genocide chapters on college campuses around the country. It's bigger than the anti-apartheid movement. There are something like 500…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-power/there-are-something-like-300-anti-genocide-chapters-on-college/) [Samantha Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-power/) > [I enjoy going on motorcycle trips and stopping in small towns and enjoying drinks with the locals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/i-enjoy-going-on-motorcycle-trips-and-stopping-in-small-towns-and/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [The only thing stopping you from getting it done is your excuses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/the-only-thing-stopping-you-from-getting-it-done-is-your-excuses/) [SONYA PARKER](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [The sugar maple is remarkable for its clean ankle. The groves of these trees looked like vast forest sheds, their branches stoppingshort at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-sugar-maple-is-remarkable-for-its-clean-ankle-the-groves-of-these/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [When you stop a dictator, there are always risks. But there are greater risks in not stopping a dictator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/when-you-stop-a-dictator-there-are-always-risks-but-there-are-greater/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) ## More by Van Wyck Brooks > [Better the fragrant herb of wit and a little cream of affability than all the pretty cups in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-wyck-brooks/better-the-fragrant-herb-of-wit-and-a-little-cream-of-affability-than/) [Van Wyck Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-wyck-brooks/) > [The creative impulses of man are always at war with the possessive impulses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-wyck-brooks/the-creative-impulses-of-man-are-always-at-war-with-the-possessive/) [Van Wyck Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-wyck-brooks/) > [Genius and virtue are to be more often found clothed in gray than in peacock bright.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-wyck-brooks/genius-and-virtue-are-to-be-more-often-found-clothed-in-gray-than-in/) [Van Wyck Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-wyck-brooks/) > [The instructed man is ashamed to pronounce in an Orphic manner what everybody knows, and because he is silent people think he is making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-wyck-brooks/the-instructed-man-is-ashamed-to-pronounce-in-an-orphic-manner-what/) [Van Wyck Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-wyck-brooks/) > [Nothing is so soothing to our self-esteem as to find our bad traits in our forebears. 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They are bent on showing their own superiority, their knowledge or prowess or good breeding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-wyck-brooks/people-of-small-caliber-are-always-carping-they-are-bent-on-showing/) [Van Wyck Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-wyck-brooks/) > [Magnanimous people have no vanity, they have no jealousy, and they feed on the true and the solid wherever they find it. 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