--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Genocide, the physical extinction of a…" description: "\"Genocide, the physical extinction of a people, is universally condemned, but ethnocide, the destruction of people's way of life, is not only not condem..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f37/wade-davis-18196_destruction_genocide-the-physical-extinction-of-a-pe_207390.png" --- # Genocide, the physical extinction of a people, is… ![“Genocide, the physical extinction of a people, is universally condemned, but ethnocide, the destruction of people's way of life, is not only not condemned, it's universally celebrated as part of a development strategy.” quote by Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f37/wade-davis-18196_destruction_genocide-the-physical-extinction-of-a-pe_207390.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f37/wade-davis-18196_destruction_genocide-the-physical-extinction-of-a-pe_207390.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f37/wade-davis-18196_destruction_genocide-the-physical-extinction-of-a-pe_207390.png) > “Genocide, the physical extinction of a people, is universally condemned, but ethnocide, the destruction of people's way of life, is not only not condemned, it's universally celebrated as part of a development strategy.” [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Genocide is the physical destruction of a people, while ethnocide erases cultural identity and is often ignored or even promoted under development rhetoric. **In simple terms:** Physical destruction is condemned; cultural erasure is overlooked. Key Takeaway Recognize and protect cultural heritage. Themes human rights culture development ethics Mood concerned critical Type analytical advocacy When to use this quote - policy making - NGO work - education - media reporting Key Concepts cultural genocide development policy colonialism Questions to Reflect On - How can societies value intangible cultural heritage? - What policies can prevent ethnocide? A Different Perspective Cultural erasure can be subtle and hard to measure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destruction/) [Extinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extinction/) [Genocide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genocide/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Strategy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strategy/) [Way of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-of-life/) ## Related quotes > [The United Nations cannot stand by and witness the destruction of the people of West Papua.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-dowiyogo/the-united-nations-cannot-stand-by-and-witness-the-destruction-of-the/) Bernard Dowiyogo > [We are on a serous path to destruction. People need to wake up before its too late!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-kitching/we-are-on-a-serous-path-to-destruction-people-need-to-wake-up-before/) [Audrey Kitching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-kitching/) > [I feel like I'm witnessing the systematic destruction of a people's ability to survive… Sometimes I sit down to dinner with people and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-corrie/i-feel-like-i-m-witnessing-the-systematic-destruction-of-a-people-s-2/) [Rachel Corrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-corrie/) > [I feel like I'm witnessing the systematic destruction of a people's ability to survive. It's horrifying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-corrie/i-feel-like-i-m-witnessing-the-systematic-destruction-of-a-people-s/) [Rachel Corrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-corrie/) > [“You know how the dinosaurs went extinct - they committed suicide when they saw the white man coming. They said to themselves, clearly white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/you-know-how-the-dinosaurs-went-extinct-they-committed-suicide-when/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“We killed them all when we came here. The people came and burned their land The forests where they used to feed We burned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/we-killed-them-all-when-we-came-here-the-people-came-and-burned-their/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Its haunting to realize that half of the languages of the world are teetering on the brink of extinction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/its-haunting-to-realize-that-half-of-the-languages-of-the-world-are/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [Plague has hung over human history. The biggest human extinction was after 1492 in North and South America when the mortality rate was 95…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/plague-has-hung-over-human-history-the-biggest-human-extinction-was/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Human extinction in our children's lifetime, it should be your top news item every single day, what's happening, you should be holding politicians to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-bradbrook/human-extinction-in-our-children-s-lifetime-it-should-be-your-top/) [Gail Bradbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-bradbrook/) > [For the complete extinction of the state, complete Communism is necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/for-the-complete-extinction-of-the-state-complete-communism-is/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [The extinction of Homo Sapiens would mean survival for millions, if not billions, of Earth-dwelling species. Phasing out the human race will solve every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/the-extinction-of-homo-sapiens-would-mean-survival-for-millions-if/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [Corporate America is a 20th-century dinosaur, trembling on the edge of extinction, and the only way for you to have a genuinely secure future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/corporate-america-is-a-20th-century-dinosaur-trembling-on-the-edge-of/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [The human heart is not yet so corroded that it can read off the extinction of these two men without a shock to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/the-human-heart-is-not-yet-so-corroded-that-it-can-read-off-the/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [“Human race had never planned to show up in this universe. I wonder whether current human efforts are relevant to its sustainability.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/human-race-had-never-planned-to-show-up-in-this-universe-i-wonder/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [“You go into extinction by being obsessed about becoming something else and then travelling in the wrong car while your real self keeps waiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/you-go-into-extinction-by-being-obsessed-about-becoming-something/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) ## More by Wade Davis > [“Even now I am haunted by the touching look of the young, bright, anxious eyes as we passed along the rows of sufferers. There,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/even-now-i-am-haunted-by-the-touching-look-of-the-young-bright/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [Its haunting to realize that half of the languages of the world are teetering on the brink of extinction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/its-haunting-to-realize-that-half-of-the-languages-of-the-world-are/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [We accept it as normal that people who have never been on the land, who have no history or connection to the country, may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/we-accept-it-as-normal-that-people-who-have-never-been-on-the-land/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [Change is no threat to culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/change-is-no-threat-to-culture/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [The measure of a society is not only what it does but the quality of its aspirations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/the-measure-of-a-society-is-not-only-what-it-does-but-the-quality-of/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [“What is even more astonishing is that the entire science of wayfinding is based on dead reckoning. You only know where you are by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/what-is-even-more-astonishing-is-that-the-entire-science-of/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [“Marsh had travelled on foot to the source of the Nile and once stood down a charging rhinoceros by intrepidly opening a pink umbrella…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/marsh-had-travelled-on-foot-to-the-source-of-the-nile-and-once-stood/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [The world can only appear monochromatic to those who persist in interpreting what they experience through the lens of a single cultural paradigm, their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/the-world-can-only-appear-monochromatic-to-those-who-persist-in/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [“Risk discomfort and solitude for understanding.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/risk-discomfort-and-solitude-for-understanding/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [Sensitivity to nature is not an innate attribute of indigenous peoples. It is a consequence of adaptive choices that have resulted in the development…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/sensitivity-to-nature-is-not-an-innate-attribute-of-indigenous/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [So be patient. Do not compromise. And give your destiny time to find you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/so-be-patient-do-not-compromise-and-give-your-destiny-time-to-find-you/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [You know, once something freezes, it's solid. That's the key to the arctic - they didn't fear the cold, they made use of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/you-know-once-something-freezes-it-s-solid-that-s-the-key-to-the/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [“These other cultures are not failed attempts to be us; they are unique manifestations of the spirit—other options, other visions of life itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/these-other-cultures-are-not-failed-attempts-to-be-us-they-are-unique/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [The problem is that those of us sympathetic with the plight of indigenous people view them as quaint and colorful, but somehow reduced to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/the-problem-is-that-those-of-us-sympathetic-with-the-plight-of/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) > [If diversity is a source of wonder, its opposite - the ubiquitous condensation to some blandly amorphous and singularly generic modern culture that takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/if-diversity-is-a-source-of-wonder-its-opposite-the-ubiquitous/) [Wade Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) [Explore all 35 Wade Davis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/) ## More Destruction quotes > [For not only every democracy, but certainly every republic, bears within itself the seeds of its own destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-not-only-every-democracy-but-certainly-every-republic-bears/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-white-lies-there-is-only-the-blackest-of-destruction-and/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [Perhaps the greatest and least visible form of impoverishment caused by the Corporate State is the destruction of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-reich/perhaps-the-greatest-and-least-visible-form-of-impoverishment-caused/) [Charles A. Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-reich/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Death is but an aspect of life, and the destruction of one material form is but a prelude to building up of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-is-but-an-aspect-of-life-and-the-destruction-of-one-material/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Hundreds of millions of human beings on our planet increasingly suffer from unemployment, poverty, hunger, and the destruction of their families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-kung/hundreds-of-millions-of-human-beings-on-our-planet-increasingly/) [Hans Kung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-kung/) > [Away with you, water, destruction of wine!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catullus/away-with-you-water-destruction-of-wine/) [Catullus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catullus/) > [Some voluntary castaways there will always be, whom no fostering kindness and no parental care can preserve from self-destruction; but if any are lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/some-voluntary-castaways-there-will-always-be-whom-no-fostering/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [“You are a lawmaker in your own right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-are-a-lawmaker-in-your-own-right/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [ No visiting angel, or explorer from another planet, could have guessed that this bland orb \[Earth\] teemed with vermin, with world-mastering, self-torturing, incipiently angelic… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/no-visiting-angel-or-explorer-from-another-planet-could-have-guessed/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) > [As far as I know, the question of whether and how it could be strategically or morally justified was never the subject of open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-far-as-i-know-the-question-of-whether-and-how-it-could-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Is there some lesson on how to be friends? I think what it means is that central to living a life that is good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/is-there-some-lesson-on-how-to-be-friends-i-think-what-it-means-is/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [“We're on the eve of destruction. Men have lost all sense of honor. Power has become their faith instead of faith being their power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atiq-rahimi/we-re-on-the-eve-of-destruction-men-have-lost-all-sense-of-honor/) Atiq Rahimi [Browse all 3,161 Destruction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destruction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Genocide, the physical extinction of a people, is universally condemned, but ethnocide, the destruction of people's way of life, is not only not condemned, it's universally celebrated as part of a development strategy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wade Davis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/genocide-the-physical-extinction-of-a-people-is-universally-condemned/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Destruction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/genocide-the-physical-extinction-of-a-people-is-universally-condemned/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f37/wade-davis-18196_destruction_genocide-the-physical-extinction-of-a-pe_207390.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f37/wade-davis-18196_destruction_genocide-the-physical-extinction-of-a-pe_207390.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f37/wade-davis-18196_destruction_genocide-the-physical-extinction-of-a-pe_207390.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Genocide, the physical extinction of a people, is universally condemned, but ethnocide, the destruction of…” — Wade Davis", "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": "Wade Davis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-davis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Genocide, the physical extinction of a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/genocide-the-physical-extinction-of-a-people-is-universally-condemned/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-davis/genocide-the-physical-extinction-of-a-people-is-universally-condemned/#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 } } ] } ```