--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is above all man's social position…" description: "\"It is above all man's social position that decides whether he will sublimate his sadism as a butcher, surgeon, or policeman.\" — Wilhelm Reich" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10e/wilhelm-reich-2565_butchers_it-is-above-all-man-s-social-position-th_2502255.jpg" --- # It is above all man's social position that decides whether… ![“It is above all man's social position that decides whether he will sublimate his sadism as a butcher, surgeon, or policeman.” quote by Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10e/wilhelm-reich-2565_butchers_it-is-above-all-man-s-social-position-th_2502255.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10e/wilhelm-reich-2565_butchers_it-is-above-all-man-s-social-position-th_2502255.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10e/wilhelm-reich-2565_butchers_it-is-above-all-man-s-social-position-th_2502255.jpg) > “It is above all man's social position that decides whether he will sublimate his sadism as a butcher, surgeon, or policeman.” [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Social status influences how people channel aggressive impulses into socially accepted roles. **In simple terms:** Status shapes how we express aggression. Key Takeaway Be aware of status-driven aggression. Themes social hierarchy aggression psychology Mood analytical critical Type psychological philosophical When to use this quote - workplace - law enforcement - medicine - military Key Concepts sublimation power dynamics morality Questions to Reflect On - How does your role affect your actions? - Can aggression be redirected positively? A Different Perspective Status may not fully determine behavior; personal choice matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Butcher Surgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/butcher-surgeon-1073351/) [Butchers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/butchers/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Policemen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policemen/) [Position](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/position/) [Sadism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadism/) [Sadism Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadism-butcher-1073349/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Sublimate Sadism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sublimate-sadism-1073350/) [Surgeon Policeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surgeon-policeman-1073352/) [Surgeons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surgeons/) ## Related quotes > [“A third emotional source of the defense forces is the sadistic conception of sexuality that the children of all patriarchal cultural circles acquire in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/a-third-emotional-source-of-the-defense-forces-is-the-sadistic/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) > [The suppression of natural sexual gratification leads to various kinds of substitute gratifications. Natural aggression, for example, becomes brutal sadism which then is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/the-suppression-of-natural-sexual-gratification-leads-to-various/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) > [Take sex away from people. Make it forbidden, evil. Limit it to ritualistic breeding. Force it to back up into suppressed sadism. Then hand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/take-sex-away-from-people-make-it-forbidden-evil-limit-it-to/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Tears gratify a savage nature, they do not melt it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/tears-gratify-a-savage-nature-they-do-not-melt-it/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [When I was a baby feminist, leading feminist thinkers were insisting that if women ran the world, there would be no sadism or war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/when-i-was-a-baby-feminist-leading-feminist-thinkers-were-insisting/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [“Was it boredom or sadism that made the shirt service people do up every single button?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/was-it-boredom-or-sadism-that-made-the-shirt-service-people-do-up/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Yet I had not bargained for this, the girl with tears hanging on her cheeks like stuck pearls, her cunt a split fig below…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/yet-i-had-not-bargained-for-this-the-girl-with-tears-hanging-on-her/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [“The entire affective world, constructed over the years with utmost difficulty, collapses with a kick in the father's genitals, a smack on the mother's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacobo-timerman/the-entire-affective-world-constructed-over-the-years-with-utmost/) [Jacobo Timerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacobo-timerman/) > [“Sadism dominates the culture. It runs like an electric current through reality television and trash-talk programs, is at the core of pornography, and fuels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/sadism-dominates-the-culture-it-runs-like-an-electric-current-through-2/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [“Sadism dominates the culture. It runs like an electric current through reality television and trash-talk programs, is at the core of pornography, and fuels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/sadism-dominates-the-culture-it-runs-like-an-electric-current-through/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [Any man who has ever led an army, an expedition, or a group of Boy Scouts has sadism in his bones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/any-man-who-has-ever-led-an-army-an-expedition-or-a-group-of-boy/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [Pornography reveals that male pleasure is inextricably tied to victimizing, hurting, exploiting; that sexual fun and sexual passion in the privacy of the male…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/pornography-reveals-that-male-pleasure-is-inextricably-tied-to/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [As the many male victims of rape in the regime's disgusting jails can testify, this state-run pathology of sexual repression and sexual sadism is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/as-the-many-male-victims-of-rape-in-the-regime-s-disgusting-jails-can/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“The difference between lay and lie is like the difference between sadism and masochism: one means doing something to someone (or something) else, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-baranick/the-difference-between-lay-and-lie-is-like-the-difference-between/) [Jenny Baranick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-baranick/) > [“Many governments employ torture but this was the first time that the element of Saturnalia and pornography in the process had been made so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/many-governments-employ-torture-but-this-was-the-first-time-that-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More by Wilhelm Reich > [The question of how and why the encrustations and rigidifications of human emotional life are brought about led directly into the realm of vegetative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/the-question-of-how-and-why-the-encrustations-and-rigidifications-of/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) > [“Saw a film on cancer yesterday, shown by the English delegation. No doubt about it. I'm right. "Migratory cancer cells" are amoebic formations. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/saw-a-film-on-cancer-yesterday-shown-by-the-english-delegation-no/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) > [“All human philosophy is riddled with the nightmare of searching in vain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/all-human-philosophy-is-riddled-with-the-nightmare-of-searching-in/) [wilhelm reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) > [I know that what you call 'God' really exists, but not in the form you think; God is primal cosmic energy, the love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/i-know-that-what-you-call-god-really-exists-but-not-in-the-form-you/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) > [People should be \_very\_ careful when choosing the future fathers and mothers of their children. For that reason alone, it is extremely mean to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/people-should-be-very-careful-when-choosing-the-future-fathers-and/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) > [“Gradually it became clear that it is a fundamental error to try to give the sexual act a psychological interpretation, to attribute to it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/gradually-it-became-clear-that-it-is-a-fundamental-error-to-try-to/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) > [Mistaking insolence for freedom has always been the hallmark of the slave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/mistaking-insolence-for-freedom-has-always-been-the-hallmark-of-the/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) > [“Build your house on granite. By granite I mean your nature that you are torturing to death, the love in your child's body, your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/build-your-house-on-granite-by-granite-i-mean-your-nature-that-you/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) > [The vital energies regulate themselves naturally without compulsive duty or compulsive morality both of which are sure signs of existing antisocial impulses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/the-vital-energies-regulate-themselves-naturally-without-compulsive/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) > [“You'll have a good, secure life when being alive means more to you than security, love more than money, your freedom more than public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/you-ll-have-a-good-secure-life-when-being-alive-means-more-to-you/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) > [The suppression of natural sexual gratification leads to various kinds of substitute gratifications. Natural aggression, for example, becomes brutal sadism which then is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/the-suppression-of-natural-sexual-gratification-leads-to-various/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) > [The cry for freedom is a sign of suppression. It will not cease to ring as long as man feels himself captive. As diverse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/the-cry-for-freedom-is-a-sign-of-suppression-it-will-not-cease-to/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) > [“Race theorists, who are as old as imperialism itself, want to achieve racial purity in peoples whose interbreeding, as a result of the expansion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/race-theorists-who-are-as-old-as-imperialism-itself-want-to-achieve/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) > [You yourself create all your misery, hour after hour, day after day. You think the goal justifies the means, even the vile means. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/you-yourself-create-all-your-misery-hour-after-hour-day-after-day-you/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) > [“I want you to stop being subhuman and become 'yourself'. 'Yourself,' I say. Not the newspaper you read, not your vicious neighbor's opinion, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/i-want-you-to-stop-being-subhuman-and-become-yourself-yourself-i-say/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) [Explore all 130 Wilhelm Reich quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) ## More Butchers quotes > [well, death says, as he walks by, I'm going to get you anyhow no matter what you've been: writer, cab-driver, pimp, butcher, sky-diver, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/well-death-says-as-he-walks-by-i-m-going-to-get-you-anyhow-no-matter/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I go in the butchers and there's not a lot of meat I can eat these days, with having all the animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-o-grady/i-go-in-the-butchers-and-there-s-not-a-lot-of-meat-i-can-eat-these/) [Paul O'Grady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-o-grady/) > [One should stick to the sort of thing for which one was made; I tried to be an herbalist, Whereas I should keep to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-fontaine/one-should-stick-to-the-sort-of-thing-for-which-one-was-made-i-tried/) [Jean de La Fontaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-fontaine/) > [I went to the butchers to buy a leg of lamb. "Is it Scotch?", I asked. "Why?" the butcher said in reply. "Are you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chic-murray/i-went-to-the-butchers-to-buy-a-leg-of-lamb-is-it-scotch-i-asked-why/) [Chic Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chic-murray/) > [Mr. William Shakespeare was born at Stratford upon Avon in the county of Warwick. His father was a butcher, and I have been told…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-aubrey/mr-william-shakespeare-was-born-at-stratford-upon-avon-in-the-county/) [John Aubrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-aubrey/) > [What is that in his hand?" "A cleaver. As in-" "Butcher's knife." "You got it." "I hope not." "He does not look happy." "Are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-pearson/what-is-that-in-his-hand-a-cleaver-as-in-butcher-s-knife-you-got-it-i/) [Ridley Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-pearson/) > [My grandmother was amazing. She completely believed in me and was very encouraging. She would go to the supermarket or the butcher or wherever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-jacobs/my-grandmother-was-amazing-she-completely-believed-in-me-and-was-very/) [Marc Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-jacobs/) > [We look after religion as the butcher did after his knife, when he had it in his mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-selden/we-look-after-religion-as-the-butcher-did-after-his-knife-when-he-had/) [John Selden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-selden/) > [Julian was the son of Diokles of Sparta, also known as Diokles the Butcher. That man made the Marquis de Sade look like Ronald…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/julian-was-the-son-of-diokles-of-sparta-also-known-as-diokles-the/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [To see the butcher slap the steak before he laid it on the block, and give his knife a sharpening, was to forget breakfast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/to-see-the-butcher-slap-the-steak-before-he-laid-it-on-the-block-and/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Just as Americans have discovered the hidden energy costs in a multitude of products-in refrigerating a steak, for example, on its way to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-adler/just-as-americans-have-discovered-the-hidden-energy-costs-in-a/) [Jerry Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-adler/) > [Editing might be a bloody trade. But knives aren't the exclusive property of butchers. Surgeons use them too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-morrison/editing-might-be-a-bloody-trade-but-knives-aren-t-the-exclusive/) [Blake Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-morrison/) > [Remember, when you hear them beginning to say "freedom" look carefully-. see who it is they want you to butcher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-comfort/remember-when-you-hear-them-beginning-to-say-freedom-look-carefully/) [Alex Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-comfort/) > [There is not much collective security in a flock of sheep on the way to the butcher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/there-is-not-much-collective-security-in-a-flock-of-sheep-on-the-way/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [My wife went into the butchers and said: "You've a sheep's head in your window." The butcher said: "That's a mirror."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-carson/my-wife-went-into-the-butchers-and-said-you-ve-a-sheep-s-head-in-your/) [Frank Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-carson/) [Browse all 179 Butchers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/butchers/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is above all man's social position that decides whether he will sublimate his sadism as a butcher, surgeon, or policeman.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wilhelm Reich" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/it-is-above-all-man-s-social-position-that-decides-whether-he-will/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Butchers" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/it-is-above-all-man-s-social-position-that-decides-whether-he-will/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10e/wilhelm-reich-2565_butchers_it-is-above-all-man-s-social-position-th_2502255.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10e/wilhelm-reich-2565_butchers_it-is-above-all-man-s-social-position-th_2502255.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10e/wilhelm-reich-2565_butchers_it-is-above-all-man-s-social-position-th_2502255.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is above all man's social position that decides whether he will sublimate his sadism as a butcher…” — Wilhelm Reich", "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": "Wilhelm Reich", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is above all man's social...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/it-is-above-all-man-s-social-position-that-decides-whether-he-will/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/it-is-above-all-man-s-social-position-that-decides-whether-he-will/#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 } } ] } ```