It has always happened that tyrants, in order to strengthen their power, have made every effort to train their people not only in obedience and servility toward themselves, but also in adoration.
Etienne De La BoetieRead
It is incredible how as soon as a people become subject, it promptly falls into such complete forgetfulness of its freedom that it can hardly be roused to the point of regaining it, obeying so easily and willingly that one is led to say that this people has not so much lost its liberty as won its enslavement.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on how people can forget their freedom and become complacent in subjugation.
Etienne De La Boetie's quote highlights the alarming tendency of individuals and groups to forget their inherent freedom once subjected to oppressive authority. It suggests that this forgetfulness is so profound that they become willing participants in their own enslavement, implying a critique of societal complacency and the psychological mechanisms behind it.
Themes
FreedomEnslavementPsychologyComplacencyAuthority
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on civil rights, one might quote this to emphasize the importance of remaining vigilant about personal freedoms.
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