We're always attracted to the edges of what we are, out by the edges where it's a little raw and nervy.
E. L. DoctorowRead
I am often asked the question How can the masses permit themselves to be exploited by the few. The answer is By being persuaded to identify with them.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The masses may often support oppressive systems due to a misguided sense of identification with those in power.
E. L. Doctorow highlights a critical social observation about how the majority of people can fall victim to exploitation by a powerful minority. This exploitation occurs when individuals within the masses begin to identify with the values, desires, or perspectives of the elite, often at the expense of their own welfare. By aligning themselves psychologically with the interests of the few, the masses may willingly consent to their own subjugation without recognizing the manipulation at play.
Themes
ExploitationIdentityMassesPowerPerception
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture about democracy, you could quote this to discuss the relationship between leadership and the public.
More from E. L. Doctorow
All quotes βOne of the things I had to learn as a writer was to trust the act of writing. To put myself in the position of writing to find out what I was writing.
E. L. DoctorowRead
In fiction, you know, there are no borders. You can go anywhere.
E. L. DoctorowRead
Books are acts of composition: you compose them. You make music: the music is called fiction.
E. L. DoctorowRead
We are all good friends. Friendship is what endures. Shared ideals, respect for the whole character of a human being.
E. L. DoctorowRead
I've known several cases of writers who decide to write about something and they research the hell out of it and when they're ready to write, they can't move because they are so burdened. I start writing. Whatever I need somehow comes to hand.
E. L. DoctorowRead
Similar quotes
Heaven and hell suppose two distinct species of men, the good and the bad. But the greatest part of mankind float betwixt vice and virtue.
David HumeRead
If I were not an atheist, I would believe in a God who would choose to save people on the basis of the totality of their lives and not the pattern of their words. I think he would prefer an honest and righteous atheist to a TV preacher whose every word is God, God, God and whose every deed is foul, foul, foul.
Isaac AsimovRead
Having lived through the transition from totalitarianism, I am acutely mindful of the need to never take for granted the basic freedoms of thought, expression and belief that democracy brings.
Daisaku IkedaRead
Chess never has been and never can be aught but a recreation. It should not be indulged in to the detriment of other and more serious avocations - should not absorb or engross the thoughts of those who worship at its shrine, but should be kept in the background, and restrained within its proper province. As a mere game, a relaxation from the severe pursuits of life, it is deserving of high commendation.
Paul MorphyRead
You can't shake hands with a closed fist.
Mahatma GandhiRead
The desire to die was my one and only concern; to it I have sacrificed everything, even death.
Emile M. CioranRead