There is nothing more agreeable in life than to make peace with the establishment and nothing more corrupting.
A. J. P. TaylorRead
If there had been no troublemakers, no Dissenters, we should still be living in caves.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the importance of dissent and challenge in driving progress and change in society.
A. J. P. Taylor's quote emphasizes that without individuals who challenge the status quo and introduce dissent, society would remain stagnant and unreformed. It suggests that those who provoke thought and question existing norms are crucial to societal advancement, implying that conflict and debate are necessary catalysts for evolution and improvement.
Themes
DissentChangeProgressSocietyTroublemakers
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about innovation, one might say 'if there had been no troublemakers, no dissenters, we should still be living in caves' to emphasize on the importance of challenging ideas.
More from A. J. P. Taylor
All quotes →The male clerk with his quill pen and copper-plate handwriting had gone for good. The female short-hand typist took his place. It was a decisive moment in women's emancipation.
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In 1917 European history, in the old sense, came to an end. World history began. It was the year of Lenin and Woodrow Wilson, both of whom repudiated the traditional standards of political behaviour. Both preached Utopia, Heaven on Earth. It was the moment of birth for our contemporary world.
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Though the object of being a Great Power is to be able to fight a Great War, the only way of remaining a Great Power is not to fight one.
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Bismarck fought 'necessary' wars and killed thousands, the idealists of the twentieth century fight 'just' wars and kill millions.
A. J. P. TaylorRead
He was what I often think is a dangerous thing for a statesman to be - a student of history; and like most of those who study history, he learned from the mistakes of the past how to make new ones.
A. J. P. TaylorRead
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