Ideas control the world.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- This statement asserts that abstract thoughts and beliefs shape reality and human behavior more than physical force.
- In plain terms
- What people think and believe shapes how the world works.
- What can you take from it?
- Ideas drive history and behavior more than force.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What idea changed your life?
- Which idea shapes the world most today?
Another view
Material conditions often limit the power of ideas.
More from James A. Garfield
I mean to make myself a man, and if I succeed in that, I shall succeed in everything else.
Permalink to quote #45 If the power to do hard work is not a skill, it's the best possible substitute for it.
Permalink to quote #47 I have had many troubles, but the worst of them never came.
Permalink to quote #44
Related quotes
Ideas are, in truth, force.
Henry JamesHenry James quote #77 But Hitler didn't strive for the annihilation of the Jews - he stressed that fact in public life and in the newspapers. Hitler merely said at the beginning tha…
Franz von PapenFranz von Papen quote #1 Ideas do not need weapons, if they can convince the great masses.
Fidel CastroFidel Castro quote #2