'In the end, glorification of splendid underdogs is nothing other than glorification of the splendid system that makes them so.'
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The quote argues that celebrating underdogs actually reinforces the system that creates them.
- In plain terms
- Cheering underdogs upholds the very system that makes them underdogs.
- What can you take from it?
- Glorifying the powerless can unintentionally support existing structures.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Does praising underdogs dilute calls for systemic reform?
- When can underdog narratives be truly transformative?
Another view
Not all underdog stories are purely symbolic; some inspire genuine change.
More from Theodor Adorno
'In the end the tough guys are the truely effeminate ones, who need the weaklings as their victims in order not to admit that they are like them.'
Permalink to quote #48 'In the nineteenth century the Germans painted their dream and the outcome was invariably vegetable. The French needed only to paint a vegetable and it was alr…
Permalink to quote #50 'In the clock's over-loud ticking we hear the mockery of light-years for the span of our existence.'
Permalink to quote #47
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