Freedom would be not to choose between black and white but to abjure such prescribed choices.
Theodor AdornoRead
In the end, glorification of splendid underdogs is nothing other than glorification of the splendid system that makes them so.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote critiques the celebration of underdogs, suggesting it ultimately reinforces the very systems that create their struggles.
Theodor Adorno's quote highlights a complex relationship between society's admiration for underdogs and the societal structures that contribute to their positioning as underdogs. By glorifying these individuals' struggles and victories, we may inadvertently acknowledge and uphold the systems that perpetuate inequality and adversity, rather than challenging those systems themselves. This insight invites a critical examination of how we view success and struggle within societal frameworks.
Themes
UnderdogSocietyGlorificationSystemsStruggle
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech discussing social justice, one might refer to this quote to highlight the importance of addressing systemic issues rather than simply celebrating individual achievements.
More from Theodor Adorno
All quotes βWhat can oppose the decline of the west is not a resurrected culture but the utopia that is silently contained in the image of its decline.
Theodor AdornoRead
Wrong life cannot be lived rightly.
Theodor AdornoRead
Auschwitz begins wherever someone looks at a slaughterhouse and thinks: theyβre only animals.
Theodor AdornoRead
The splinter in your eye is the best magnifying-glass available.
Theodor AdornoRead
The culture industry not so much adapts to the reactions of its customers as it counterfeits them.
Theodor AdornoRead
Similar quotes
If you followed the media you'd think that everybody in Africa was starving to death, and that's not the case; so it's important to engage with the other Africa.
Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieRead
Every man contemplates an angel in his future self.
Ralph Waldo EmersonRead
We have for too long been taught that the sight of a man speaking to himself is a sign of eccentricity or madness; we are no longer at all habituated to our own voices, except in conversation or from within the safety of a shouting crowd.
Teju ColeRead
It is not our affluence, or our plumbing, or our clogged freeways that grip the imagination of others. Rather, it is the values upon which our system is built. These values imply our adherence not only to liberty and individual freedom, but also to international peace, law and order, and constructive social purpose. When we depart from these values, we do so at our peril.
J. William FulbrightRead
The only ultimate disaster that can befall us is to feel ourselves at home on this earth.
Malcolm MuggeridgeRead
The true and the approximately true are apprehended by the same faculty; it may also be noted that men have a sufficient natural instinct for what is true, and usually do arrive at the truth. Hence the man who makes a good guess at truth is likely to make a good guess at probabilities.
AristotleRead