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Independence? That's middle class blasphemy. We are all dependent on one another, every soul of us on earth.
George Bernard Shaw
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote emphasizes our interconnectedness in society, challenging the idea of complete independence.

George Bernard Shaw's quote highlights the illusion of independence by asserting that every individual relies on others within the community. It suggests that collaboration and mutual dependence are fundamental aspects of human existence, pushing back against the notion that self-sufficiency is a virtue in and of itself.

Themes

IndependenceDependenceInterconnectednessCommunitySociety

In practice

Example use cases

During a group discussion about social issues, one might quote Shaw to highlight the importance of community support.

More from George Bernard Shaw

What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child.
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Marriage is good enough for the lower classes: they have facilities for desertion that are denied to us.
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Forgive him, for he believes that the customs of his tribe are the laws of nature!
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Those who talk most about the blessings of marriage and the constancy of its vows are the very people who declare that if the chain were broken and the prisoners left free to choose, the whole social fabric would fly asunder. You cannot have the argument both ways. If the prisoner is happy, why lock him in? If he is not, why pretend that he is?
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Treat a friend as a person who may someday become your enemy; an enemy as a person who may someday become your friend.
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The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.
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