Quote

There are different forms of anarchy and different currents in it. I must, first say very simply what anarchy I have in view. By anarchy I mean first an absolute rejection of violence.

Jacques Ellul

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

Jacques Ellul
Age: 82 †
Born: 1912
Born: January 6
Died: 1994
Died: May 19
French Resistance Fighter
Philosopher
Sociologist
Theologian
University Teacher
Writer
Bordèu
First
Absolute
Must
Forms
Mean
View
Different
Views
Anarchism
Violence
Anarchy
Simply
Rejection
Form
Currents
Firsts
Absolutes

More quotes by Jacques Ellul

Image
It is the emergence of mass media which makes possible the use of propaganda techniques on a societal scale.
Jacques Ellul
Image
And an apprenticeship to whatever gadgetry is useful in a technical world
Jacques Ellul
Image
The fact of knowing how to read is nothing, the whole point is knowing what to read.
Jacques Ellul
Image
The Holy Spirit alone can do this, the Holy Spirit alone can establish this link with one's neighbor.
Jacques Ellul
Image
Mass media provides the essential link between the individual and the demands of the technological society.
Jacques Ellul
Image
Again I want to emphasize that the study of propaganda must be conducted within the context of a technological society. Propaganda is called upon to solve problems created by technology, to play on maladjustments, and to integrate the individual into a technological world.
Jacques Ellul
Image
Propaganda does not aim to elevate man, but to make him serve.
Jacques Ellul
Image
Human life as a whole is not inundated by technique. It has room for activities that are not rationally or systematically ordered. But the collision between spontaneous activities and technique is catastrophic for the spontaneous activities.
Jacques Ellul
Image
It is not true that the perfection of police power is the result of the state's Machiavellianism or of some transitory influence. The whole structure of society implies it, of necessity. The more we mobilize the forces of nature, the more must we mobilize men and the more do we require order.
Jacques Ellul
Image
For in a civilization which has lost the meaning of life, the most important thing a Christian can do is to live, and life, understood from the point of view of faith, has an extraordinary explosive force.
Jacques Ellul
Image
To the ideal of high consumption and the downgrading of spiritual values corresponds a conception of injustice that centers exclusively on the problem of consumption and equality in consumption cannot be achieved except by violence.
Jacques Ellul
Image
I describe a world with no exit, convinced that God accompanies man throughout his history.
Jacques Ellul
Image
It is the multiplication of men who are exluded from working which provokes war. We ought at least to bear this in mind when we boast of the continual decrease in human participation in technical operations.
Jacques Ellul
Image
Because of the myth of progress, it is much easier to sell a man an electric razor than a straight-edged one.
Jacques Ellul
Image
All human language draws its nature and value from the fact that it both comes from the Word of God and is chosen by God to manifest himself. But this relationship is secret and incomprehensible, beyond the bounds of reason and analysis.
Jacques Ellul
Image
Freedom is completely without meaning unless it is related to necessity, unless it represents victory over necessity.
Jacques Ellul
Image
Modern technology has become a total phenomenon for civilization, the defining force of a new social order in which efficiency is no longer an option but a necessity imposed on all human activity.
Jacques Ellul
Image
Science brings to the light of day everything man had believed sacred. Technique takes possession of it and enslaves it.
Jacques Ellul
Image
Am I a pessimist? Not at all. I am convinced that the history of the human race, no matter how tragic, will ultimately lead to the Kingdom of God. I am convinced that all the works of humankind will be reintegrated in the work of God, and that each of us, no matter how sinful, will ultimately be saved.
Jacques Ellul
Image
Almost always, it is the conviction that 'I am right' or 'my cause is the cause of justice' that triggers violence. That is, ...the moment propaganda does its work, violence is unleashed. And violence can be reduced by countering this propaganda.
Jacques Ellul