Whether the mask is labeled Fascism, Democracy, or Dictatorship of the Proletariat, our great adversary remains the Apparatus—the bureaucracy, the police, the military. Not the one facing us across the frontier or the battle lines,… but the one that calls itself our protector and makes us its slaves. No matter what the circumstances, the worst betrayal will always be to subordinate ourselves to this Apparatus, and to trample underfoot, in its service, all human values in ourselves and in others.

About Simone Weil

Simone Adolphine Weil (; French: [simɔn adɔlfin vɛj]; 3 February 1909 – 24 August 1943) was a French philosopher, mystic, political activist and labourer. Despite her short life, her ideas concerning religion, spirituality and politics have remained widely influential in contemporary philosophy.

More quotations from Simone Weil

If we forgive God for his crime against us, which is to have made us finite creatures, he will forgive our crime against him, which is that we are finite creatures.

—Simone Weil

The payment of debts is necessary for social order. The non- payment of debts is quite equally necessary for social order. For centuries humanity has oscillated, serenely unaware, between these two contradictory necessities.

—Simone Weil

To be rooted is perhaps the most important and least recognized need of the human soul.

—Simone Weil

soul home rootedness

Evil when we are in its power is not felt as evil but as a necessity, or even a duty.

—Simone Weil

evil

Imagination and fiction make up more than three quarters of our real life.

—Simone Weil

More quotations tagged with “bureaucracy”

There is no passion like that of a functionary for his function.

—Georges Clemenceau

work passion bureaucracy

Bureaucrats write memoranda both because they appear to be busy when they are writing and because the memos, once written, immediately become proof that they were busy.

—Charles Peters

bureaucracy

The perfect bureaucrat everywhere is the man who manages to make no decisions and escape all responsibility.

—Brooks Atkinson

escape responsibility decisions bureaucracy

Bureaucracy defends the status quo long past the time when the quo has lost its status.

—Laurence J. Peter

change bureaucracy status quo inertia

If you want to kill any idea in the world, get a committee working on it.

—Charles Kettering

ideas committees bureaucracy

History

16 Jan 2016 Added
26 Oct 2026 Wording changed

Previous wording

Whether the mask is labeled Fascism, Democracy, or Dictatorship of the Proletariat, our great adversary remains the Apparatus — the bureaucracy, the police, the military. Not the one facing us across the frontier or the battle lines, . . . but the one that calls itself our protector and makes us its slaves. No matter what the circumstances, the worst betrayal will always be to subordinate ourselves to this Apparatus, and to trample underfoot, in its service, all human values in ourselves and in others.