“To determine the true rulers of any society, all you must do is ask yourself this question: Who is it that I am not permitted to criticize?”

—  Voltaire

Kevin Strom, "All America Must Know the Terror That is Upon Us" http://www.amfirstbooks.com/IntroPages/ToolBarTopics/Articles/Featured_Authors/strom,_kevin/kevin_strom_works/Kevin_Strom_1991-1994/Kevin_A._Strom_19930814-ADV_All_America_Must_Know_the_Terror_That_Is_Upon_Us.html (1993)
Misattributed
Variant: "To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize."

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Sept. 27, 2023. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "To determine the true rulers of any society, all you must do is ask yourself this question: Who is it that I am not per…" by Voltaire?
Voltaire photo
Voltaire 167
French writer, historian, and philosopher 1694–1778

Related quotes

Marcus Aurelius photo

“Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself the following question: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?”

Marcus Aurelius book Meditations

Source: Meditations

“Here’s the thing about constant surveillance—the question you must ask yourself is not “Am I being overheard?” but “Is anybody paying attention to me?””

Sarah Zettel (1966) American writer

Source: Bitter Angels (2009), Chapter 2 (p. 18)

John C. Maxwell photo

“The most important question you can ever ask yourself. It’s not what am I getting. It is what am I becoming.”

John C. Maxwell (1947) American author, speaker and pastor

Book Sometimes you win Sometimes you Learn

“Ask yourself these three questions, Tatiana Metanova, and you will know who you are. Ask: What do believe in? What do you hope for? What do you love?”

Paullina Simons book The Bronze Horseman

Variant: Ask yourself three questions and you will know who you are. Ask 'What do you believe in? What do you hope for? But most important - ask what do you love?
Source: The Bronze Horseman (2001)

Mitch Albom photo

“The little things, I can obey. The big things—how we think, what we value—those you must choose yourself. You can't let anyone—or any society—determine those for you.”

Mitch Albom Tuesdays with Morrie

Source: Tuesdays with Morrie

“There are two questions a man must ask himself: The first is 'Where am I going?' and the second is 'Who will go with me?'

If you ever get these questions in the wrong order you are in trouble.”

Sam Keen (1931) author, professor, and philosopher

Source: Fire in the Belly: On Being a Man

Max Frisch photo

“A society needs famous people; the question is whom it chooses for that role. Any criticism of its choice is by implication a criticism of that society.”

Max Frisch book Montauk

Montauk (1975)

“Never say to yourself, "I am their Lord, their ruler and all in all over them and that I must be obeyed submissively and humbly" because such a thought will unbalance your mind, will make you vain and arrogant, will weaken your faith in religion and will make you seek support of any power other than that of Allah.”

Ali book Nahj al-Balagha

Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 53: An order to Malik Al-Ashtar

Bhakti Tirtha Swami photo

“We should ask three basic questions of any system we encounter. The first question is, “If I am perfect at this practice, what can I expect to achieve?” Once you have heard the answer to this question, you may decide that you do not care to proceed any further, or you may find that the goal is exactly what you have always wanted. The second question is, “What are the means for attaining the goal?” The answer to this question enables you to decide whether you are willing to pay the price to get there. The third question to ask is, “Who has already reached the goal and how do they live their lives?” We should carefully scrutinize those who have supposedly reached the goal to discover their true situation in life. If we feel aligned with the answers to all three questions, then we can “go for it.””

Bhakti Tirtha Swami (1950–2005) American Hindu writer

If we do not, then we should look somewhere else.
Source: Books, Spiritual Warrior, Volume III: Solace for the Heart in Difficult Times (Hari-Nama Press, 2000), Chapter 8 - How To Strengthen Ourselves

E.L. Doctorow photo

“I am often asked the question How can the masses permit themselves to be exploited by the few. The answer is By being persuaded to identify with them.”

E.L. Doctorow Ragtime

Source: Ragtime

Related topics