As centuries of dictators have known, an illiterate crowd is the easiest to rule; since the craft of reading cannot be untaught once it has been acquired, the second-best recourse is to limit its scope.

Alberto Manguel
About This Quote

The most dangerous people are those who are too intelligent. This quote is a warning to those who might be intelligent but are not cautious. The literate can be controlled through censorship and oppression, but the illiterate can be controlled through ignorance. The first part of this quote expresses the idea that if you can’t read you can’t learn anything that is important or necessary.

The second part of the quote refers to the idea that if you limit knowledge, people cannot act intelligently. For example, some dictators have used propaganda to teach their people to hate other countries and people of different religions.

Source: A History Of Reading

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