Now masked in anonymity, it claims to have no existence of its own, and to be but the impersonal and passionless instrument of the general will.
But that is clearly a fiction." - Meaning and context.">
QuotesCosmos
p. 9
 • Cf. Yarvin's "conservation of sovereignty"
“

In later times, Power's growth has continued at an accelerated pace, and its extension has brought a corresponding extension of war. And now we no longer understand the process. We no longer protest, we no longer react. The quiescence of ours is a new thing for which Power has to thank the smokescreen in which it has wrapped itself. Formally, it could be seen manifest in the person of the king, who did not disclaim being the matter he was, and in whom human passions were discernible. Now masked in anonymity, it claims to have no existence of its own, and to be but the impersonal and passionless instrument of the general will.
But that is clearly a fiction.

— Bertrand de Jouvenel

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "In later times, Power's growth has continued at an accelerated pace, and its extension has brought a corresponding extension of war. And now we no longer understand the process. We no longer protest, we no longer react. The quiescence of ours is a new thing for which Power has to thank the smokescreen in which it has wrapped itself. Formally, it could be seen manifest in the person of the king, who did not disclaim being the matter he was, and in whom human passions were discernible. Now masked in anonymity, it claims to have no existence of its own, and to be but the impersonal and passionless instrument of the general will.
But that is clearly a fiction." in the context of "p. 9
 • Cf. Yarvin's "conservation of sovereignty"" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Bertrand de Jouvenel" (Quotes, On Power: Its Nature and the History of Its Growth (1949): (Sometimes also alternatively entitled: "The Natural History of Its Growth"). Translated by J. F. Huntington. New York: The Viking Press. (Original French work published 1945)) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 19, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

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#Bertrand de Jouvenel#longer#extension#corresponding#accelerated#smokescreen#discernible#passionless#understand#quiescence#impersonal#instrument
Bertrand de Jouvenel

About Bertrand de Jouvenel

Bertrand de Jouvenel des Ursins (31 October 1903 – 1 March 1987), a late French aristocrat, was a philosopher, political economist, and futurist. Among other places, he taught at Oxford, the Cambridge, Yale and Berkeley.