43 Quotes about Dominance and Power in and around Us

What role does dominance play in your life? Who is in charge, and how are they in charge? This might be something you've never thought about before—but now's your chance. Allow these 43 quotes to take you down the rabbit hole of domination.

'Dominance' is a jarring term that implies extreme power over groups, people, institutions, government organizations, and much more. Power is a complex phenomenon, but everyone has an opinion about it, whether they know it or not.

On a societal level, we all believe that power is working in one way or another or that it should or should not be working in some ways. In personal relationships, we have differing views of power, such as parents being the domineering force over their children. There is applies to work, from the CEO to the manager and the worker bees.

There are so many opinions and observations about this concept. Find out about 43 of them here via the quotes below.

Shia LaBeouf’s quote: “We're living through the twilight of American economic dominance." | Image: AmoDays

Quotes about Society and Dominance

"'Beauty' is a currency system like the gold standard…in the West, it is the last, best belief system that keeps male dominance intact." — Naomi Wolf

"The intellectual force of the West is still dominant, but other cultures are getting stronger. I expect that we will develop a new way of thinking in architecture and urban planning and that less will be based on our models." — Rem Koolhaas

"Democracy is not about one party dominating." — Ed Townsend

"My father's generation gave to my generation a land of wealth and purpose and world economic dominance." — Paul Tsongas

"I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group" — Peggy McIntosh

Naomi Wolf’s quote: "'Beauty' is a currency system like the gold standard…in the West, it is the last, best belief system that keeps male dominance intact." | Image: AmoDays

"We live in a culture where European beauty standards are dominant." — A'Lelia Bundles

"Like many works of literature, Hollywood chooses for its villains people who strive for social dominance through the pursuit of wealth, prestige, and power. But the ordinary business of capitalism is much more egalitarian: It's about finding meaning and enjoyment in work and production." — Alex Tabarrok

"We're living through the twilight of American economic dominance." — Shia LaBeouf

"State capitalism is about more than emergency government spending, implementation of more intelligent regulation, or a stronger social safety net. It's about state dominance of economic activity for political gain." — Ian Bremmer

"The marginalized did not create identity politics: their identities have been forced on them by dominant groups, and politics is the most effective method of revolt." — Stacey Abrams

Quotes on Women, Men, and Dominance

Jasmine Guy’s quote: "I am very sad for men and women trapped in any relationship where there is cruelty, dominance, inequity. I long for the liberation of all people." | Image: AmoDays

"Woman is the dominant sex. Men have to do all sorts of stuff to prove that they are worthy of woman's attention." — Camille Paglia

"In spite of the dominant role played by women in both farming, they are denied credit as they lack land titles. Only a small percentage of Kisan Credit Cards goes to them." — M. S. Swaminathan

"It is better for a woman to compete impersonally in society, as men do than to compete for dominance in her own home with her husband, compete with her neighbors for empty status, and so smother her son that he cannot compete at all." — Betty Friedan

"It is the law of nature that woman should be held under the dominance of man." — Confucius

Patti LaBelle’s quote: "Women are strong now. Women are dominating the charts, and women are doing it for themselves. We're kicking butt and taking no prisoners." | Image: AmoDays

"I am very sad for men and women trapped in any relationship where there is cruelty, dominance, inequity. I long for the liberation of all people." — Jasmine Guy

"A strong man doesn't have to be dominant toward a woman. He doesn't match his strength against a woman weak with love for him. He matches it against the world." — Marilyn Monroe

"Women are strong now. Women are dominating the charts, and women are doing it for themselves. We're kicking butt and taking no prisoners." — Patti LaBelle

Psychology, Human Behavior, and Dominance

"There is a strange kind of human being in whom there is an eternal struggle between body and soul, animal and god, for dominance. In all great men, this mixture is striking, and in none more so than in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart." — Alfred Einstein

"Vulnerability is the strongest state to be in. How boring would it be if we were constantly dominant or constantly submissive?" — FKA twigs

Soren Kierkegaard’s quote: "Our life always expresses the result of our dominant thoughts." | Image: AmoDays

"I'm left-brain dominant, so anxiety and nervousness don't affect me; most emotions don't." — Walter O'Brien

"The really creative person is not interested in dominating anybody. He is so utterly rejoicing in life—he wants to create; he wants to participate with God. Creativity is prayer. And whenever you create something, in those moments, you are with God; you walk with God, you live in God. The more creative you are, the more divine you are. To me, creativity is religion. Art is just the entrance to the temple of religion." — Rajneesh

"I don't want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them." — Oscar Wilde

"You will become as small as your controlling desire; as great as your dominant aspiration." — James Allen

Eckhart Tolle’s quote: "Love, joy, and peace cannot flourish until you have freed yourself from mind dominance." | Image: AmoDays

"The lust for power, for dominating others, inflames the heart more than any other passion." — Tacitus

"Our life always expresses the result of our dominant thoughts." — Soren Kierkegaard

"Allow your softer, more intuitive, and less dominating feminine qualities to rise to the fore, so that you're surrendering rather than dominating, receiving rather than broadcasting, loving rather than fighting." — Laozi

"A radical inner transformation and rise to a new level of consciousness might be the only real hope we have in the current global crisis brought on by the dominance of the Western mechanistic paradigm." — Stanislav Grof

Bruce Lee’s quote: "The spirit of the individual is determined by his dominating thought habits." | Image: AmoDays

"People who feel insecure in social situations never miss a chance to exhibit their dominance over close, submissive friends, whom they put down publicly, in front of everyone—by teasing, for example." — Friedrich Nietzsche

"Love, joy, and peace cannot flourish until you have freed yourself from mind dominance." — Eckhart Tolle

"The spirit of the individual is determined by his dominating thought habits." — Bruce Lee

More Quotes about Dominance

"I think we can rule out 'mixed brain dominance' as a cause of your poor performance at school, Charlie Brown." — Charles M. Schulz

"I feel like I'm a very dominant fighter." — Colby Covington

Daniel Kahneman’s quote: "The dominance of conclusions over arguments is most pronounced where emotions are involved.” | Image: AmoDays

"I love Silicon Valley, but there is a dominant voice of, 'Tech is cool. Tech is geeky. Tech is a guy with a hoodie.'" — Fei-Fei Li

"I've had lengthy discussions with European farm leaders. It is clear they have an agricultural strategy to support their producers and gain dominance in world agricultural trade. They're gaining markets the old-fashioned way—they're buying them." — Kent Conrad

"The dominance of conclusions over arguments is most pronounced where emotions are involved." — Daniel Kahneman

Stephen Gardiner’s quote: "In Japanese art, space assumed a dominant role, and its position was strengthened by Zen concepts." | Image: AmoDays

"The desire to hit a big home run is dominating the music business." — Billy Corgan

"Giving birth and nourishing. Bearing yet not possessing. Working yet not taking credit. Leading yet not dominating. This is the Primal Virtue." — Laozi

"I already believe I am the best linebacker in the game. Now, I have to show one more thing. That I am the most dominating, influential person in the game…" — Ray Lewis

"In Japanese art, space assumed a dominant role, and its position was strengthened by Zen concepts." — Stephen Gardiner

Stacey Abrams’s quote: "The marginalized did not create identity politics: their identities have been forced on them by dominant groups, and politics is the most effective method of revolt." | Image: AmoDays

Reading these quotes, it's interesting to ask ourselves, what thoughts dominate our minds? What role do domination and power play in our everyday lives? Do we have hidden beliefs about the power that we never knew existed until looking at opinions around society and personal relationships?

Whatever views we may have, we all probably share the sentiment that power denotes taking an enormous responsibility. If you're someone carrying a heavy load on your back, you should read these 50 unbothered quotes to discover inner peace and freedom.