"The creation of a world view is the work of a generation rather than of an individual, but we each of us, for better or for worse, add our brick to the edifice"
About this Quote
The phrasing is deliberately civic. "World view" sounds abstract, but "brick" and "edifice" drag it into the realm of public construction, where personal taste becomes shared infrastructure. Subtext: culture is cumulative, and the stakes are structural. Beliefs are not just private opinions; they become load-bearing assumptions, the kind that shape institutions, art, policy, and what a society treats as obvious. The sly pressure comes from "for better or for worse" - Dos Passos refuses the comforting idea that participation is inherently virtuous. You can build a hospital or help raise a prison wall.
Context matters. Writing in the first half of the 20th century - amid mass politics, propaganda, war, and ideological churn - Dos Passos had reason to distrust neat narratives of progress and the charismatic savior. His novels, especially the USA trilogy, obsess over how newspapers, slogans, money, and celebrity manufacture consensus. This quote distills that project into a single ethical prompt: if the worldview is being built anyway, what are you contributing to it, and who benefits from the structure when it stands?
Quote Details
| Topic | Legacy & Remembrance |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Passos, John Dos. (n.d.). The creation of a world view is the work of a generation rather than of an individual, but we each of us, for better or for worse, add our brick to the edifice. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-creation-of-a-world-view-is-the-work-of-a-80764/
Chicago Style
Passos, John Dos. "The creation of a world view is the work of a generation rather than of an individual, but we each of us, for better or for worse, add our brick to the edifice." FixQuotes. Accessed February 1, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-creation-of-a-world-view-is-the-work-of-a-80764/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The creation of a world view is the work of a generation rather than of an individual, but we each of us, for better or for worse, add our brick to the edifice." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-creation-of-a-world-view-is-the-work-of-a-80764/. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
