--- title: "6 Political Philosopher Quotes by 6 authors" description: "Browse 6 Political Philosopher quotes by 6 authors. Discover the best Political Philosopher sayings and thoughts." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/david-mccullough-1091_history_lord-bolingbroke-who-was-an-eighteenth-c_257068.png" --- > [“Lord Bolingbroke, who was an eighteenth-century political philosopher, called history “philosophy taught with examples.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/lord-bolingbroke-who-was-an-eighteenth-century-political-philosopher/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/david-mccullough-1091_history_lord-bolingbroke-who-was-an-eighteenth-c_257068.png) > [ I worry that we don't currently have a democracy in the United States. Instead we have what \[political philosopher\] Sheldon Wolin has… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-dumm/i-worry-that-we-don-t-currently-have-a-democracy-in-the-united-states/) [Thomas L. Dumm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-dumm/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcf/thomas-l-dumm-34424_democracy_i-worry-that-we-don-t-currently-have-a-d_849481.jpg) > [The task of the political philosopher can only be to influence public opinion, not to organize people for action. He will do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/the-task-of-the-political-philosopher-can-only-be-to-influence-public/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a1/friedrich-august-von-hayek-141_action_the-task-of-the-political-philosopher-ca_1310379.jpg) > [“In this miasma of forgotten wars, torture and the war on terror, there are no easy answers, especially in the face of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-orbinski/in-this-miasma-of-forgotten-wars-torture-and-the-war-on-terror-there/) [James Orbinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-orbinski/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92d/james-orbinski-52988_common-humanity_in-this-miasma-of-forgotten-wars-torture_1452542.png) > [It's no use trying to talk philosophy to our politicians. And I'm not a moral or political philosopher. I'm not interested in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-grene/it-s-no-use-trying-to-talk-philosophy-to-our-politicians-and-i-m-not/) [Marjorie Grene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-grene/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/188/marjorie-grene-87940_moral_it-s-no-use-trying-to-talk-philosophy-to_1940334.jpg) > [“Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (May 3, 1469 – June 21, 1527) was an Italian political philosopher, musician, poet, and romantic comedic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/niccol-di-bernardo-dei-machiavelli-may-3-1469-june-21-1527-was-an/) [Niccolò Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/938/niccolo-machiavelli-368_italian-renaissance_niccol-di-bernardo-dei-machiavelli-may-3_3143956.jpg) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-philosopher/#itemlist", "name": "Political Philosopher Quotes", "numberOfItems": 6, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Lord Bolingbroke, who was an eighteenth-century political philosopher, called history “philosophy taught with examples.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David McCullough" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/lord-bolingbroke-who-was-an-eighteenth-century-political-philosopher/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/david-mccullough-1091_history_lord-bolingbroke-who-was-an-eighteenth-c_257068.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/david-mccullough-1091_history_lord-bolingbroke-who-was-an-eighteenth-c_257068.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/david-mccullough-1091_history_lord-bolingbroke-who-was-an-eighteenth-c_257068.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Lord Bolingbroke, who was an eighteenth-century political philosopher, called history “philosophy taught…” — David McCullough", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I worry that we don't currently have a democracy in the United States. Instead we have what [political philosopher] Sheldon Wolin has recently labeled a sort of inverted totalitarianism.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas L. Dumm" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-dumm/i-worry-that-we-don-t-currently-have-a-democracy-in-the-united-states/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcf/thomas-l-dumm-34424_democracy_i-worry-that-we-don-t-currently-have-a-d_849481.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcf/thomas-l-dumm-34424_democracy_i-worry-that-we-don-t-currently-have-a-d_849481.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcf/thomas-l-dumm-34424_democracy_i-worry-that-we-don-t-currently-have-a-d_849481.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I worry that we don't currently have a democracy in the United States. Instead we have what [political…” — Thomas L. Dumm", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The task of the political philosopher can only be to influence public opinion, not to organize people for action. He will do so effectively only if he is not concerned with what is now politically possible but consistently defends the \"general principles which are always the same.\" In this sense I doubt whether there can be such a thing as a conservative political philosophy. Conservatism may often be a useful practical maxim, but it does not give us any guiding principles which can influence long-range developments.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Friedrich August von Hayek" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/the-task-of-the-political-philosopher-can-only-be-to-influence-public/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a1/friedrich-august-von-hayek-141_action_the-task-of-the-political-philosopher-ca_1310379.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a1/friedrich-august-von-hayek-141_action_the-task-of-the-political-philosopher-ca_1310379.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a1/friedrich-august-von-hayek-141_action_the-task-of-the-political-philosopher-ca_1310379.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The task of the political philosopher can only be to influence public opinion, not to organize people for…” — Friedrich August von Hayek", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In this miasma of forgotten wars, torture and the war on terror, there are no easy answers, especially in the face of a very real terrorism. But I can live my questions. As a humanitarian, I can act from a feeling of shared vulnerability with the victims of preventable suffering. I have a responsibility to bear witness publicly to the plight of those I seek to assist and to insist on independent humanitarian action and respect for international humanitarian law. As a citizen, I can assume my responsibility for the public world - the world of politics - not as a spectator, but as a participant who engages and shapes it. The larger force that can push back against the wrong use of power can be the force of a citizen's politics that openly debates the right use of power and the reasoned pursuit of justice. Catherine Lu, a political philosopher and my friend, has described justice as a boundary over which we must not go, a bond of common humanity between us, a balance among people of equal worth and dignity. I fight not for a utopian ideal, but each day I make a choice, against nihilism and towards justice.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Orbinski" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-orbinski/in-this-miasma-of-forgotten-wars-torture-and-the-war-on-terror-there/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92d/james-orbinski-52988_common-humanity_in-this-miasma-of-forgotten-wars-torture_1452542.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92d/james-orbinski-52988_common-humanity_in-this-miasma-of-forgotten-wars-torture_1452542.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92d/james-orbinski-52988_common-humanity_in-this-miasma-of-forgotten-wars-torture_1452542.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In this miasma of forgotten wars, torture and the war on terror, there are no easy answers, especially in…” — James Orbinski", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's no use trying to talk philosophy to our politicians. And I'm not a moral or political philosopher. I'm not interested in that.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marjorie Grene" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-grene/it-s-no-use-trying-to-talk-philosophy-to-our-politicians-and-i-m-not/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/188/marjorie-grene-87940_moral_it-s-no-use-trying-to-talk-philosophy-to_1940334.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/188/marjorie-grene-87940_moral_it-s-no-use-trying-to-talk-philosophy-to_1940334.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/188/marjorie-grene-87940_moral_it-s-no-use-trying-to-talk-philosophy-to_1940334.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's no use trying to talk philosophy to our politicians. And I'm not a moral or political philosopher. I'm…” — Marjorie Grene", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (May 3, 1469 – June 21, 1527) was an Italian political philosopher, musician, poet, and romantic comedic playwright. He is a figure of the Italian Renaissance and a central figure of its political component, most widely known for his treatises on realist political theory (The Prince) on the one hand and republicanism (Discourses on Livy) on the other. Source: Wikipedia”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Niccolò Machiavelli" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/niccol-di-bernardo-dei-machiavelli-may-3-1469-june-21-1527-was-an/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/938/niccolo-machiavelli-368_italian-renaissance_niccol-di-bernardo-dei-machiavelli-may-3_3143956.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/938/niccolo-machiavelli-368_italian-renaissance_niccol-di-bernardo-dei-machiavelli-may-3_3143956.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/938/niccolo-machiavelli-368_italian-renaissance_niccol-di-bernardo-dei-machiavelli-may-3_3143956.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (May 3, 1469 – June 21, 1527) was an Italian political philosopher…” — Niccolò Machiavelli", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-philosopher/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-philosopher/", "name": "Political Philosopher Quotes", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-philosopher/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/david-mccullough-1091_history_lord-bolingbroke-who-was-an-eighteenth-c_257068.png" }, "description": "Browse 6 Political Philosopher quotes by 6 authors. 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