--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Politicians should read science fiction…" description: "\"Politicians should read science fiction, not westerns and detective stories.\" — Arthur C. Clarke" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/987/arthur-c-clarke-640_fiction_politicians-should-read-science-fiction_1312366.jpg" --- # Politicians should read science fiction, not westerns and… ![“Politicians should read science fiction, not westerns and detective stories.” quote by Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/987/arthur-c-clarke-640_fiction_politicians-should-read-science-fiction_1312366.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/987/arthur-c-clarke-640_fiction_politicians-should-read-science-fiction_1312366.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/987/arthur-c-clarke-640_fiction_politicians-should-read-science-fiction_1312366.jpg) > “Politicians should read science fiction, not westerns and detective stories.” [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Science fiction expands imagination and critical thinking, unlike genre fiction that often reinforces status quo. **In simple terms:** Sci‑fi encourages new ideas; other genres may not. Key Takeaway Read sci‑fi to broaden perspective. Themes literature politics imagination critical thinking culture Mood thought‑provoking inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - Policy making - education curricula - media consumption - public discourse Key Concepts Speculative futures social critique creative problem solving Questions to Reflect On - What lessons can leaders draw from sci‑fi? - How can sci‑fi be made more accessible? A Different Perspective Some may find sci‑fi too abstract for practical policy insights. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction Westerns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-westerns-3071997/) [Politicians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politicians/) [Politicians Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politicians-read-3422896/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-fiction/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) ## Related quotes > [One of the biggest roles of science fiction is to prepare people to accept the future without pain and to encourage a flexibility of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/one-of-the-biggest-roles-of-science-fiction-is-to-prepare-people-to/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [History buffs expect historical background in historical fiction. Mystery readers expect forensics and police procedure in crime fiction. Westerns - gasp - describe the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-m-lerner/history-buffs-expect-historical-background-in-historical-fiction/) [Edward M. Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-m-lerner/) > [I am not political. It is not my job. But I would be happy if politicians could read my work and draw some conclusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/i-am-not-political-it-is-not-my-job-but-i-would-be-happy-if/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) > [Politicians read the polls that show 85 or 90 percent of the voters profess a belief in God, so they identify themselves with religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-germond/politicians-read-the-polls-that-show-85-or-90-percent-of-the-voters/) [Jack Germond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-germond/) > [People ask me what book politicians should read. They should read the life of Mahatma Gandhi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/people-ask-me-what-book-politicians-should-read-they-should-read-the/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [You know, there's a difference between politicians and leaders. Politicians read poll numbers and compromise. Leaders do what's morally right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-fox/you-know-there-s-a-difference-between-politicians-and-leaders/) [Josh Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-fox/) > [I wish you a wrestling match with your Creative Muse that will last a lifetime. ... I wish craziness and foolishness and madness upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-wish-you-a-wrestling-match-with-your-creative-muse-that-will-last-a/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Braxton Cosby's stories feel personal and well thought-out. I'm happy to welcome this entertaining writer to the YA science fiction field. I look forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tananarive-due/braxton-cosby-s-stories-feel-personal-and-well-thought-out-i-m-happy/) [Tananarive Due](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tananarive-due/) > [ “Well, I guess \[2001: A Space Odyssey\] legitimized \[science fiction\], particularly for people who looked down on science fiction; you know, the intelligentsia. My… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/well-i-guess-2001-a-space-odyssey-legitimized-science-fiction/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“To be a science fiction writer you must be interested in the future and you must feel that the future will be different and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/to-be-a-science-fiction-writer-you-must-be-interested-in-the-future/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“Keep those eyes of yours, mate, wide-fucking-open. Never know when it’s watching.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-scott-huerta/keep-those-eyes-of-yours-mate-wide-fucking-open-never-know-when-it-s/) [Adam Scott Huerta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-scott-huerta/) > [“Science fiction and fantasy, though they seem to be about the future or fictional worlds, are always at their core really about the problems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-joseph-adams/science-fiction-and-fantasy-though-they-seem-to-be-about-the-future/) [John Joseph Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-joseph-adams/) > [“The ultimate aim of reality is to become science fiction!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-of-kittim/the-ultimate-aim-of-reality-is-to-become-science-fiction/) [Eli Of Kittim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-of-kittim/) > [I do think that theater is a great venue for science fiction, and not just adaptations but also original work. I also think some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-einhorn/i-do-think-that-theater-is-a-great-venue-for-science-fiction-and-not/) [Edward Einhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-einhorn/) > [The thing about science fiction is that it's totally wide open. But it's wide open in a conditional way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/the-thing-about-science-fiction-is-that-it-s-totally-wide-open-but-it/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) ## More by Arthur C. Clarke > [Science can destroy religion by ignoring it as well as by disproving its tenets. No one ever demonstrated, so far as I am aware,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/science-can-destroy-religion-by-ignoring-it-as-well-as-by-disproving/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [We cannot predict the new forces, powers, and discoveries that will be disclosed to us when we reach the other planets and set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/we-cannot-predict-the-new-forces-powers-and-discoveries-that-will-be/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [I am unable to distinguish clearly between your religious ceremonies and apparently identical behavior at the sporting and cultural functions you have transmitted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/i-am-unable-to-distinguish-clearly-between-your-religious-ceremonies/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [I don't believe in astrology; I'm a Sagittarius and we're skeptical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/i-don-t-believe-in-astrology-i-m-a-sagittarius-and-we-re-skeptical/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [You can't have it both ways. You can't have both free will and a benevolent higher power who protects you from yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/you-can-t-have-it-both-ways-you-can-t-have-both-free-will-and-a/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Astronomy, as nothing else can do, teaches men humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/astronomy-as-nothing-else-can-do-teaches-men-humility/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Nowhere in space will we rest our eyes upon the familiar shapes of trees and plants, or any of the animals that share our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/nowhere-in-space-will-we-rest-our-eyes-upon-the-familiar-shapes-of/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“The universe is full of energy, but much of it is at equilibrium. At equilibrium no energy can flow, and therefore it cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/the-universe-is-full-of-energy-but-much-of-it-is-at-equilibrium-at/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“Here the trees surrounded them with an invisible, anechoic blanket, so that every word seemed sucked into silence the moment it was uttered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/here-the-trees-surrounded-them-with-an-invisible-anechoic-blanket-so/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“I’m a scientific expert; that means I know nothing about absolutely everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/i-m-a-scientific-expert-that-means-i-know-nothing-about-absolutely/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [There were some things that only time could cure. Evil men could be destroyed, but nothing could be done with good men who were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/there-were-some-things-that-only-time-could-cure-evil-men-could-be/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“Pure coincidence, of course, but a sensible man makes coincidences work for him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/pure-coincidence-of-course-but-a-sensible-man-makes-coincidences-work/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [They will have time enough, in those endless aeons, to attempt all things, and to gather all knowledge no Gods imagined by our minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/they-will-have-time-enough-in-those-endless-aeons-to-attempt-all/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“One thing seems certain. Our galaxy is now in the brief springtime of its life—a springtime made glorious by such brilliant blue-white stars as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/one-thing-seems-certain-our-galaxy-is-now-in-the-brief-springtime-of/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Now I understand,” said the last man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/now-i-understand-said-the-last-man/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) [Explore all 415 Arthur C. Clarke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) ## More Fiction quotes > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) [Phil Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-hogan/) > [The thing about science fiction is that it's totally wide open. But it's wide open in a conditional way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/the-thing-about-science-fiction-is-that-it-s-totally-wide-open-but-it/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [I do think that theater is a great venue for science fiction, and not just adaptations but also original work. I also think some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-einhorn/i-do-think-that-theater-is-a-great-venue-for-science-fiction-and-not/) [Edward Einhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-einhorn/) > [Fiction is a way of exploring possibilities present but undreamt of in the living of a single life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/fiction-is-a-way-of-exploring-possibilities-present-but-undreamt-of/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [I love writing fiction and can do it anywhere - I once even missed a flight because I was so engrossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prue-leith/i-love-writing-fiction-and-can-do-it-anywhere-i-once-even-missed-a/) [Prue Leith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prue-leith/) > [“The fiction will seek the real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coheed-and-cambria/the-fiction-will-seek-the-real/) [Coheed and Cambria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coheed-and-cambria/) > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [The danger that may really threaten (crime fiction) is that soon there will be more writers than readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-danger-that-may-really-threaten-crime-fiction-is-that-soon-there/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [There's always that discussion about fiction about how do you market it - these are books for boys, these are books for girls, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-weatherly/there-s-always-that-discussion-about-fiction-about-how-do-you-market/) [L.A. Weatherly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-a-weatherly/) > [Inspiration comes from so many sources. Music, other fiction, the non-fiction I read, TV shows, films, news reports, people I know, stories I hear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/inspiration-comes-from-so-many-sources-music-other-fiction-the-non/) [Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/) > [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“His hands on my waist he gently pulled me n embrace. I could feel his breath on my face our lips were about to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-eglinger/his-hands-on-my-waist-he-gently-pulled-me-n-embrace-i-could-feel-his/) [Nicole Eglinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-eglinger/) > [In early drafts, one of the trickiest things for me to do was to realize that the techniques and devices that make readable and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-rooney/in-early-drafts-one-of-the-trickiest-things-for-me-to-do-was-to/) [Kathleen Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-rooney/) > [I don't think it's always a sign of respect for persons (inside or outside of fiction) to pretend to be able to represent, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-don-t-think-it-s-always-a-sign-of-respect-for-persons-inside-or/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [Metafiction says something. It has to do with taking a large fiction itself and writing within it; that kind of self-reflecting writing that emerges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/metafiction-says-something-it-has-to-do-with-taking-a-large-fiction/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) [Browse all 7,410 Fiction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Politicians should read science fiction, not westerns and detective stories.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Arthur C. 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