--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As a form of government, imperialism does…" description: "\"As a form of government, imperialism does not seek or require the consent of the governed. It is a pure form of tyranny. The American attempt to combin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/chalmers-johnson-35363_consent_as-a-form-of-government-imperialism-does_2555687.png" --- # As a form of government, imperialism does not seek or… ![“As a form of government, imperialism does not seek or require the consent of the governed. It is a pure form of tyranny. The American attempt to combine domestic democracy with such tyrannical control over foreigners is hopelessly contradictory and hypocritical. A country can be democratic or it…” quote by Chalmers Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/chalmers-johnson-35363_consent_as-a-form-of-government-imperialism-does_2555687.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/chalmers-johnson-35363_consent_as-a-form-of-government-imperialism-does_2555687.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/chalmers-johnson-35363_consent_as-a-form-of-government-imperialism-does_2555687.png) > “As a form of government, imperialism does not seek or require the consent of the governed. It is a pure form of tyranny. The American attempt to combine domestic democracy with such tyrannical control over foreigners is hopelessly contradictory and hypocritical. A country can be democratic or it can be imperialistic, but it cannot be both.” [Chalmers Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chalmers-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He argues that imperialism is inherently tyrannical and incompatible with democratic consent. **In simple terms:** Imperialism contradicts democracy. Key Takeaway Recognize and oppose imperialist policies. Themes politics ethics power Mood critical analytical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - foreign policy debates - human rights advocacy - government analysis Key Concepts tyranny consent contradiction Questions to Reflect On - Can a nation truly be democratic while exercising imperial control? - What safeguards prevent imperial overreach? A Different Perspective Democracy can be compromised by covert imperialism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consent/) [Consent of the governed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consent-of-the-governed/) [Contradictory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradictory/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Democratic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratic/) [Democratic Imperialistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratic-imperialistic-1559605/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Foreigners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreigners/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Forms of government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forms-of-government/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Government Imperialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government-imperialism-1559603/) [Hypocritical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hypocritical/) [Imperialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imperialism/) [Imperialism Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imperialism-does-1559604/) [Imperialistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imperialistic-405443/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Pure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pure/) [Tyranny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyranny/) ## Related quotes > [The people of Nicaragua were suffering oppression. This made us develop an awareness which eventually led us to commit ourselves to the struggle against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-ortega/the-people-of-nicaragua-were-suffering-oppression-this-made-us/) [Daniel Ortega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-ortega/) > [The fortunes of the African revolution are closely linked with the world-wide struggle against imperialism. 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The policemen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-newton/the-imperialistic-or-capitalistic-system-occupies-areas-it-occupies/) [Huey Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-newton/) > [“Neo-Spenglerians who are attuned to the racial view of history (call them "racists" for convenience) hold that the "final" phase of a Culture—the imperialistic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-carto/neo-spenglerians-who-are-attuned-to-the-racial-view-of-history-call/) [Willis Carto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-carto/) > [Capitalism in its imperialistic stage is a system which regards war as a legitimate method for solution of international disputes - a method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/capitalism-in-its-imperialistic-stage-is-a-system-which-regards-war/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [A democracy, the realistic observer is forced to conclude, is likely to be idealistic in its feelings about itself, but imperialistic about its practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-babbitt/a-democracy-the-realistic-observer-is-forced-to-conclude-is-likely-to/) [Irving Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-babbitt/) > [We don't seek empires.We're not imperialistic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/we-don-t-seek-empires-we-re-not-imperialistic/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [music is a missionary effort to colonize earth for imperialistic heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/music-is-a-missionary-effort-to-colonize-earth-for-imperialistic/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [In the present imperialistic milieu there can be no wars of national self-defense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-liebknecht/in-the-present-imperialistic-milieu-there-can-be-no-wars-of-national/) [Karl Liebknecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-liebknecht/) > [It has been a long while since the United States had any imperialistic designs toward the outside world. But we have practised within our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-willkie/it-has-been-a-long-while-since-the-united-states-had-any/) [Wendell Willkie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-willkie/) ## More by Chalmers Johnson > [A nation can be one or the other, a democracy or an imperialist, but it can't be both. If it sticks to imperialism, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chalmers-johnson/a-nation-can-be-one-or-the-other-a-democracy-or-an-imperialist-but-it/) [Chalmers Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chalmers-johnson/) > [When war becomes the most profitable course of action, we can certainly expect more of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chalmers-johnson/when-war-becomes-the-most-profitable-course-of-action-we-can/) [Chalmers Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chalmers-johnson/) > [The term blowback, which officials of the Central Intelligent Agency first invented for their own internal use, . . . refers to the unintended…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chalmers-johnson/the-term-blowback-which-officials-of-the-central-intelligent-agency/) [Chalmers Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chalmers-johnson/) > [Although most Americans may be largely ignorant of what was, and still is, being done in their names, all are likely to pay a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chalmers-johnson/although-most-americans-may-be-largely-ignorant-of-what-was-and-still/) [Chalmers Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chalmers-johnson/) > [None of the people's wars of the sixties did very well, including the one in Vietnam. 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I guarantee you: when war becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chalmers-johnson/the-defense-budget-is-three-quarters-of-a-trillion-dollars-profits/) [Chalmers Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chalmers-johnson/) > [Lastly, there is bankruptcy, as the United States pours its economic resources into ever more grandiose military projects and shortchanges the education, health, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chalmers-johnson/lastly-there-is-bankruptcy-as-the-united-states-pours-its-economic/) [Chalmers Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chalmers-johnson/) > [Blowback is simply another way of saying that a nation reaps what it sows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chalmers-johnson/blowback-is-simply-another-way-of-saying-that-a-nation-reaps-what-it/) [Chalmers Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chalmers-johnson/) > [History teaches us that the capacity for things to get worse is limitless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chalmers-johnson/history-teaches-us-that-the-capacity-for-things-to-get-worse-is/) [Chalmers Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chalmers-johnson/) > [Imperial politics represents the conquest of domestic politics and the latter's conversion into a crucial element of inverted totalitarianism. 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The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [“When a lady does consent to listen to an argument against her own opinions, she is always predetermined to withstand it - to listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/when-a-lady-does-consent-to-listen-to-an-argument-against-her-own/) [Anne Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [But a most pernicious error widely prevails that Scripture has only so much weight as is conceded to it by the consent of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/but-a-most-pernicious-error-widely-prevails-that-scripture-has-only/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [Well I think that what we're seeing now is that the people feel like they, the people in Congress don't have their consent to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingraham/well-i-think-that-what-we-re-seeing-now-is-that-the-people-feel-like/) [Laura Ingraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingraham/) > [Even if a civil society were to be dissolved by the consent of all its members (e.g., if a people inhabiting an island decided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/even-if-a-civil-society-were-to-be-dissolved-by-the-consent-of-all/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [We live in an age rather skeptical of truth, of its existence." There is a "tendency to believe that nothing is definitive, and think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/we-live-in-an-age-rather-skeptical-of-truth-of-its-existence-there-is/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [“Silence does not mean yes. No can be thought and felt but never said. It can be screamed silently on the inside. It can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-reed/silence-does-not-mean-yes-no-can-be-thought-and-felt-but-never-said/) [Amy Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-reed/) > [I can never consent to being dictated to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tyler/i-can-never-consent-to-being-dictated-to/) [John Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tyler/) > [When all moves equally (says Pascal), nothing seems to move as in a vessel under sail; and when all run by common consent into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/when-all-moves-equally-says-pascal-nothing-seems-to-move-as-in-a/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [“There are some wounds unreachable by words, some sins immune to apology.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-hatvany/there-are-some-wounds-unreachable-by-words-some-sins-immune-to-apology/) [Amy Hatvany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hatvany/) > [Many people do not realize that where unions have bargaining rights employers cannot raise wages or improve benefit plans any more than they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-e-wilson/many-people-do-not-realize-that-where-unions-have-bargaining-rights/) [Charles E. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-e-wilson/) > [Fate does not seek our consent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/fate-does-not-seek-our-consent/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [That is a list of the Territories that yielded to Ebon Askavi. They now stand within the shadow of the Keep. They are mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bishop/that-is-a-list-of-the-territories-that-yielded-to-ebon-askavi-they/) [Anne Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bishop/) [Browse all 676 Consent quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consent/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As a form of government, imperialism does not seek or require the consent of the governed. It is a pure form of tyranny. The American attempt to combine domestic democracy with such tyrannical control over foreigners is hopelessly contradictory and hypocritical. 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