--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: there would always be incompetent…" description: "\"“there would always be incompetent assholes in the world ... and many of them would be in places of power.”\" — Christopher Nuttall" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c0/christopher-nuttall-28371_quote_there-would-always-be-incompetent-asshol_2079804.jpg" --- # there would always be incompetent assholes in the world… ![“there would always be incompetent assholes in the world ... and many of them would be in places of power.” quote by Christopher Nuttall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c0/christopher-nuttall-28371_quote_there-would-always-be-incompetent-asshol_2079804.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c0/christopher-nuttall-28371_quote_there-would-always-be-incompetent-asshol_2079804.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c0/christopher-nuttall-28371_quote_there-would-always-be-incompetent-asshol_2079804.jpg) > ““there would always be incompetent assholes in the world ... and many of them would be in places of power.”” [Christopher Nuttall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nuttall/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Power structures inevitably attract individuals lacking competence and moral character, leading to systemic issues. **In simple terms:** Incompetent people often rise to power. Key Takeaway Stay vigilant and demand accountability. Themes leadership politics ethics accountability Mood cautious critical concerned Type advice observational cautionary When to use this quote - Corporate boards - government agencies - nonprofit leadership - team management Key Concepts Power dynamics human nature organizational behavior Questions to Reflect On - How can we identify and remove incompetent leaders? - What safeguards prevent abuse of power? A Different Perspective Even competent leaders can be undermined by systemic inertia. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assholes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assholes/) [Assholes World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assholes-world-791128/) [Incompetent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incompetent/) [Incompetent Assholes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incompetent-assholes-4057159/) [Places Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/places-power-1135628/) ## Related quotes > [“There's nothing wrong with you, there are just more assholes in this world than good people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-simmons/there-s-nothing-wrong-with-you-there-are-just-more-assholes-in-this/) [Travis Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-simmons/) > [“The function of assholes in the world, just like the asshole we all have, is to spread shit around. They are loathsome and dirty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hearne/the-function-of-assholes-in-the-world-just-like-the-asshole-we-all/) [Kevin Hearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hearne/) > [“The function of assholes in the world, just like the asshole we all have, is to spread shit around.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hearne/the-function-of-assholes-in-the-world-just-like-the-asshole-we-all-2/) [Kevin Hearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hearne/) > [I think America has the best assholes in the world. I defy the Belgians or the Japanese to produce something like a Donald Trump.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/i-think-america-has-the-best-assholes-in-the-world-i-defy-the/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [“Facebook had to be the biggest playground for self-absorbed assholes that the world had ever seen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jana-deleon/facebook-had-to-be-the-biggest-playground-for-self-absorbed-assholes/) [Jana Deleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jana-deleon/) > [In the Southwestern United States, the places of power reference the lower three chakras, the chakras of power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/in-the-southwestern-united-states-the-places-of-power-reference-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“These types of magical essences tend to be drawn toward each other and then form into rivers of power, called ley lines. Sometimes these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kip-terrington/these-types-of-magical-essences-tend-to-be-drawn-toward-each-other/) [Kip Terrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kip-terrington/) > [You get a very different type of education if you go out to the desert, to the places of power, places where it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-get-a-very-different-type-of-education-if-you-go-out-to-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [There are many different places of power around the world. They're invisible openings to other worlds. We find a preponderance of these places in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/there-are-many-different-places-of-power-around-the-world-they-re/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [There are places where there is more power. Just as there is more power in the chakras, there is more power in certain places.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/there-are-places-where-there-is-more-power-just-as-there-is-more/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [There are many ways to store power. You can visit places of power, special locations on the earth that are charged with power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/there-are-many-ways-to-store-power-you-can-visit-places-of-power/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“So what is this place?” asked Shadow, as they walked through the parking lot toward a low, unimpressive wooden building. “This is a roadside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/so-what-is-this-place-asked-shadow-as-they-walked-through-the-parking/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“It's perfectly simple," said Wednesday. "In other countries, over the years, people recognized the places of power. Sometimes it would be a natural formation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/it-s-perfectly-simple-said-wednesday-in-other-countries-over-the/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [In my mind I needed a symbol of today's technology, and I realized that what I wanted to photograph was the Space Shuttle. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sexton/in-my-mind-i-needed-a-symbol-of-today-s-technology-and-i-realized/) [John Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sexton/) > [“Claiming to be offended is a great way to elevate yourself at the expense of others: “Look at me! I'm a much better person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/claiming-to-be-offended-is-a-great-way-to-elevate-yourself-at-the/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) ## More by Christopher Nuttall > [“His more cynical side suspected that humans had never really needed an excuse to pick on other humans.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nuttall/his-more-cynical-side-suspected-that-humans-had-never-really-needed/) [Christopher Nuttall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nuttall/) > [“Do not confuse "duty" with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nuttall/do-not-confuse-duty-with-what-other-people-expect-of-you-they-are/) [Christopher Nuttall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nuttall/) > [“Right,” Chong said sarcastically.  “Next time perhaps we could surrender and call it a tactical strike without arms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nuttall/right-chong-said-sarcastically-next-time-perhaps-we-could-surrender/) [Christopher Nuttall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nuttall/) > [“I The moving sun-shapes on the spray, The sparkles where the brook was flowing, Pink faces, plightings, moonlit May, These were the things we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nuttall/i-the-moving-sun-shapes-on-the-spray-the-sparkles-where-the-brook-was/) [Christopher Nuttall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nuttall/) > [“War was a democracy, he knew.  The enemy got a vote too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nuttall/war-was-a-democracy-he-knew-the-enemy-got-a-vote-too/) [Christopher Nuttall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nuttall/) > [“Well,” Jasmine said.  “Did you miss them?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nuttall/well-jasmine-said-did-you-miss-them/) [Christopher Nuttall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nuttall/) > [“Admiral,” he said.  He couldn't resist.  “Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nuttall/admiral-he-said-he-couldn-t-resist-reports-of-my-death-have-been/) [Christopher Nuttall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nuttall/) > [“It is an illusion that youth is happy, an illusion of those who have lost it; but the young know they are wretched, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nuttall/it-is-an-illusion-that-youth-is-happy-an-illusion-of-those-who-have-3/) [Christopher Nuttall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nuttall/) > [“In the long, fierce struggle for freedom of opinion, the press, like the Church, counted its martyrs by thousands. -James A. Garfield”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nuttall/in-the-long-fierce-struggle-for-freedom-of-opinion-the-press-like-the-2/) [Christopher Nuttall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nuttall/) > [“One of the most dangerous signs of decline is the sudden reluctance to tolerate different points of view in political debate.  Questions and issues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nuttall/one-of-the-most-dangerous-signs-of-decline-is-the-sudden-reluctance/) [Christopher Nuttall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nuttall/) > [“It was astonishing just how smart the old man had become in the years between Kurt reaching his teenage years and growing out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nuttall/it-was-astonishing-just-how-smart-the-old-man-had-become-in-the-years/) [Christopher Nuttall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nuttall/) > [“delight in putting colonies everywhere.  The Tadpoles noted the terraforming project on the fourth world with bemusement.  There was no shortage of habitable worlds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nuttall/delight-in-putting-colonies-everywhere-the-tadpoles-noted-the/) [Christopher Nuttall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nuttall/) > [“This may seem absurd – after all, the motives are good.  But you may also wish to remember the parable of the cooked frog. …](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nuttall/this-may-seem-absurd-after-all-the-motives-are-good-but-you-may-also/) [Christopher Nuttall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nuttall/) > [“The federal government hated it when people tried to move outside its sphere of control, no matter the reason.  It was incapable of leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nuttall/the-federal-government-hated-it-when-people-tried-to-move-outside-its/) [Christopher Nuttall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nuttall/) > [“Fairness is a foolish concept,” the man said dryly.  The line of Russian infantrymen seemed never-ending.  “The world is full of people who would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nuttall/fairness-is-a-foolish-concept-the-man-said-dryly-the-line-of-russian/) [Christopher Nuttall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nuttall/) [Explore all 19 Christopher Nuttall quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nuttall/) ## More Assholes quotes > [“Claiming to be offended is a great way to elevate yourself at the expense of others: “Look at me! I'm a much better person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/claiming-to-be-offended-is-a-great-way-to-elevate-yourself-at-the/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [Note To Females: You cant blame the entire male genre just because you were attracted to some assholes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/green-monk/note-to-females-you-cant-blame-the-entire-male-genre-just-because-you/) [Green Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/green-monk/) > [Broken hearts are for assholes, are you an asshole?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/broken-hearts-are-for-assholes-are-you-an-asshole/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [“All men are assholes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-sanchez/all-men-are-assholes/) [Lisa Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-sanchez/) > [“World is so beautiful, but alas! There are so many assholes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/world-is-so-beautiful-but-alas-there-are-so-many-assholes/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [The grumpier you are, the more assholes you meet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banksy/the-grumpier-you-are-the-more-assholes-you-meet/) [Banksy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banksy/) > [“Half the time, people just want to be assholes, so they call it rebellion. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-konen/half-the-time-people-just-want-to-be-assholes-so-they-call-it/) [Leah Konen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-konen/) > [“What a mealy-mouth. Windier than a bag of assholes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-ross/what-a-mealy-mouth-windier-than-a-bag-of-assholes/) [Rodney Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-ross/) > [Excuses are like assholes, everyone has one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author-name/excuses-are-like-assholes-everyone-has-one/) [Author Name](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/author-name/) > [“You hear this kind of thing, rednecks and their guys and--" "Don't call them that," I say. "They're just assholes. Most people you run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-lint/you-hear-this-kind-of-thing-rednecks-and-their-guys-and-don-t-call/) [Charles de Lint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-lint/) > [Guys annoy me so much -.- it's like they study to be an asshole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/guys-annoy-me-so-much-it-s-like-they-study-to-be-an-asshole/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“New Rule: Democrats must get in touch with their inner asshole. I refer to the case of Van Jones, the man the Obama administration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/new-rule-democrats-must-get-in-touch-with-their-inner-asshole-i-refer/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [“People hate it when you call them on jackassery. That's a big fact of human nature: Not a lot of people want to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lili-st-crow/people-hate-it-when-you-call-them-on-jackassery-that-s-a-big-fact-of/) [Lili St. Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lili-st-crow/) > [“Don't you think she's had her quota of assholes?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvain-reynard/don-t-you-think-she-s-had-her-quota-of-assholes/) [Sylvain Reynard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvain-reynard/) > [Friends are like assholes, everyone's got one but some are more full of shit than other's!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-carrion/friends-are-like-assholes-everyone-s-got-one-but-some-are-more-full/) [Diana Carrion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-carrion/) [Browse all 238 Assholes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assholes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“there would always be incompetent assholes in the world ... and many of them would be in places of power.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christopher Nuttall" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nuttall/there-would-always-be-incompetent-assholes-in-the-world-and-many-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Assholes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nuttall/there-would-always-be-incompetent-assholes-in-the-world-and-many-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c0/christopher-nuttall-28371_quote_there-would-always-be-incompetent-asshol_2079804.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c0/christopher-nuttall-28371_quote_there-would-always-be-incompetent-asshol_2079804.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c0/christopher-nuttall-28371_quote_there-would-always-be-incompetent-asshol_2079804.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“there would always be incompetent assholes in the world ... and many of them would be in places of power.” — Christopher Nuttall", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Christopher Nuttall", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nuttall/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“there would always be incompetent assholes...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nuttall/there-would-always-be-incompetent-assholes-in-the-world-and-many-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nuttall/there-would-always-be-incompetent-assholes-in-the-world-and-many-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```