--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The police are not entrusted with a…" description: "\"The police are not entrusted with a mission which differentiates them from those they serve. Being unconcerned with ultimate purposes, they are insepar..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/384/claude-levi-strauss-8995_differentiate_the-police-are-not-entrusted-with-a-miss_2851004.jpg" --- # The police are not entrusted with a mission which… ![“The police are not entrusted with a mission which differentiates them from those they serve. Being unconcerned with ultimate purposes, they are inseparable from the persons and interests of their masters, and shine with their reflected glory.” quote by Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/384/claude-levi-strauss-8995_differentiate_the-police-are-not-entrusted-with-a-miss_2851004.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/384/claude-levi-strauss-8995_differentiate_the-police-are-not-entrusted-with-a-miss_2851004.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/384/claude-levi-strauss-8995_differentiate_the-police-are-not-entrusted-with-a-miss_2851004.jpg) > “The police are not entrusted with a mission which differentiates them from those they serve. Being unconcerned with ultimate purposes, they are inseparable from the persons and interests of their masters, and shine with their reflected glory.” [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Authorities mirror the interests of those they serve, losing independent purpose. **In simple terms:** Police reflect masters’ interests. Key Takeaway Demand accountability and independent purpose. Themes authority service power dynamics politics ethics Mood critical reflective Type political philosophical When to use this quote - policy reform - civil oversight - community policing Key Concepts institutional dependence reflection public trust Questions to Reflect On - How can institutions stay independent? - What mechanisms ensure accountability? A Different Perspective Institutional independence is hard to achieve. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Glory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glory/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Missions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/missions/) [Police](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/police/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Shining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shining/) ## Related quotes > [“Those who are unconcerned in the affairs of their brethren, and take no care, when they have opportunity, to prevent their hurt in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-henry/those-who-are-unconcerned-in-the-affairs-of-their-brethren-and-take/) [Matthew Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-henry/) > [The one who follows the thought is also a thought! The one who follows the thought IS in thought. When you know that both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-l-poonja/the-one-who-follows-the-thought-is-also-a-thought-the-one-who-follows/) [H. W. L. Poonja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-l-poonja/) > [“I had no idea what a delicious feeling it was, to be free, to be absolutely unconcerned about whether one loved or didn't love.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-hayes/i-had-no-idea-what-a-delicious-feeling-it-was-to-be-free-to-be/) [Alfred Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-hayes/) > [The job of the photographer, in my view, is not to catalogue indisputable fact but to try to be coherent about intuition and hope.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-adams/the-job-of-the-photographer-in-my-view-is-not-to-catalogue/) [Robert Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-adams/) > [If I were dead, I would be the last to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/if-i-were-dead-i-would-be-the-last-to-know/) [Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/) > [When I am alone I can become invisible. I can sit on the top of a dune as motionless as an uprise of weeds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/when-i-am-alone-i-can-become-invisible-i-can-sit-on-the-top-of-a-dune/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“Elites are always indifferent and unconcerned to the plight of common people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-fry/elites-are-always-indifferent-and-unconcerned-to-the-plight-of-common/) [Jeffrey Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-fry/) > [With respect to public acknowledgment of religious belief, it is entirely clear from our nation's historical practices that the Establishment Clause permits this disregard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/with-respect-to-public-acknowledgment-of-religious-belief-it-is/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [The farther we get from God, the more the world spirals out of control. My heart aches for America and its deceived people. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/the-farther-we-get-from-god-the-more-the-world-spirals-out-of-control/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [It would be hard to conceive a system of instincts more nicely adjusted, where the constituents should represent or support one another better. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/it-would-be-hard-to-conceive-a-system-of-instincts-more-nicely/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [When it's time to get dressed, put on your clothes. When you must walk, then walk. When you must sit, then sit. Just be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linji-yixuan/when-it-s-time-to-get-dressed-put-on-your-clothes-when-you-must-walk/) [Linji Yixuan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linji-yixuan/) > [I drink much less than most people think, and I think much more than most people would believe. I am quite sincere about some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/i-drink-much-less-than-most-people-think-and-i-think-much-more-than/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“Everyone is always busy, not until it is something that benefits them, or that which concerns whom they love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/everyone-is-always-busy-not-until-it-is-something-that-benefits-them/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [When a man’s heart is cold and unconcerned about religion – when his hands are never employed in doing God’s work – when his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-man-s-heart-is-cold-and-unconcerned-about-religion-when-his/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Unkind people spread malicious tales, and well-intentioned people also censure; but in either case the tranquil sage remains unconcerned. Nowhere is there to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/unkind-people-spread-malicious-tales-and-well-intentioned-people-also/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) ## More by Claude Levi-Strauss > [Our students wanted to know everything: but only the newest theory seemed to them worth bothering with. Knowing nothing of the intellectual achievements of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/our-students-wanted-to-know-everything-but-only-the-newest-theory/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [While I complain of being able to glimpse no more than the shadow of the past, I may be insensitive to reality as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/while-i-complain-of-being-able-to-glimpse-no-more-than-the-shadow-of/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [Civilization has ceased to be that delicate flower which was preserved and painstakingly cultivated in one or two sheltered areas of a soil rich…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/civilization-has-ceased-to-be-that-delicate-flower-which-was/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [These facts make the creator of music a being like the gods, and make music itself the supreme mystery of human knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/these-facts-make-the-creator-of-music-a-being-like-the-gods-and-make/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [Being human signifies, for each one of us, belonging to a class, a society, a country, a continent and a civilization; and for us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/being-human-signifies-for-each-one-of-us-belonging-to-a-class-a/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [“For mile after mile the same melodic phrase rose up in my memory. I simply couldn’t get free of it. Each time it had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/for-mile-after-mile-the-same-melodic-phrase-rose-up-in-my-memory-i/) [Claude Lévi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [Anthropology found its Galileo in Rivers, its Newton in Mauss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/anthropology-found-its-galileo-in-rivers-its-newton-in-mauss/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [The scientist is not a person who gives the right answers, he is one who asks the right questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/the-scientist-is-not-a-person-who-gives-the-right-answers-he-is-one/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [Natural man did not precede society, nor is he outside it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/natural-man-did-not-precede-society-nor-is-he-outside-it/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [“For everything is history: What was said yesterday is history, what was said a minute ago is history. But, above all, one is led…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/for-everything-is-history-what-was-said-yesterday-is-history-what-was/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [In the old days, people used to risk their lives in India or in the Americas in order to bring back products which now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/in-the-old-days-people-used-to-risk-their-lives-in-india-or-in-the/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [The musical emotion springs precisely from the fact that at each moment the composer withholds or adds more or less than the listener anticipates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/the-musical-emotion-springs-precisely-from-the-fact-that-at-each/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [Scientific knowledge advances haltingly and is stimulated by contention and doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/scientific-knowledge-advances-haltingly-and-is-stimulated-by/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [Understanding arises from reducing one type of reality into another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/understanding-arises-from-reducing-one-type-of-reality-into-another/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [All the essentials of humanity's artistic treasures can be found in New York.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/all-the-essentials-of-humanity-s-artistic-treasures-can-be-found-in/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) [Explore all 62 Claude Levi-Strauss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) ## More Differentiate quotes > [Islam never differentiates between men and women as regards political rights and puts them on an equal footing. However, even if a woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusuf-al-qaradawi/islam-never-differentiates-between-men-and-women-as-regards-political/) [Yusuf al-Qaradawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusuf-al-qaradawi/) > [Failing to differentiate among employees — and holding on to bottom-tier performers — is actually the cruelest form of management there is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welch/failing-to-differentiate-among-employees-and-holding-on-to-bottom/) [Jack Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welch/) > [I think my sound differentiates me from everyone else. I'm able to dip and dabble in other genres, without feeling out of place. Im…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iceberg-slim/i-think-my-sound-differentiates-me-from-everyone-else-i-m-able-to-dip/) [Iceberg Slim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iceberg-slim/) > [We must protect each other against the attacks of those self-appointed watchdogs of patriotism now abroad in the land who irresponsibly pin red labels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-henry-hildebrand/we-must-protect-each-other-against-the-attacks-of-those-self/) [Joel Henry Hildebrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-henry-hildebrand/) > [People need to differentiate me from my roles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saqib-saleem/people-need-to-differentiate-me-from-my-roles/) [Saqib Saleem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saqib-saleem/) > [If I had to define life in a single phrase, I should clearly express my thought of throwing into relief one characteristic which, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-bernard/if-i-had-to-define-life-in-a-single-phrase-i-should-clearly-express/) [Claude Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-bernard/) > [It is the individual's task to differentiate himself from all the others and stand on his own feet. All collective identities . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/it-is-the-individual-s-task-to-differentiate-himself-from-all-the/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [I mean for me, I can't really say I differentiate 'cause when I go into the studio to make music, I just make music.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmad-balshe/i-mean-for-me-i-can-t-really-say-i-differentiate-cause-when-i-go-into/) [Ahmad Balshe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmad-balshe/) > [To teach means scarcely anything more than to show how things differ from one another in their different purposes, forms, and origins. ... Therefore,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-amos/to-teach-means-scarcely-anything-more-than-to-show-how-things-differ/) [John Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-amos/) > [Air power and military are meant to fight the enemy and not your own citizens... How do you differentiate a Maoist?... It will create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kishore-chandra-deo/air-power-and-military-are-meant-to-fight-the-enemy-and-not-your-own/) [Kishore Chandra Deo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kishore-chandra-deo/) > [The best pictures differentiate themselves by nuances...a tiny relationship - either a harmony or a disharmony - that creates a picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-haas/the-best-pictures-differentiate-themselves-by-nuances-a-tiny/) [Ernst Haas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-haas/) > [There is a strange fact about the human mind, a fact that differentiates the mind sharply from the body. The body is limited in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-adler/there-is-a-strange-fact-about-the-human-mind-a-fact-that/) [Mortimer Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-adler/) > [It's only important to differentiate between patriotism and nationalism. I speak of enlightened patriotism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-knobloch/it-s-only-important-to-differentiate-between-patriotism-and/) [Charlotte Knobloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-knobloch/) > [The most meaningful way to differentiate your company from your competitors, the best way to put distance between you and the crowd is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/the-most-meaningful-way-to-differentiate-your-company-from-your/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [There is a good deal of excellent research on child's play. It has shown conclusively that through play, with the freedom of action it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/there-is-a-good-deal-of-excellent-research-on-child-s-play-it-has/) [Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/) Browse all 184 Differentiate quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The police are not entrusted with a mission which differentiates them from those they serve. Being unconcerned with ultimate purposes, they are inseparable from the persons and interests of their masters, and shine with their reflected glory.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Claude Levi-Strauss" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/the-police-are-not-entrusted-with-a-mission-which-differentiates-them/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Differentiate" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/the-police-are-not-entrusted-with-a-mission-which-differentiates-them/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/384/claude-levi-strauss-8995_differentiate_the-police-are-not-entrusted-with-a-miss_2851004.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/384/claude-levi-strauss-8995_differentiate_the-police-are-not-entrusted-with-a-miss_2851004.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/384/claude-levi-strauss-8995_differentiate_the-police-are-not-entrusted-with-a-miss_2851004.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The police are not entrusted with a mission which differentiates them from those they serve. Being…” — Claude Levi-Strauss", "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": "Claude Levi-Strauss", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The police are not entrusted with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/the-police-are-not-entrusted-with-a-mission-which-differentiates-them/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/the-police-are-not-entrusted-with-a-mission-which-differentiates-them/#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 } } ] } ```