--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An ideologue may be defined as a mad…" description: "\"An ideologue may be defined as a mad intellectual. He is not interested in ideas, butalmost the exact contraryin one idea. When he erects this idea int..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d9/clifton-fadiman-11053_great-saying-by-grea_an-ideologue-may-be-defined-as-a-mad-int_1328181.jpg" --- # An ideologue may be defined as a mad intellectual. He is… ![“An ideologue may be defined as a mad intellectual. He is not interested in ideas, butalmost the exact contraryin one idea. When he erects this idea into a system and forces the system to give birth to a way of life, confusion often results, usually to his great surprise. Two examples are…” quote by Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d9/clifton-fadiman-11053_great-saying-by-grea_an-ideologue-may-be-defined-as-a-mad-int_1328181.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d9/clifton-fadiman-11053_great-saying-by-grea_an-ideologue-may-be-defined-as-a-mad-int_1328181.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d9/clifton-fadiman-11053_great-saying-by-grea_an-ideologue-may-be-defined-as-a-mad-int_1328181.jpg) > “An ideologue may be defined as a mad intellectual. He is not interested in ideas, butalmost the exact contraryin one idea. When he erects this idea into a system and forces the system to give birth to a way of life, confusion often results, usually to his great surprise. Two examples are Robespierre and Lenin. The intellectual is occasionally blamed for the work of the ideologue, which is like condemning the psychiatrist because he and the patient areboth involved in the same thing, mental illness. The ideologue is often brilliant. Consequently some of us distrust brilliance when we should distrust the ideologue… The ideologue is often more persuasive than the intellectual because he hasa simpler line of goods to sell and never questions its value. Sometimes he achieves great success by attacking the real intellectualBryan is a good example.” [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An ideologue obsessively clings to a single idea, turning it into a rigid system that can cause confusion and unintended consequences. **In simple terms:** Ideologues fixate on one idea, creating rigid systems that may backfire. Key Takeaway Question the rigidity of single‑idea systems. Themes politics psychology philosophy Mood critical skeptical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - political movements - organizational leadership - public policy - education reform Key Concepts Ideology cognitive bias authoritarianism Questions to Reflect On - How does single‑idea thinking limit problem solving? - When might a unified vision be beneficial? A Different Perspective Ideologues can oversimplify complex issues, ignoring nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Great saying by great authors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-saying-by-great-authors/) [Ideologue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideologue/) [Ideologue Defined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideologue-defined-4448266/) [Ideologue Ideologue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideologue-ideologue-4448267/) [Ideologue Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideologue-like-4448269/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Mad Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mad-intellectual-4448268/) [Mental illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-illness/) [Way of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-of-life/) ## Related quotes > [One of the failings of ideologues is their inability to see that everyone else isn't necessarily an ideologue like them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-marshall/one-of-the-failings-of-ideologues-is-their-inability-to-see-that/) [Josh Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-marshall/) > [“An ideologue is one who places agenda above truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-adam-snyder/an-ideologue-is-one-who-places-agenda-above-truth/) [J.Adam Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-adam-snyder/) > [I always thought that Grover Norquist had a - he really is a true ideologue, in every sense of the word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-easton/i-always-thought-that-grover-norquist-had-a-he-really-is-a-true/) [Nina Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-easton/) > [“The quirky flavourings of the idiosyncratic ideologue ultimately drowned in the ketchup of redheaded twins and nipples that go spung.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/the-quirky-flavourings-of-the-idiosyncratic-ideologue-ultimately/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [“There are no innocuous ideologies. They're forms of pathological over simplification and they're also clubs, I mean the kind of clubs that you hit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-b-peterson/there-are-no-innocuous-ideologies-they-re-forms-of-pathological-over/) [Jordan B. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-b-peterson/) > [An ideologue does not bend to what is popular, what will gain him power, or what is practical. He simply does what he thinks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-cain/an-ideologue-does-not-bend-to-what-is-popular-what-will-gain-him/) [Will Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-cain/) > [I try not to be an ideologue about anything. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, and I'm willing to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-cuban/i-try-not-to-be-an-ideologue-about-anything-if-i-m-wrong-i-m-wrong/) [Mark Cuban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-cuban/) > [Only an ideologue deals with the world as he would wish it to be, as opposed to the world as it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clarke/only-an-ideologue-deals-with-the-world-as-he-would-wish-it-to-be-as/) [Kenneth Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clarke/) > [A lot of people tend to think I'm a dogmatic ideologue, which I'm not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/a-lot-of-people-tend-to-think-i-m-a-dogmatic-ideologue-which-i-m-not/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [“Tell a pragmatist a lie, and they will become angry. 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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/) > [A good memory is one trained to forget the trivial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/a-good-memory-is-one-trained-to-forget-the-trivial/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [A bottle of wine begs to be shared; I have never met a miserly wine lover.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/a-bottle-of-wine-begs-to-be-shared-i-have-never-met-a-miserly-wine/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [ \[Books\] will visit you at your convenience, whether you are lonesome or not, on rainy days or fair. 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Like aqua vitae with a midwife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/maria-nay-but-say-true-doesit-work-upon-him-sir-toby-belch-like-aqua/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [The great must submit to the dominion of prudence and of virtue, or none will long submit to the dominion of thegreat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-great-must-submit-to-the-dominion-of-prudence-and-of-virtue-or/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [She who does not know she isa patient lies Within a tent of green, and sleeps without a sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-kirkup/she-who-does-not-know-she-isa-patient-lies-within-a-tent-of-green-and/) [James Kirkup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-kirkup/) > [In retirement, I look for days off from my days off. Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/in-retirement-i-look-for-days-off-from-my-days-off-mason-cooley/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Popular culture entered my life as Shirley Temple, who was exactly my age and wrotea letter in the newspapers telling how her mother fixed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/popular-culture-entered-my-life-as-shirley-temple-who-was-exactly-my/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [It is only possible to succeed at second-rate pursuitslikebecoming a millionaire or a prime minister, winning a war, seducing beautiful women, flying thought the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/it-is-only-possible-to-succeed-at-second-rate-pursuitslikebecoming-a/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [Here the crow starves, here the patient stag Breeds for the rifle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-stearns-eliot/here-the-crow-starves-here-the-patient-stag-breeds-for-the-rifle/) [Thomas Stearns Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-stearns-eliot/) > [They are not dead! 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If then your body go, what need you a heart?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/various-content-to-your-eyes-ears-and-tongue-and-every-part-if-then/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) [Browse all 605 Great saying by great authors quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-saying-by-great-authors/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "An ideologue may be defined as a mad intellectual. He is not interested in ideas, butalmost the exact contraryin one idea. When he erects this idea into a system and forces the system to give birth to a way of life, confusion often results, usually to his great surprise. Two examples are Robespierre and Lenin. The intellectual is occasionally blamed for the work of the ideologue, which is like condemning the psychiatrist because he and the patient areboth involved in the same thing, mental illness. The ideologue is often brilliant. 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