--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Political society wants things simple…" description: "\"Political society wants things simple. Political scientists know them to be complex... One could argue that, in part, the leftist impulse is so conspic..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f5/daniel-patrick-moynihan-8627_arguing_political-society-wants-things-simple-po_900333.jpg" --- # Political society wants things simple. Political… ![“Political society wants things simple. Political scientists know them to be complex... One could argue that, in part, the leftist impulse is so conspicuous among the educated and well-to-do precisely because they are exposed to more information, and are accordingly forced to choose between living…” quote by Daniel Patrick Moynihan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f5/daniel-patrick-moynihan-8627_arguing_political-society-wants-things-simple-po_900333.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f5/daniel-patrick-moynihan-8627_arguing_political-society-wants-things-simple-po_900333.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f5/daniel-patrick-moynihan-8627_arguing_political-society-wants-things-simple-po_900333.jpg) > “Political society wants things simple. Political scientists know them to be complex... One could argue that, in part, the leftist impulse is so conspicuous among the educated and well-to-do precisely because they are exposed to more information, and are accordingly forced to choose between living with the strains of complexity, or lapsing into simplism.” [Daniel Patrick Moynihan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-patrick-moynihan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Political simplicity appeals to many, yet educated elites confront complexity, forcing a choice between nuanced understanding and oversimplification. **In simple terms:** Complexity vs simplism in politics. Key Takeaway Seek depth over easy answers. Themes politics complexity education Mood critical analytical Type political educational When to use this quote - policy analysis - public debate - media literacy Key Concepts cognitive bias information overload elite discourse Questions to Reflect On - Why do people prefer simple narratives? - How can societies foster complex thinking? A Different Perspective Simplification can be politically expedient. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arguing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arguing/) [Complexes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexes/) [Complexity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexity/) [Educated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/educated/) [Exposed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exposed/) [Impulse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impulse/) [Information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Leftist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leftist/) [Leftist Impulse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leftist-impulse-1234635/) [Leftists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leftists/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political Scientists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-scientists-1234634/) [Political Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-society-436673/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) [Simple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple/) [Simple Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple-political-448258/) [Strain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strain/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [I think one of the saddest things that's happening to literature is that it's getting over-simplified by this diet of simple political ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/i-think-one-of-the-saddest-things-that-s-happening-to-literature-is/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I'm not a leftist; I'm where the righteous ought to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-coady/i-m-not-a-leftist-i-m-where-the-righteous-ought-to-be/) [Moses Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-coady/) > [I'm not in the leftist controlled Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because of my political views, primarily my lifelong militant support of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/i-m-not-in-the-leftist-controlled-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-because/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [(F)or 50 years, the well-meaning leftist agenda has been able to do to blacks what Jim Crow and harsh discrimination could never have done:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-e-williams/f-or-50-years-the-well-meaning-leftist-agenda-has-been-able-to-do-to/) [Walter E. 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And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/what-does-it-really-mean-to-be-a-leftist-in-the-early-part-of-the/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The leftist drive for control is insatiable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/the-leftist-drive-for-control-is-insatiable/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [A leftist government doesn't exist because being on the left has nothing to do with governments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilles-deleuze/a-leftist-government-doesn-t-exist-because-being-on-the-left-has/) [Gilles Deleuze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilles-deleuze/) > [But there is a more virulent strain at the root of Western Lysenkoism today. 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Harvard men were to be checked; Fordham…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-patrick-moynihan/in-the-era-of-security-clearances-to-be-an-irish-catholic-became/) [Daniel Patrick Moynihan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-patrick-moynihan/) > [What the press never does say is who the leaker is and why he wants the story leaked. Yet, more often than not, this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-patrick-moynihan/what-the-press-never-does-say-is-who-the-leaker-is-and-why-he-wants/) [Daniel Patrick Moynihan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-patrick-moynihan/) > [When a person goes to a country and finds their newspapers filled with nothing but good news, he can bet there are good men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-patrick-moynihan/when-a-person-goes-to-a-country-and-finds-their-newspapers-filled/) [Daniel Patrick Moynihan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-patrick-moynihan/) > [To be Irish is to know that in the end the world will break your heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-patrick-moynihan/to-be-irish-is-to-know-that-in-the-end-the-world-will-break-your-heart/) [Daniel Patrick Moynihan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-patrick-moynihan/) > [I can live with the robber barons, but how do you live with these pathological radicals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-patrick-moynihan/i-can-live-with-the-robber-barons-but-how-do-you-live-with-these/) [Daniel Patrick Moynihan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-patrick-moynihan/) > [The world's largest debtor is a distinction of sorts, but not the one we like having.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-patrick-moynihan/the-world-s-largest-debtor-is-a-distinction-of-sorts-but-not-the-one/) [Daniel Patrick Moynihan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-patrick-moynihan/) > [The institution of the family is decisive in determining not only if a person has the capacity to love another individual but in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-patrick-moynihan/the-institution-of-the-family-is-decisive-in-determining-not-only-if/) [Daniel Patrick Moynihan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-patrick-moynihan/) > [The liberal left can be as rigid and destructive as any force in American life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-patrick-moynihan/the-liberal-left-can-be-as-rigid-and-destructive-as-any-force-in/) [Daniel Patrick Moynihan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-patrick-moynihan/) [Explore all 79 Daniel Patrick Moynihan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-patrick-moynihan/) ## More Arguing quotes > [I do wish you wouldn't argue with me when I'm knitting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-durrell/i-do-wish-you-wouldn-t-argue-with-me-when-i-m-knitting/) [Gerald Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-durrell/) > [Any comprehensive doctrine, religious or secular, can be introduced into any political argument at any time, but I argue that people who do this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/any-comprehensive-doctrine-religious-or-secular-can-be-introduced/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [It's fine to talk about politics with people you agree with. 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