---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Politics is the art of looking for…"
description: "\"“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies.” —Groucho Marx”\" — Davi..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/792/david-oliver-51237_art_politics-is-the-art-of-looking-for-troub_1103647.jpg"
---

#  Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it…

![“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies.” —Groucho Marx” quote by David Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/792/david-oliver-51237_art_politics-is-the-art-of-looking-for-troub_1103647.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/792/david-oliver-51237_art_politics-is-the-art-of-looking-for-troub_1103647.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/792/david-oliver-51237_art_politics-is-the-art-of-looking-for-troub_1103647.jpg)

> ““Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies.” —Groucho Marx””

[David Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oliver/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Politics often involves seeking problems, misdiagnosing them, and applying ineffective solutions, reflecting a flawed approach to governance.

**In simple terms:** Politics finds problems, misdiagnoses, and applies wrong fixes.

Key Takeaway

Seek accurate diagnosis before acting.

Themes

politics problem solving misdiagnosis

Mood

analytical skeptical

Type

political critical

When to use this quote

- government meetings
- public debates
- policy drafting

Key Concepts

policy analysis critical thinking systemic bias

Questions to Reflect On

- How can leaders improve problem identification?
- What methods ensure effective solutions?

A Different Perspective

Wrong remedies can worsen issues.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/)

## Related quotes

> [I was always a fan of Groucho Marx as a kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-feldman/i-was-always-a-fan-of-groucho-marx-as-a-kid/)

[Michael Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-feldman/)

> [I could dance with you till the cows come home. Better still, I'll dance with the cows and you come home." Groucho Marx was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/i-could-dance-with-you-till-the-cows-come-home-better-still-i-ll/)

[Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/)

> [The real achievement of Woody Allen was that he was making movies that felt very personal, and for a whole group of people, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-baumbach/the-real-achievement-of-woody-allen-was-that-he-was-making-movies/)

[Noah Baumbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-baumbach/)

> [I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book. Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/latest/i-find-television-very-educating-every-time-somebody-turns-on-the-set/)

Latest

> [Surely to root politics out of art is a highly necessary undertaking: for the freedom of art, like that of science, depends entirely upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/surely-to-root-politics-out-of-art-is-a-highly-necessary-undertaking/)

[Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/)

> [“I always preferred Harpo to Groucho Marx.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-evans/i-always-preferred-harpo-to-groucho-marx/)

[Lee Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-evans/)

> [ \[On John Tunnard:\] One day a marvelous man in a highly elaborate tweed coat walked into the gallery. He looked a little like Groucho… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-guggenheim/on-john-tunnard-one-day-a-marvelous-man-in-a-highly-elaborate-tweed/)

[Peggy Guggenheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-guggenheim/)

> [I know of only six genuine comic geniuses in movie history; Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Groucho Marx &amp; Harpo Marx, Peter Sellers, and W.C.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/i-know-of-only-six-genuine-comic-geniuses-in-movie-history-charlie/)

[Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/)

> [One time I attended a big Hollywood party, and everybody was there Groucho Marx, Jack Benny, George Burns, Barbra Streisand. I walked around with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-berry/one-time-i-attended-a-big-hollywood-party-and-everybody-was-there/)

[Ken Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-berry/)

> [“I’m not crazy about reality, but it’s still the only place to get a decent meal. —Groucho Marx”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-cline/i-m-not-crazy-about-reality-but-it-s-still-the-only-place-to-get-a-2/)

[Ernest Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-cline/)

> [Horror movies are always a solid dollar. But a movie about Groucho Marx is a gamble. These things just are. Doesn't matter who you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-zombie/horror-movies-are-always-a-solid-dollar-but-a-movie-about-groucho/)

[Rob Zombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-zombie/)

> [“I know I'm not funny. I mean, let's face it, I'm no Groucho Marx. But if you're a guy, and you're watching late night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-silverman/i-know-i-m-not-funny-i-mean-let-s-face-it-i-m-no-groucho-marx-but-if/)

[Sarah Silverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-silverman/)

> [Groucho Marx, in his later days, gave me the best review I've ever had and probably will ever have. I changed a light bulb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-gould/groucho-marx-in-his-later-days-gave-me-the-best-review-i-ve-ever-had/)

[Elliott Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-gould/)

> [Up there with my awards, I have a great big statue of Groucho Marx, just to put everything in perspective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lithgow/up-there-with-my-awards-i-have-a-great-big-statue-of-groucho-marx/)

[John Lithgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lithgow/)

> [A man who says he can see through a woman is missing a lot.-Groucho Marx A man's only as old as the woman he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/a-man-who-says-he-can-see-through-a-woman-is-missing-a-lot-groucho/)

[Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/)

## More by David Oliver

> [“My issue isn’t with guns . . . my issue is with dunces who happen to have guns.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oliver/my-issue-isn-t-with-guns-my-issue-is-with-dunces-who-happen-to-have/)

[David Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oliver/)

> [“The more we tolerate crime, the more crime we will have.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oliver/the-more-we-tolerate-crime-the-more-crime-we-will-have/)

[David Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oliver/)

> [“Life is tough, but it’s tougher when you’re stupid.” —John Wayne”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oliver/life-is-tough-but-it-s-tougher-when-you-re-stupid-john-wayne/)

[David Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oliver/)

> [In order to be great, you have to learn from greatness, which is what I have tried to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oliver/in-order-to-be-great-you-have-to-learn-from-greatness-which-is-what-i/)

[David Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oliver/)

> [It was tough. That may happen at the Trials. You are so in the zone when you are in there it's tough running halfway…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oliver/it-was-tough-that-may-happen-at-the-trials-you-are-so-in-the-zone/)

[David Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oliver/)

> [“We are not causing you to “lose your job” by “giving” you an OVI. We didn’t give it to you, it was earned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oliver/we-are-not-causing-you-to-lose-your-job-by-giving-you-an-ovi-we-didn/)

[David Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oliver/)

[Explore all 7 David Oliver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oliver/)

## More Art quotes

> [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/)

[Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/)

> [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/)

[Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/)

> [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/)

[Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/)

> [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/)

[Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/)

> [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/)

[Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/)

> [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/)

Taf Teh

> [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/)

[Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/)

> [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/)

[Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/)

> [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/)

[Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/)

> [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/)

[G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/)

> [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/)

[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/)

> [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/)

[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/)

> [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/)

[Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/)

[Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies.” —Groucho Marx”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "David Oliver"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oliver/politics-is-the-art-of-looking-for-trouble-finding-it-everywhere/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Art"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oliver/politics-is-the-art-of-looking-for-trouble-finding-it-everywhere/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/792/david-oliver-51237_art_politics-is-the-art-of-looking-for-troub_1103647.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/792/david-oliver-51237_art_politics-is-the-art-of-looking-for-troub_1103647.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/792/david-oliver-51237_art_politics-is-the-art-of-looking-for-troub_1103647.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying…” — David Oliver",
                "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": "David Oliver",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oliver/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Politics is the art of looking...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oliver/politics-is-the-art-of-looking-for-trouble-finding-it-everywhere/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oliver/politics-is-the-art-of-looking-for-trouble-finding-it-everywhere/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
