--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There aren't many idealists in politics." description: "\"There aren't many idealists in politics.\" — Evelyn Anthony" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2b/evelyn-anthony-49193_idealist_there-aren-t-many-idealists-in-politics_1944605.jpg" --- # There aren't many idealists in politics. ![“There aren't many idealists in politics.” quote by Evelyn Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2b/evelyn-anthony-49193_idealist_there-aren-t-many-idealists-in-politics_1944605.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2b/evelyn-anthony-49193_idealist_there-aren-t-many-idealists-in-politics_1944605.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2b/evelyn-anthony-49193_idealist_there-aren-t-many-idealists-in-politics_1944605.jpg) > “There aren't many idealists in politics.” [Evelyn Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-anthony/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that idealism is rare among politicians, implying pragmatism or self‑interest dominates. **In simple terms:** Idealists are scarce in politics. Key Takeaway Recognize the practical nature of political actors. Themes politics idealism realism Mood skeptical reflective Type political critical When to use this quote - campaign strategy - policy debate - voting decisions - public advocacy Key Concepts cynicism power dynamics moral compromise Questions to Reflect On - How does lack of idealism affect policy outcomes? - Can idealism be cultivated in political spheres? A Different Perspective Idealism may still influence reform movements despite scarcity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Idealist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealist/) [Idealists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealists/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) ## Related quotes > [Teachers are by nature idealists, and they believe anything can be learned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-wiggs/teachers-are-by-nature-idealists-and-they-believe-anything-can-be/) [Susan Wiggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-wiggs/) > [These Utopian idealists like the Clintons who think they really do have the answers. They think they're following the best minds of their generation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/these-utopian-idealists-like-the-clintons-who-think-they-really-do/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [Finally, the president added, 'The American people are idealists, but they also want their leaders to be realistic...'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-woodward/finally-the-president-added-the-american-people-are-idealists-but/) [Bob Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-woodward/) > [Questioning growth is deemed to be the act of lunatics, idealists and revolutionaries. But question it we must.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-jackson/questioning-growth-is-deemed-to-be-the-act-of-lunatics-idealists-and/) [Tim Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-jackson/) > [All idealists imagine that the causes they serve are fundamentally better than any other causes in the world, and they refuse to believe that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/all-idealists-imagine-that-the-causes-they-serve-are-fundamentally/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The college idealists who fill the ranks of the environmental movement seem willing to do absolutely anything to save the biosphere, except take science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-college-idealists-who-fill-the-ranks-of-the-environmental/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've never understood the division between so-called realists and so-called idealists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-ve-never-understood-the-division-between-so-called-realists-and-so/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [The universalists, the idealists, the Utopians all aim too high. They give promises of an unattainable paradise, and by doing so they deceive mankind.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-universalists-the-idealists-the-utopians-all-aim-too-high-they/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [God save me from idealists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/god-save-me-from-idealists/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [“Idealists are either blind or clowns; because they think it is possible to have a beautiful world with asshole creatures like humans.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/idealists-are-either-blind-or-clowns-because-they-think-it-is/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Anyone too undisciplined, too self-righteous or too self-centered to live in the world as it is has a tendency to idealize a world which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james-duncan/anyone-too-undisciplined-too-self-righteous-or-too-self-centered-to/) [David James Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james-duncan/) > [Cynics are - beneath it all - only idealists with awkwardly high standards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/cynics-are-beneath-it-all-only-idealists-with-awkwardly-high-standards/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [It is always easy to divide the world into idealists and power-oriented people. The idealists are presumed to be the noble people, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/it-is-always-easy-to-divide-the-world-into-idealists-and-power/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [Neither idealists nor materialists are right; we must take both idea and expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/neither-idealists-nor-materialists-are-right-we-must-take-both-idea/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [To think great thoughts you must be heroes as well as idealists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/to-think-great-thoughts-you-must-be-heroes-as-well-as-idealists/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) ## More by Evelyn Anthony > [“I hate people doing an emotional striptease. It's never genuine or they wouldn't drag outsiders in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-anthony/i-hate-people-doing-an-emotional-striptease-it-s-never-genuine-or/) [Evelyn Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-anthony/) > [I hate people doing an emotional striptease. It's never genuine or they wouldn't drag outsiders m.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-anthony/i-hate-people-doing-an-emotional-striptease-it-s-never-genuine-or-2/) [Evelyn Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-anthony/) > [Sleep always eluded the pursuer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-anthony/sleep-always-eluded-the-pursuer/) [Evelyn Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-anthony/) > [There is always a moment when you think of death as a way easier than life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-anthony/there-is-always-a-moment-when-you-think-of-death-as-a-way-easier-than/) [Evelyn Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-anthony/) > [America was the worst place in the world in which to fail, fall sick, get old or die, because then your problems had crystallised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-anthony/america-was-the-worst-place-in-the-world-in-which-to-fail-fall-sick/) [Evelyn Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-anthony/) > [ \[On Washington, D.C.:\] There was no other city in the world where rumor fed upon itself so virulently. Whispers wiped out careers just as… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-anthony/on-washington-d-c-there-was-no-other-city-in-the-world-where-rumor/) [Evelyn Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-anthony/) [Explore all 7 Evelyn Anthony quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-anthony/) ## More Idealist quotes > [“The difference between an idealist and a fanatic is the idealist is only 90% sure he's right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-difference-between-an-idealist-and-a-fanatic-is-the-idealist-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I'm an idealist who has outgrown my idealism I have nothing to do the rest of my life but do it and the rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-m-an-idealist-who-has-outgrown-my-idealism-i-have-nothing-to-do-the/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [If you are an idealist, it does not matter what you do or what goes on around you because it isn't real anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/if-you-are-an-idealist-it-does-not-matter-what-you-do-or-what-goes-on/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [No one more cynical than an idealist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/no-one-more-cynical-than-an-idealist/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [I'm an idealist. You do things your way well enough, for long enough, you'll get rewarded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sami-zayn/i-m-an-idealist-you-do-things-your-way-well-enough-for-long-enough/) [Sami Zayn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sami-zayn/) > [Only the broken-hearted idealist can become a cynic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-clifton/only-the-broken-hearted-idealist-can-become-a-cynic/) Mark Clifton > [“You see in such a world as this, an idealist -or perhaps it's only a sentimentalist-must be stoned to death. He makes the others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/you-see-in-such-a-world-as-this-an-idealist-or-perhaps-it-s-only-a/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [Teachers are by nature idealists, and they believe anything can be learned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-wiggs/teachers-are-by-nature-idealists-and-they-believe-anything-can-be/) [Susan Wiggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-wiggs/) > [“An idealist is someone who helps other people to be prosperous”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-henry-ford/an-idealist-is-someone-who-helps-other-people-to-be-prosperous/) Ford Henry Ford > [What is Southern California but an ever-changing dreamscape backdrop for the postmodern ideal? The psychology of the postmodern world is the continual state of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-van-hamersveld/what-is-southern-california-but-an-ever-changing-dreamscape-backdrop/) [John Van Hamersveld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-van-hamersveld/) > [The most important thing about the gentleman was that he was an idealist. ... He was bred up to a code of self-restraint which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/the-most-important-thing-about-the-gentleman-was-that-he-was-an/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [The idealist and dreamer will stubbornly go down with the ship. The serial innovator grabs the rudder and changes course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-osborne/the-idealist-and-dreamer-will-stubbornly-go-down-with-the-ship-the/) [Larry Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-osborne/) > [I'm an idealist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-cannavale/i-m-an-idealist/) [Bobby Cannavale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-cannavale/) > [In fact I'm in too much of a mental muddle to know where I am - an idealist or not. I'm a mere man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/in-fact-i-m-in-too-much-of-a-mental-muddle-to-know-where-i-am-an/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I may be a businessman in that I set up and run companies for profit, but when I try to plan ahead and dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-may-be-a-businessman-in-that-i-set-up-and-run-companies-for-profit/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) [Browse all 248 Idealist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There aren't many idealists in politics.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Evelyn Anthony" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-anthony/there-aren-t-many-idealists-in-politics/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Idealist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-anthony/there-aren-t-many-idealists-in-politics/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2b/evelyn-anthony-49193_idealist_there-aren-t-many-idealists-in-politics_1944605.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2b/evelyn-anthony-49193_idealist_there-aren-t-many-idealists-in-politics_1944605.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2b/evelyn-anthony-49193_idealist_there-aren-t-many-idealists-in-politics_1944605.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There aren't many idealists in politics.” — Evelyn Anthony", "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": "Evelyn Anthony", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-anthony/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There aren't many idealists in politics.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-anthony/there-aren-t-many-idealists-in-politics/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-anthony/there-aren-t-many-idealists-in-politics/#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 } } ] } ```