---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One would think that by the second decade…"
description: "\"One would think that by the second decade of the twenty-first century, the intellectual poverty of technocracy and the primacy of politics over it woul..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/197/evgeny-morozov-2995_century_one-would-think-that-by-the-second-decad_584002.png"
---

#  One would think that by the second decade of the…

![“One would think that by the second decade of the twenty-first century, the intellectual poverty of technocracy and the primacy of politics over it would be a well-established truth in need of no further defense.” quote by Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/197/evgeny-morozov-2995_century_one-would-think-that-by-the-second-decad_584002.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/197/evgeny-morozov-2995_century_one-would-think-that-by-the-second-decad_584002.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/197/evgeny-morozov-2995_century_one-would-think-that-by-the-second-decad_584002.png)

> “One would think that by the second decade of the twenty-first century, the intellectual poverty of technocracy and the primacy of politics over it would be a well-established truth in need of no further defense.”

[Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/)

## About This Quote

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

Technocratic expertise is often overridden by political agendas, leading to intellectual decline

**In simple terms:** Politics can drown out expert knowledge

Key Takeaway

Guard expertise against political interference

Themes

politics technology expertise

Mood

critical analytical

Type

essay commentary

When to use this quote

- government decision‑making
- tech regulation
- public discourse

Key Concepts

technocracy intellectual poverty policy

Questions to Reflect On

- What safeguards can protect expertise in policy?
- Are there examples where politics improved tech outcomes?

A Different Perspective

Political motives may compromise rational solutions

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Technocracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technocracy/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Twenties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twenties/)

## Related quotes

> [With the opening of the second decade of the twentieth century it seemed that the stage was set for the last act in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-adams-cram/with-the-opening-of-the-second-decade-of-the-twentieth-century-it/)

[Ralph Adams Cram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-adams-cram/)

> [Really, I could care less if there's a Second Decade record.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-w-smith/really-i-could-care-less-if-there-s-a-second-decade-record/)

[Michael W. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-w-smith/)

> [We always come back to the same vicious circle - an extreme degree of material or intellectual poverty does away with the means of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/we-always-come-back-to-the-same-vicious-circle-an-extreme-degree-of/)

[Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

> [I have never known so much naive conviction allied to greater intellectual poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/i-have-never-known-so-much-naive-conviction-allied-to-greater/)

[Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/)

> [The human mind, in taking us down the path of technocracy, has become the adversary of life itself and collaterally the adversary of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/the-human-mind-in-taking-us-down-the-path-of-technocracy-has-become/)

[Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/)

> [One of the things I have taken for granted, in terms of how technology works in the world, is the people that develop it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/one-of-the-things-i-have-taken-for-granted-in-terms-of-how-technology/)

[William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/)

> [Technocracy wants to do everything by machinery. Machinery is doing just fine. If it can't kill you, it will put you out of work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/technocracy-wants-to-do-everything-by-machinery-machinery-is-doing/)

[Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/)

> [“Our culture of violence is an incubator, where our children are the crop of future techno-warrior killers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/our-culture-of-violence-is-an-incubator-where-our-children-are-the/)

[Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/)

> [“It is a curious thought that the earliest description of the steam-engine in antiquity describes its use for the magic opening of the temple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-soddy/it-is-a-curious-thought-that-the-earliest-description-of-the-steam/)

[Frederick Soddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-soddy/)

> [“I point out to you, Marcus Claire Luyseyal, a lesson from past over-machined societies which you appear not to have learned. The devices themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/i-point-out-to-you-marcus-claire-luyseyal-a-lesson-from-past-over/)

[Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/)

> [You talk about Japanese technocracy and you get radios.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-sinclair/you-talk-about-japanese-technocracy-and-you-get-radios/)

[Gordon Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-sinclair/)

> [“The effect of modern war is to eliminate retrogressive types, while sparing the technocracy and increasing its hold upon public affairs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/the-effect-of-modern-war-is-to-eliminate-retrogressive-types-while/)

[C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/)

> [The question about progress has become the question whether we can discover any way of submitting to the worldwide paternalism of a technocracy without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-question-about-progress-has-become-the-question-whether-we-can/)

[C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/)

> [You talk about German technocracy and you get automobiles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-sinclair/you-talk-about-german-technocracy-and-you-get-automobiles/)

[Gordon Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-sinclair/)

> [“With the rise of Technopoly, one of those thought-worlds disappears. Technopoly eliminates alternatives to itself in precisely the way Aldous Huxley outlined in Brave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/with-the-rise-of-technopoly-one-of-those-thought-worlds-disappears/)

[Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/)

## More by Evgeny Morozov

> [“If Amazon’s dream of a world without gatekeepers becomes reality, then the company itself will become a powerful gatekeeper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/if-amazon-s-dream-of-a-world-without-gatekeepers-becomes-reality-then/)

[Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/)

> [I spent two years in Palo Alto - what an awful, suffocating place for those of us who don't care about yoga, yogurts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/i-spent-two-years-in-palo-alto-what-an-awful-suffocating-place-for/)

[Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/)

> [For many oppositional movements, the Internet, while providing the opportunity to distribute information more quickly and cheaper, may have actually made their struggle more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/for-many-oppositional-movements-the-internet-while-providing-the/)

[Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/)

> [To fully absorb the lessons of the Internet, urge the Internet-centrists, we need to reshape our political and social institutions in its image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/to-fully-absorb-the-lessons-of-the-internet-urge-the-internet/)

[Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/)

> [As Barbara Streisand discovered, adopting a militaristic posture against a tech-savvy mob of civil libertarians is not going to be of much help: Many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/as-barbara-streisand-discovered-adopting-a-militaristic-posture/)

[Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/)

> [The Egyptian experience suggests that social media can greatly accelerate the death of already dying authoritarian regimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/the-egyptian-experience-suggests-that-social-media-can-greatly/)

[Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/)

> [In business, standards establish the rules of the game, creating path dependencies as investments are made and corresponding designs are set in stone and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/in-business-standards-establish-the-rules-of-the-game-creating-path/)

[Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/)

> [Military commanders do not want to be tried for war crimes, even if those crimes are committed online.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/military-commanders-do-not-want-to-be-tried-for-war-crimes-even-if/)

[Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/)

> [When we get the remote Russian village online, what will get people to the Internet is not going to be reports from Human Rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/when-we-get-the-remote-russian-village-online-what-will-get-people-to/)

[Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/)

> [ “To reject solutionism is to transcend the narrow-minded rationalistic mindset that recasts every instance of an efficiency deficit \[...\] as an obstacle that needs… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/to-reject-solutionism-is-to-transcend-the-narrow-minded-rationalistic/)

[Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/)

> [Information technology has been one of the leading drivers of globalization, and it may also become one of its major victims.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/information-technology-has-been-one-of-the-leading-drivers-of/)

[Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/)

> [Universities ought to be aware of the degree they would want to accept funding from governments like China to work on, say, face recognition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/universities-ought-to-be-aware-of-the-degree-they-would-want-to/)

[Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/)

> [“Thomas Friedman, the New York Times foreign affairs columnist, in his typical fashion, trivialized—and did much to popularize—the “dictator’s dilemma” fallacy by coining a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/thomas-friedman-the-new-york-times-foreign-affairs-columnist-in-his/)

[Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/)

> [If WikiLeaks were a for-profit company, determining its real value would be a nearly impossible task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/if-wikileaks-were-a-for-profit-company-determining-its-real-value/)

[Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/)

> [The implications are clear: Facebook wants to build an Internet where watching films, listening to music, reading books and even browsing is done not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/the-implications-are-clear-facebook-wants-to-build-an-internet-where/)

[Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/)

[Explore all 143 Evgeny Morozov quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/)

## More Century quotes

> [I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-always-that-i-am-an-outsider-a-stranger-in-this-century-and/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [ \[The Dalai Lama\] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-told-me-some-years-ago-i-ve-made-every-concession-to/)

[Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/)

> [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The poetry from the eighteenth century was prose; the prose from the seventeenth century was poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/the-poetry-from-the-eighteenth-century-was-prose-the-prose-from-the/)

[David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/)

> [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [Talented people can predict with great accuracy what's about to happen just a tiny bit ahead of their competitors. It might be two seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/talented-people-can-predict-with-great-accuracy-what-s-about-to/)

[Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/)

> [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/)

[James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/)

> [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/)

[Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/)

> [At no time in the past century has public distrust of the government been so broadly distributed across the political spectrum, as it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-zimmermann/at-no-time-in-the-past-century-has-public-distrust-of-the-government/)

[Phil Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-zimmermann/)

> [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/)

[Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/)

> [The young people today are the 21st century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/the-young-people-today-are-the-21st-century/)

[Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/)

> [The wisdom of our actions in the first three years of peace will determine the course of world history for half a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-wallace/the-wisdom-of-our-actions-in-the-first-three-years-of-peace-will/)

[Henry A. Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-wallace/)

> [For me, the melancholy of the late XXth Century is walking late at night by the Mont Blanc pen store and seeing these things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/for-me-the-melancholy-of-the-late-xxth-century-is-walking-late-at/)

[William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/)

> [In a general way, the literature of the twentieth century is essentially psychological; and psychology consists of describing states of the soul by displaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/in-a-general-way-the-literature-of-the-twentieth-century-is/)

[Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/)

> [Consequently, citizen legislators, rotating back to their communities after a short period of public service—considered an indispensable and routine characteristic and design of representative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/consequently-citizen-legislators-rotating-back-to-their-communities/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

Browse all 5,406 Century quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "One would think that by the second decade of the twenty-first century, the intellectual poverty of technocracy and the primacy of politics over it would be a well-established truth in need of no further defense.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Evgeny Morozov"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/one-would-think-that-by-the-second-decade-of-the-twenty-first-century/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Century"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/one-would-think-that-by-the-second-decade-of-the-twenty-first-century/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/197/evgeny-morozov-2995_century_one-would-think-that-by-the-second-decad_584002.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/197/evgeny-morozov-2995_century_one-would-think-that-by-the-second-decad_584002.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/197/evgeny-morozov-2995_century_one-would-think-that-by-the-second-decad_584002.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“One would think that by the second decade of the twenty-first century, the intellectual poverty of…” — Evgeny Morozov",
                "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": "Evgeny Morozov",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "One would think that by the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/one-would-think-that-by-the-second-decade-of-the-twenty-first-century/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/one-would-think-that-by-the-second-decade-of-the-twenty-first-century/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```