--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Good politicians need not be…" description: "\"Good politicians need not be intellectuals, but they should have intellectual lives.\" — Gary Gutting" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/081/gary-gutting-62121_good-politicians_good-politicians-need-not-be-intellectua_2579106.jpg" --- # Good politicians need not be intellectuals, but they… ![“Good politicians need not be intellectuals, but they should have intellectual lives.” quote by Gary Gutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/081/gary-gutting-62121_good-politicians_good-politicians-need-not-be-intellectua_2579106.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/081/gary-gutting-62121_good-politicians_good-politicians-need-not-be-intellectua_2579106.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/081/gary-gutting-62121_good-politicians_good-politicians-need-not-be-intellectua_2579106.jpg) > “Good politicians need not be intellectuals, but they should have intellectual lives.” [Gary Gutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-gutting/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Politicians don’t need to be scholars, but they should cultivate an intellectual life to inform their decisions. **In simple terms:** Politicians need intellectual depth. Key Takeaway Foster lifelong learning. Themes politics intellectualism responsibility Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - policy making - public speaking - ethical debates Key Concepts civic education critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - What intellectual habits improve political judgment? - How can leaders stay informed without alienating constituents? A Different Perspective Intellectualism may seem elitist to voters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good politicians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-politicians/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Intellectuals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectuals/) [Intellectuals Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectuals-intellectual-1762714/) [Need Intellectuals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need-intellectuals-1762713/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Politician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politician/) [Politicians Need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politicians-need-738472/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) ## Related quotes > [I am very angry, and you don't need angry politicians. You need politicians with great balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-haasan/i-am-very-angry-and-you-don-t-need-angry-politicians-you-need/) [Kamal Haasan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamal-haasan/) > [Politicians need a better understanding of global ecology. We need to be freed from our species-specific arrogance. No evidence exists that we are 'chosen',…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-margulis/politicians-need-a-better-understanding-of-global-ecology-we-need-to/) [Lynn Margulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-margulis/) > [The rules in this new 'post-partisan' era are pretty simple: If the Democratic Party wants it, it's 'stimulus.' If the Republican Party opposes it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/the-rules-in-this-new-post-partisan-era-are-pretty-simple-if-the/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [People hate politicians, it's really in vogue right now to hate politicians, but we need someone to lead us into the new world economy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-c-pelosi/people-hate-politicians-it-s-really-in-vogue-right-now-to-hate/) [Alexandra C. Pelosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-c-pelosi/) > [“There will always be a boogie man. Politicians need one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-brown/there-will-always-be-a-boogie-man-politicians-need-one/) [Josie Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-brown/) > [Most of the founders of this country had day jobs for years. They were not career politicians. ... We need leaders with experience in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/most-of-the-founders-of-this-country-had-day-jobs-for-years-they-were/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“Businessmen have a different set of delusions from politicians, and need, therefore, different handling. They are, however, much milder than politicians, at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/businessmen-have-a-different-set-of-delusions-from-politicians-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Politicians detest self-sufficient citizens. Politicians need to be needed. When we get socialized medicine, you will be completely dependent upon politicians for your medical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-boortz/politicians-detest-self-sufficient-citizens-politicians-need-to-be/) [Neal Boortz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-boortz/) > [Politicians need to realise that words have consequences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/layla-moran/politicians-need-to-realise-that-words-have-consequences/) [Layla Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/layla-moran/) > [Politicians need to rethink their reflexive invocations of the Second Amendment and the idea that the gun lobby is too powerful to challenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ignatius/politicians-need-to-rethink-their-reflexive-invocations-of-the-second/) [David Ignatius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ignatius/) > [I think we need politicians; we need people who want to serve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/i-think-we-need-politicians-we-need-people-who-want-to-serve/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [“Politicians need citizens who will permit them to behave reasonably.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-edgar-stafford/politicians-need-citizens-who-will-permit-them-to-behave-reasonably/) [William Edgar Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-edgar-stafford/) > [Politicians need a film appreciation course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-kashyap/politicians-need-a-film-appreciation-course/) [Anurag Kashyap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-kashyap/) > [Politicians need money at election time and money to get the vote. Well, more than half of money in election comes from corporate interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-navarro/politicians-need-money-at-election-time-and-money-to-get-the-vote/) [Peter Navarro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-navarro/) > [Small charities deserve a bigger political voice and politicians need to hear us. Many of us are working on the margins - not of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-streeting/small-charities-deserve-a-bigger-political-voice-and-politicians-need/) [Wes Streeting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-streeting/) ## More by Gary Gutting > [“The main interest in life and work is to become someone else that you were not in the beginning’ (‘Truth, Power, Self’, 9). Foucault”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-gutting/the-main-interest-in-life-and-work-is-to-become-someone-else-that-you/) [Gary Gutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-gutting/) > [Teaching Plato in Palestine shows how philosophical thinking can illuminate important topics-in particular, the problem of finding ways to engage people with opposed ideologies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-gutting/teaching-plato-in-palestine-shows-how-philosophical-thinking-can/) [Gary Gutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-gutting/) > [Leisure, not work, should be our primary goal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-gutting/leisure-not-work-should-be-our-primary-goal/) [Gary Gutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-gutting/) > [What is an intellectual? In general, someone seriously devoted to what used to be called the “life of the mind”: thinking pursued not instrumentally,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-gutting/what-is-an-intellectual-in-general-someone-seriously-devoted-to-what/) [Gary Gutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-gutting/) [Explore all 5 Gary Gutting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-gutting/) ## More Good politicians quotes > [I suppose it's part of being a good politician to be able to spot the most important men in any group without outside assistance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-ford/i-suppose-it-s-part-of-being-a-good-politician-to-be-able-to-spot-the/) [Leslie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-ford/) > [Politics is different, because the mission is always to get the necessary votes. A good politician goes through everything in terms of mission and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/politics-is-different-because-the-mission-is-always-to-get-the/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [All the politics in the world are nothing else but a kind of analysis of the quantity of probability in casual events, and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-arbuthnot/all-the-politics-in-the-world-are-nothing-else-but-a-kind-of-analysis/) [John Arbuthnot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-arbuthnot/) > [There are, believe it or not, good politicians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keys-moran/there-are-believe-it-or-not-good-politicians/) [Daniel Keys Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keys-moran/) > [Dependency is the highest political good - at least for politicians. Since the 1930s, politicians have striven to leave no vote unbought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bovard/dependency-is-the-highest-political-good-at-least-for-politicians/) [James Bovard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bovard/) > [Artists can be the most powerful people in the world because they can use their voice for good. Politicians should be the most powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-sykes/artists-can-be-the-most-powerful-people-in-the-world-because-they-can/) [Oliver Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sykes/) > [Nothing corrupts a politician quite as much as friendship. Good politicians don't bribe; they make us like them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-parris/nothing-corrupts-a-politician-quite-as-much-as-friendship-good/) [Matthew Parris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-parris/) > [I don't know if I am a very good politician. I'm not a good hater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-xenophon/i-don-t-know-if-i-am-a-very-good-politician-i-m-not-a-good-hater/) [Nick Xenophon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-xenophon/) > [I don't see Sarah Palin suddenly spilling over to a wider group where suddenly they go, "Wait a minute, I've heard her message, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-levinson/i-don-t-see-sarah-palin-suddenly-spilling-over-to-a-wider-group-where/) [Barry Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-levinson/) > [Even a good politician, someone who is very ambitious, chooses not to see trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sarsgaard/even-a-good-politician-someone-who-is-very-ambitious-chooses-not-to/) [Peter Sarsgaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sarsgaard/) > [Cats are oppressed, dogs terrify them, landladies starve them, boys stone them, everybody speaks of them with contempt. If they were human beings we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/cats-are-oppressed-dogs-terrify-them-landladies-starve-them-boys/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [I never thought Hillary Clinton was a very good politician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-chait/i-never-thought-hillary-clinton-was-a-very-good-politician/) [Jonathan Chait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-chait/) > [In the end, Ted Kennedy was a politician, plain and simple. Yet he embodied how politics and public service can be successfully intertwined. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-todd/in-the-end-ted-kennedy-was-a-politician-plain-and-simple-yet-he/) [Chuck Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-todd/) > [Yes, I'm married. But my wife understands that a good politician has to be appealing to the ladies. The fact that I haven't even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aziz-ansari/yes-i-m-married-but-my-wife-understands-that-a-good-politician-has-to/) [Aziz Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aziz-ansari/) > [I can remember when a good politician had to be 75 percent ability and 25 percent actor, but I can well see the day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/i-can-remember-when-a-good-politician-had-to-be-75-percent-ability/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) [Browse all 33 Good politicians quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-politicians/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Good politicians need not be intellectuals, but they should have intellectual lives.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gary Gutting" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-gutting/good-politicians-need-not-be-intellectuals-but-they-should-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Good politicians" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-gutting/good-politicians-need-not-be-intellectuals-but-they-should-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/081/gary-gutting-62121_good-politicians_good-politicians-need-not-be-intellectua_2579106.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/081/gary-gutting-62121_good-politicians_good-politicians-need-not-be-intellectua_2579106.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/081/gary-gutting-62121_good-politicians_good-politicians-need-not-be-intellectua_2579106.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Good politicians need not be intellectuals, but they should have intellectual lives.” — Gary Gutting", "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": "Gary Gutting", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-gutting/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Good politicians need not be intellectuals,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-gutting/good-politicians-need-not-be-intellectuals-but-they-should-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-gutting/good-politicians-need-not-be-intellectuals-but-they-should-have/#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 } } ] } ```