--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How to get people to vote against their…" description: "\"How to get people to vote against their interests and to really think against their interests is very clever. It's the cleverest ruling class that I ha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcf/gore-vidal-466_class_how-to-get-people-to-vote-against-their_669160.jpg" --- # How to get people to vote against their interests and to… ![“How to get people to vote against their interests and to really think against their interests is very clever. It's the cleverest ruling class that I have ever come across in history. It's been two hundred years at it. It's superb.” quote by Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcf/gore-vidal-466_class_how-to-get-people-to-vote-against-their_669160.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcf/gore-vidal-466_class_how-to-get-people-to-vote-against-their_669160.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcf/gore-vidal-466_class_how-to-get-people-to-vote-against-their_669160.jpg) > “How to get people to vote against their interests and to really think against their interests is very clever. It's the cleverest ruling class that I have ever come across in history. It's been two hundred years at it. It's superb.” [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The ruling elite manipulates public opinion to serve its own interests, often by encouraging choices contrary to individuals’ welfare. **In simple terms:** Powerful groups sway people against their own good. Key Takeaway Question authority motives. Themes politics manipulation power dynamics Mood critical inquisitive Type political analytical When to use this quote - elections - media consumption - policy debates - activism Key Concepts elite control public opinion cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - What signs reveal manipulation? - How can citizens protect their interests? A Different Perspective Clever tactics can be resisted with awareness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Clever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clever/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Ruling class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruling-class/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Vote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vote/) ## Related quotes > [It's always interesting for me that people vote against their interests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-niccol/it-s-always-interesting-for-me-that-people-vote-against-their/) [Andrew Niccol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-niccol/) > [People vote against their own interests that all the time. But when you do the polling in the U.S., it has gone from less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bloomberg/people-vote-against-their-own-interests-that-all-the-time-but-when/) [Michael Bloomberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bloomberg/) > [If we all think only of our own interests, we are headed for collective disaster - just look at what we are doing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/if-we-all-think-only-of-our-own-interests-we-are-headed-for/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [I think it's good to have your own selfish interests, whether it's liking chocolate ice cream or wanting a new car. It's just human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-wexner/i-think-it-s-good-to-have-your-own-selfish-interests-whether-it-s/) [Les Wexner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-wexner/) > [Ideal legislators do not vote their interests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/ideal-legislators-do-not-vote-their-interests/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [The fallacy is that politicians don't really do much about social issues. They just demonize their opponents as elitists and reap the benefit. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-noah/the-fallacy-is-that-politicians-don-t-really-do-much-about-social/) [Timothy Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-noah/) > [The truth is there are people who are quite informed who still vote against their interests. I would argue that, as a Green Party…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-lamont-hill/the-truth-is-there-are-people-who-are-quite-informed-who-still-vote/) [Marc Lamont Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-lamont-hill/) > [No reform ever came from the bottom, and it was always people who understood how the ruling class worked who turned out to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/no-reform-ever-came-from-the-bottom-and-it-was-always-people-who/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [As Brooks Adams put it, the sole problem of our ruling class is whether to coerce or to bribe the powerless majority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/as-brooks-adams-put-it-the-sole-problem-of-our-ruling-class-is/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The genius of our ruling class is that it has kept a majority of the people from ever questioning the inequity of a system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-genius-of-our-ruling-class-is-that-it-has-kept-a-majority-of-the/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [You know, I've been around the ruling class all my life, and I've been quite aware of their total contempt for the people of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/you-know-i-ve-been-around-the-ruling-class-all-my-life-and-i-ve-been/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [But since the Modernists (as they are commonly and rightly called) employ a very clever artifice, namely, to present their doctrines without order and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-x/but-since-the-modernists-as-they-are-commonly-and-rightly-called/) [Pope Pius X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-x/) > [Audiences are very sophisticated and they know the nuts and bolts of the genre - certainly with horror more than others I think. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reece-shearsmith/audiences-are-very-sophisticated-and-they-know-the-nuts-and-bolts-of/) [Reece Shearsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reece-shearsmith/) > [When you hear a word, think about it, no matter how dull it sounds! Because on the second thought, it may sound very clever!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/when-you-hear-a-word-think-about-it-no-matter-how-dull-it-sounds/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [People may say that what I do is very clever, but it's not really at all. It's not Swift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-bremner/people-may-say-that-what-i-do-is-very-clever-but-it-s-not-really-at/) [Rory Bremner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-bremner/) ## More by Gore Vidal > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Many people in the United States happen to believe that United States policy is wrong in Vietnam and the Vietcong are correct in wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/many-people-in-the-united-states-happen-to-believe-that-united-states/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“It is curious how little interested we are in the sexual desires of those who do not attract us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-little-interested-we-are-in-the-sexual-desires-of/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/style-is-knowing-who-you-are-what-you-want-to-say-and-not-giving-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The oligarchs think that the people are both dangerous and stupid. Their point is moot. But we do know that the oligarchs are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-oligarchs-think-that-the-people-are-both-dangerous-and-stupid/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [It is curious how often one prefers his enemies to his friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his-enemies-to-his-friends/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/as-societies-grow-decadent-the-language-grows-decadent-too-words-are/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Rome ... at its most decadent, had never thought of hiring an actor to go through the motions of being an emperor while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/rome-at-its-most-decadent-had-never-thought-of-hiring-an-actor-to-go/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [History is nothing but gossip about the past, with the hope that it might be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/history-is-nothing-but-gossip-about-the-past-with-the-hope-that-it/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The malady of civilized man is his knowledge of death. The good artist, like the wise man, addresses himself to life and invests with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-malady-of-civilized-man-is-his-knowledge-of-death-the-good-artist/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Sex is a continuum. You go through different phases along life's way... and if you don't, you've been sort of cheated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/sex-is-a-continuum-you-go-through-different-phases-along-life-s-way/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [All I want is that Americans still be able to read the alphabet in a hundred years. I am not very ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/all-i-want-is-that-americans-still-be-able-to-read-the-alphabet-in-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [I do not admire 'the people,' as such. No one really does. Their folk wisdom is usually false, their instincts predatory. Even their sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/i-do-not-admire-the-people-as-such-no-one-really-does-their-folk/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“One of the problems of a society as tightly controlled as ours is that we get so little information about what those of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/one-of-the-problems-of-a-society-as-tightly-controlled-as-ours-is/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) [Explore all 539 Gore Vidal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## More Class quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. 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