--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ideology is like breath: you never smell…" description: "\"Ideology is like breath: you never smell your own.\" — Joan Robinson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/joan-robinson-11438_breath_ideology-is-like-breath-you-never-smell_994416.png" --- # Ideology is like breath: you never smell your own. ![“Ideology is like breath: you never smell your own.” quote by Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/joan-robinson-11438_breath_ideology-is-like-breath-you-never-smell_994416.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/joan-robinson-11438_breath_ideology-is-like-breath-you-never-smell_994416.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/joan-robinson-11438_breath_ideology-is-like-breath-you-never-smell_994416.png) > “Ideology is like breath: you never smell your own.” [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ideology is invisible to its own adherents, much like breath cannot be smelled by the one breathing it. **In simple terms:** People often cannot see the bias in their own beliefs. Key Takeaway Question your own assumptions. Themes self‑awareness bias critical thinking Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - political debate - personal growth - media consumption Key Concepts cognitive bias self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - How might you detect hidden biases in your own worldview? - What practices help reveal unseen assumptions? A Different Perspective Ideology can be deeply entrenched, making self‑recognition hard. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breath/) [Breath Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breath-smell-1590447/) [Breaths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaths/) [Ideology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideology/) [Ideology Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideology-like-2056476/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Like Breath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-breath-612087/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell/) ## Related quotes > [I think architecture is rarely the product of a single ideology. It's more like it can be shaped by a really big idea. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjarke-ingels/i-think-architecture-is-rarely-the-product-of-a-single-ideology-it-s/) [Bjarke Ingels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjarke-ingels/) > [Socialist ideology, like so many others, has two main dangers. One stems from confused and incomplete readings of foreign texts, and the other from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-marti/socialist-ideology-like-so-many-others-has-two-main-dangers-one-stems/) [Jose Marti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-marti/) > [The best comparison I can make for you is that you are like my breath. I hope it never leaves me!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-comparison-i-can-make-for-you-is-that-you-are-like-my-breath/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can smell when someone has a cavity. It's a very specific smell - not a bad-breath smell - but something that is really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-kardashian/i-can-smell-when-someone-has-a-cavity-it-s-a-very-specific-smell-not/) [Kim Kardashian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-kardashian/) > [“Bill could smell Its breath and it was a smell like exploded animals lying on the highway at midnight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/bill-could-smell-its-breath-and-it-was-a-smell-like-exploded-animals/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Your breath smell like ass ass ass ass ass ass ass ass, stop now chew some mothafuckin bubble gum!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ass/your-breath-smell-like-ass-ass-ass-ass-ass-ass-ass-ass-stop-now-chew/) [Ass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ass/) > [“Mermon's tiny black dot eyes managed to widen into larger black dots. "No, no, no, Sir. I was just... curious." 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The trouble is that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/some-women-the-good-ones-are-like-a-breath-of-fresh-air-amusing-and/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [I need you like water, like breath, like rain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-need-you-like-water-like-breath-like-rain/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Joan Robinson > [ The very nature of economics is rooted in nationalism. ... It \[was\] developed ... in the hope of throwing light upon questions of policy.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/the-very-nature-of-economics-is-rooted-in-nationalism-it-was/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [Unequal distribution of income is an excessively uneconomic method of getting the necessary saving done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/unequal-distribution-of-income-is-an-excessively-uneconomic-method-of/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [we make a great fuss about national conscience, but it consists mainly in insisting upon everyone ascribing our national policy to highly moral motives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/we-make-a-great-fuss-about-national-conscience-but-it-consists-mainly/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [Marx, however imperfectly he worked out the details, set himself the task of discovering the law of motion of capitalism, and if there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/marx-however-imperfectly-he-worked-out-the-details-set-himself-the/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [Economic theorists should not make such a production about taking a rabbit out of a hat after having put the rabbit into the hat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/economic-theorists-should-not-make-such-a-production-about-taking-a/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [science progresses by trial and error, and when it is forbidden to admit error there can be no progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/science-progresses-by-trial-and-error-and-when-it-is-forbidden-to/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [Marxism is the opium of the Marxists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/marxism-is-the-opium-of-the-marxists/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [The orthodox doctrines of economics which were dominant in the last quarter of the nineteenth century had a clear message. They supported laisser faire,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/the-orthodox-doctrines-of-economics-which-were-dominant-in-the-last/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [It's a terrible thing to be a worker exploited in the capitalist system. The only worse thing is to be a worker unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/it-s-a-terrible-thing-to-be-a-worker-exploited-in-the-capitalist/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [Not only subjective poverty is never overcome by growth, but absolute poverty is increased by it. ... Absolute misery grows while wealth increases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/not-only-subjective-poverty-is-never-overcome-by-growth-but-absolute/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [Reality is never a golden age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/reality-is-never-a-golden-age/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [“After the war, when the problem of deficient effective demand seemed to have faded into the background, a fresh question came to the fore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/after-the-war-when-the-problem-of-deficient-effective-demand-seemed/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [In all the talk in the Principles (as opposed to the formal analysis) it is not the saving of rentiers but the energy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/in-all-the-talk-in-the-principles-as-opposed-to-the-formal-analysis/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [I do not regard the Keynesian revolution as a great intellectual triumph. On the contrary, it was a tragedy because it came so late.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/i-do-not-regard-the-keynesian-revolution-as-a-great-intellectual/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of ready-made answers to economic questions, but to learn how to avoid being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/the-purpose-of-studying-economics-is-not-to-acquire-a-set-of-ready/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) [Explore all 60 Joan Robinson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) ## More Breath quotes > [“The days may last forever, but the years pass by in a blink; the secret to survival is actually remembering to take a deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-smokler/the-days-may-last-forever-but-the-years-pass-by-in-a-blink-the-secret/) [Jill Smokler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-smokler/) > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [Take a deep breath. It,s just a bad day not a bad life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/take-a-deep-breath-it-s-just-a-bad-day-not-a-bad-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I stopped loving you today, But OMG..., Seeing your Body takes my breath away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becka-miller/i-stopped-loving-you-today-but-omg-seeing-your-body-takes-my-breath/) [Becka Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becka-miller/) > [So we must do our very best Whatever life may bring And look beyond the winter chill To smell the breath of spring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-we-must-do-our-very-best-whatever-life-may-bring-and-look-beyond/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Poetry should be vital--either stirring our blood by its divine movements or snatching our breath by its divine perfection. To do both is supreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/poetry-should-be-vital-either-stirring-our-blood-by-its-divine/) [Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/) > [“The first step in awareness is to be watchful of your body. Slowly,slowly one becomes alert about each gesture,each movement. And as you become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/the-first-step-in-awareness-is-to-be-watchful-of-your-body-slowly/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [Tic Tacs are the maracas of breath mints.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/tic-tacs-are-the-maracas-of-breath-mints/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [“To control your life, control your mind. To control your mind, control your breath.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/to-control-your-life-control-your-mind-to-control-your-mind-control/) [Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/) > [“He’s sitting so close, I can feel his breath on my cheek. My stomach flip-flops again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-s-sitting-so-close-i-can-feel-his-breath-on-my-cheek-my-stomach/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“My life to yours. My breath beecome yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/my-life-to-yours-my-breath-beecome-yours/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [“My heart is your heart," she whispers, and wow that takes my breath away, this line from my childhood that she always used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annabel-pitcher/my-heart-is-your-heart-she-whispers-and-wow-that-takes-my-breath-away/) [Annabel Pitcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annabel-pitcher/) > [Good manners and bad breath will get you nowhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-costello/good-manners-and-bad-breath-will-get-you-nowhere/) [Elvis Costello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-costello/) > [“Being able to be myself was like being able to exhale for the first time after holding my breath for years. It’s only when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/404-ink/being-able-to-be-myself-was-like-being-able-to-exhale-for-the-first/) [404 Ink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/404-ink/) [Browse all 1,839 Breath quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breath/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Ideology is like breath: you never smell your own.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joan Robinson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/ideology-is-like-breath-you-never-smell-your-own/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Breath" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/ideology-is-like-breath-you-never-smell-your-own/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/joan-robinson-11438_breath_ideology-is-like-breath-you-never-smell_994416.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/joan-robinson-11438_breath_ideology-is-like-breath-you-never-smell_994416.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/joan-robinson-11438_breath_ideology-is-like-breath-you-never-smell_994416.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ideology is like breath: you never smell your own.” — Joan Robinson", "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": "Joan Robinson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Ideology is like breath: you never...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/ideology-is-like-breath-you-never-smell-your-own/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/ideology-is-like-breath-you-never-smell-your-own/#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 } } ] } ```