--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In matters editorial, I am a believer in…" description: "\"In matters editorial, I am a believer in totalitarian despotism. Most writers are lazy, difficult, selfish, thoughtless, and unreliable.\" — John Derbys..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a85/john-derbyshire-20276_believer_in-matters-editorial-i-am-a-believer-in_865240.png" --- # In matters editorial, I am a believer in totalitarian… ![“In matters editorial, I am a believer in totalitarian despotism. Most writers are lazy, difficult, selfish, thoughtless, and unreliable.” quote by John Derbyshire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a85/john-derbyshire-20276_believer_in-matters-editorial-i-am-a-believer-in_865240.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a85/john-derbyshire-20276_believer_in-matters-editorial-i-am-a-believer-in_865240.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a85/john-derbyshire-20276_believer_in-matters-editorial-i-am-a-believer-in_865240.png) > “In matters editorial, I am a believer in totalitarian despotism. Most writers are lazy, difficult, selfish, thoughtless, and unreliable.” [John Derbyshire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-derbyshire/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He argues that many writers are lazy and unreliable, reflecting a belief in authoritarian control over editorial standards. **In simple terms:** Criticizes laziness and unreliability in writers. Key Takeaway Demand higher standards and accountability. Themes journalism authority criticism Mood critical skeptical Type analytical controversial When to use this quote - newsrooms - academic publishing - blogging Key Concepts media ethics political ideology professionalism Questions to Reflect On - What drives writer complacency? - How can editorial standards improve? A Different Perspective Such sweeping generalizations may ignore systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believer/) [Believer Totalitarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believer-totalitarian-895326/) [Despotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despotism/) [Despotism Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despotism-writers-895325/) [Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult/) [Editorials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/editorials/) [Lazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lazy/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Selfish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish/) [Totalitarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/totalitarian/) [Totalitarian Despotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/totalitarian-despotism-895324/) [Unreliable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unreliable/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The media is tremendously important for all governments that are able to communicate through the it. It doesn't mean there is a balance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-harper/the-media-is-tremendously-important-for-all-governments-that-are-able/) [Stephen Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-harper/) > [Any expensive ad represents the toil, attention, testing, wit, art, and skill of many people. Far more thought and care go into the composition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/any-expensive-ad-represents-the-toil-attention-testing-wit-art-and/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Those who write the editorials and those who write the columns, they simply are unaccountable. They're free to impose their cultural politics in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/those-who-write-the-editorials-and-those-who-write-the-columns-they/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [Whenever I write anything that sets up controversy its meaning is distorted almost instantly. Even the editorial writers of newspapers seem to be unable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/whenever-i-write-anything-that-sets-up-controversy-its-meaning-is/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Editorials are editorials. They a supposed to have an opinion, even a very strong one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-weingarten/editorials-are-editorials-they-a-supposed-to-have-an-opinion-even-a/) [Gene Weingarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-weingarten/) > [In my first year or so at the 'Post,' I began to write with some frequency on the least important issues - so-called light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-graham/in-my-first-year-or-so-at-the-post-i-began-to-write-with-some/) [Katharine Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-graham/) > [Someone said to me that we have to encourage more young women to want top-level editing jobs. 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Their biggest reward is the occasional reader's response… Commentators-in-print voicing big fat opinions-you might call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/real-writers-that-is-capital-w-writers-rarely-make-much-money-their/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [My days are kind of controlled by my projects, so sometimes they're album covers. Sometimes they're commission portrait shoots. Sometimes they are editorial, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-friedman/my-days-are-kind-of-controlled-by-my-projects-so-sometimes-they-re/) [Carol Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-friedman/) ## More by John Derbyshire > [Wherever there is a jackboot stomping on a human face there will be a well-heeled Western liberal to explain that the face does, after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-derbyshire/wherever-there-is-a-jackboot-stomping-on-a-human-face-there-will-be-a/) [John Derbyshire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-derbyshire/) > [Conservatism is pessimistic, with a negative tendency - which we mostly resist - towards despair. Liberals are optimists, with a negative tendency, rarely resisted,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-derbyshire/conservatism-is-pessimistic-with-a-negative-tendency-which-we-mostly/) [John Derbyshire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-derbyshire/) > [Nonmathematical people sometimes ask me, “You know math, huh? Tell me something I’ve always wondered, What is infinity divided by infinity?” I can only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-derbyshire/nonmathematical-people-sometimes-ask-me-you-know-math-huh-tell-me/) [John Derbyshire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-derbyshire/) > [I tell you, with complex numbers you can do anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-derbyshire/i-tell-you-with-complex-numbers-you-can-do-anything/) [John Derbyshire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-derbyshire/) > [“The arts and humanities are not mere entertainment, to be turned to for relaxation after a busy day spent solving differential equations; they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-derbyshire/the-arts-and-humanities-are-not-mere-entertainment-to-be-turned-to/) [John Derbyshire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-derbyshire/) > [Biophobia is as much a part of a politician's basic equipment as a sharp suit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-derbyshire/biophobia-is-as-much-a-part-of-a-politician-s-basic-equipment-as-a/) [John Derbyshire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-derbyshire/) > [I never ponder counterfactuals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-derbyshire/i-never-ponder-counterfactuals/) [John Derbyshire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-derbyshire/) > [“Ninety percent of paid work is time-wasting crap. The world gets by on the other ten.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-derbyshire/ninety-percent-of-paid-work-is-time-wasting-crap-the-world-gets-by-on/) [John Derbyshire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-derbyshire/) > [The job of conservatives is to keep the Republican Party driving on the right-hand side of the road. There are many ways we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-derbyshire/the-job-of-conservatives-is-to-keep-the-republican-party-driving-on/) [John Derbyshire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-derbyshire/) > [Education is a vast sea of lies, waste, corruption, crackpot theorizing, and careerist log-rolling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-derbyshire/education-is-a-vast-sea-of-lies-waste-corruption-crackpot-theorizing/) [John Derbyshire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-derbyshire/) > [“A very civilized thing, glass—almost an index of civilization. When civilization retreats, it leaves behind broken glass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-derbyshire/a-very-civilized-thing-glass-almost-an-index-of-civilization-when/) [John Derbyshire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-derbyshire/) > [“As a result of these news stories, millions of people must have become aware of "niggardly," who otherwise would never have heard it, let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-derbyshire/as-a-result-of-these-news-stories-millions-of-people-must-have-become/) [John Derbyshire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-derbyshire/) > [ He \[Mencken\] was an autodidact, with all the misplaced confidence and all the astonishing gaps that characterize that breed. Not many of us would… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-derbyshire/he-mencken-was-an-autodidact-with-all-the-misplaced-confidence-and/) [John Derbyshire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-derbyshire/) > [“Our political system is now run by the Big People for their own interests. If they ever deign to notice the Little People, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-derbyshire/our-political-system-is-now-run-by-the-big-people-for-their-own/) [John Derbyshire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-derbyshire/) > [“Mathematicians call it “the arithmetic of congruences.” You can think of it as clock arithmetic. Temporarily replace the 12 on a clock face with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-derbyshire/mathematicians-call-it-the-arithmetic-of-congruences-you-can-think-of/) [John Derbyshire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-derbyshire/) [Explore all 31 John Derbyshire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-derbyshire/) ## More Believer quotes > [I'm a true believer in prayer, a big believer in prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-jackson/i-m-a-true-believer-in-prayer-a-big-believer-in-prayer/) [Janet Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-jackson/) > [I've always been a believer in research. It's great to have an instinctual human reaction to a character, too, of course, but it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chiwetel-ejiofor/i-ve-always-been-a-believer-in-research-it-s-great-to-have-an/) [Chiwetel Ejiofor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chiwetel-ejiofor/) > [God has given believers the responsibility of spreading the Gospel to all the world, and we need to use all at our disposal to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-epp/god-has-given-believers-the-responsibility-of-spreading-the-gospel-to/) [Theodore Epp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-epp/) > [I am not a great believer in dialectical struggle. I am much more of a fusion person. I see it as a dialogue, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/i-am-not-a-great-believer-in-dialectical-struggle-i-am-much-more-of-a/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [Oh, I'm a great believer in the power of the pause. Radio is a bit brasher now. My style was slower. 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