--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My rule on honorary degrees has always…" description: "\"My rule on honorary degrees has always been to have one more than Arthur Schlesinger Jr.\" — John Kenneth Galbraith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f85/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_arthur_my-rule-on-honorary-degrees-has-always-b_1629199.png" --- # My rule on honorary degrees has always been to have one… ![“My rule on honorary degrees has always been to have one more than Arthur Schlesinger Jr.” quote by John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f85/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_arthur_my-rule-on-honorary-degrees-has-always-b_1629199.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f85/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_arthur_my-rule-on-honorary-degrees-has-always-b_1629199.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f85/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_arthur_my-rule-on-honorary-degrees-has-always-b_1629199.png) > “My rule on honorary degrees has always been to have one more than Arthur Schlesinger Jr.” [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He humorously suggests collecting more honorary degrees than a famous historian. **In simple terms:** Collect more honorary degrees than a historian. Key Takeaway Pursue recognition with humor. Themes humor academic status Mood witty reflective Type satirical philosophical When to use this quote - University ceremonies - career milestones - public talks Key Concepts Degree inflation historical comparison Questions to Reflect On - Why value degrees over impact? - How does humor affect perception? A Different Perspective Excessive focus on accolades may diminish substance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) ## Related quotes > [“Truman makes friends without influencing people,' noted Arthur Schlesinger Jr. 'Dewey influences people without making friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-pietrusza/truman-makes-friends-without-influencing-people-noted-arthur/) [David Pietrusza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-pietrusza/) > [Bill Cosby no longer on Temple University's board. His name has been removed from various college scholarships and buildings. Two dozen colleges and universities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-harris-perry/bill-cosby-no-longer-on-temple-university-s-board-his-name-has-been/) [Melissa Harris-Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-harris-perry/) > [You must realize that honorary degrees are given generally to people whose SAT scores were too low to get them into schools the regular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-simon/you-must-realize-that-honorary-degrees-are-given-generally-to-people/) [Neil Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-simon/) > [I have actually five honorary degrees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunham/i-have-actually-five-honorary-degrees/) [Katherine Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunham/) > [I recall asking the late eminent liberal historian Arthur Schlesinger, in a public forum in Los Angeles in the late 1970s, if he would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/i-recall-asking-the-late-eminent-liberal-historian-arthur-schlesinger/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [“When Arthur Schlesinger Sr. pioneered the 'presidential greatness poll' in 1948, the top five were Lincoln, Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Jefferson.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/when-arthur-schlesinger-sr-pioneered-the-presidential-greatness-poll/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [ Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., in a mordant protest written soon after the \[1952\] election, found the intellectual "in a situation he has not known for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hofstadter/arthur-schlesinger-jr-in-a-mordant-protest-written-soon-after-the/) [Richard Hofstadter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hofstadter/) > [“Few would argue against safe-guarding the nation. But in the judgment of at least one of the country's most distinguished presidential scholars, the legal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/few-would-argue-against-safe-guarding-the-nation-but-in-the-judgment/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [“The same conclusion had already been presented to incoming President Kennedy by Arthur Schlesinger, transmitting the report of his Latin American Mission, which warned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-bolender/the-same-conclusion-had-already-been-presented-to-incoming-president/) [Keith Bolender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-bolender/) > [“I'm an idealist without illusions. \[Ca. 1953, attributed to John F. Kennedy by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. in 'A Thousand Days' ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/i-m-an-idealist-without-illusions-ca-1953-attributed-to-john-f/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [“Arthur Schlesinger admits that JFK "succumbed to the fake omniscience of insiders". Prolonged immersion in the self-contained, self-justifying world of clandestinity and deception erodes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/arthur-schlesinger-admits-that-jfk-succumbed-to-the-fake-omniscience/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [What do you think I'm a professor of? The little finger? (On offers of honorary doctorates.)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-cartier-bresson/what-do-you-think-i-m-a-professor-of-the-little-finger-on-offers-of/) [Henri Cartier-Bresson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-cartier-bresson/) > [I was lucky to get to Oxford. I am now an honorary fellow of my old college, which is nice, particularly for a colonial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cartwright/i-was-lucky-to-get-to-oxford-i-am-now-an-honorary-fellow-of-my-old/) [Justin Cartwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cartwright/) > [from one minute to the next the present is merely an honorary past. It must be filled unceasingly anew to dissemble the curse it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/from-one-minute-to-the-next-the-present-is-merely-an-honorary-past-it/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [Great God of the Ants, thou hast granted victory to thy servants. I appoint thee honorary Colonel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-capek/great-god-of-the-ants-thou-hast-granted-victory-to-thy-servants-i/) [Karel Capek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-capek/) ## More by John Kenneth Galbraith > [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Technology means the systematic application of scientific or other organized knowledge to practical tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/technology-means-the-systematic-application-of-scientific-or-other/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [“Men can labor to make sense out of single steps toward the goal without ever pausing to reflect that the goal itself is ludicrous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/men-can-labor-to-make-sense-out-of-single-steps-toward-the-goal/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Consumer wants can have bizarre, frivolous, or even immoral origins, and an admirable case can still be made for a society that seeks to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/consumer-wants-can-have-bizarre-frivolous-or-even-immoral-origins-and/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [That one never need to look beyond the love of money for explanation of human behavior is one of the most jealously guarded simplification…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/that-one-never-need-to-look-beyond-the-love-of-money-for-explanation/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Agriculture is one economic activity that does not obey the laws of demand and supply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/agriculture-is-one-economic-activity-that-does-not-obey-the-laws-of/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [If we were not in Vietnam, all that part of the world would be enjoying the obscurity it so richly deserves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/if-we-were-not-in-vietnam-all-that-part-of-the-world-would-be/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Washington is a place where men praise courage and act on elaborate personal cost-benefit calculations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/washington-is-a-place-where-men-praise-courage-and-act-on-elaborate/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [World War II revealed two of the enduring features of the Keynesian Revolution. One was the moral difference between spending for welfare and spending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/world-war-ii-revealed-two-of-the-enduring-features-of-the-keynesian/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Money is what fueled the industrial society. But in the informational society, the fuel, the power, is knowledge. One has now come to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/money-is-what-fueled-the-industrial-society-but-in-the-informational/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [While it will be desirable to achieve planned results, it will be even more important to avoid unplanned disasters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/while-it-will-be-desirable-to-achieve-planned-results-it-will-be-even/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [A bad book is the worse that it cannot repent. It has not been the devil's policy to keep the masses of mankind in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/a-bad-book-is-the-worse-that-it-cannot-repent-it-has-not-been-the/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Genius is a rising stock market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/genius-is-a-rising-stock-market/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Mr. David Stockman has said that supply-side economics was merely a cover for the trickle-down approach to economic policy—what an older and less elegant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/mr-david-stockman-has-said-that-supply-side-economics-was-merely-a/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Inventions that are not made, like babies that are not born, are rarely missed. In the absence of new developments, old ones may seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/inventions-that-are-not-made-like-babies-that-are-not-born-are-rarely/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) [Explore all 434 John Kenneth Galbraith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) ## More Arthur quotes > [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Merlin' was awesome, but the costumes would drive you insane. Every day, you'd get into chain mail and wear 30 pounds of that stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-macken/merlin-was-awesome-but-the-costumes-would-drive-you-insane-every-day/) [Eoin Macken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-macken/) > [What a wonderfully exciting cough,' said the little man, quite startled by it, 'do you mind if I join you?' And with that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/what-a-wonderfully-exciting-cough-said-the-little-man-quite-startled/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [A guy called Arthur Brown... was a big influence of mine... and also Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-dickinson/a-guy-called-arthur-brown-was-a-big-influence-of-mine-and-also-ian/) [Bruce Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-dickinson/) > [I have a sense of them being Easter religions, for some reason. Christianity, of course, is a mystery religion, too, and I believe that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/i-have-a-sense-of-them-being-easter-religions-for-some-reason/) [Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/) > [And then, all of a sudden, you're like, all that's great and fun, but Arthur Miller's in my dressing room. This is the third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-krause/and-then-all-of-a-sudden-you-re-like-all-that-s-great-and-fun-but/) [Peter Krause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-krause/) > [For five hundred dollars, I'll name a subatomic particle after you. Some of my satisfied customers include Arthur C. Quark and George Meson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/for-five-hundred-dollars-i-ll-name-a-subatomic-particle-after-you/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [Arthur Conan Doyle was entranced by the notion of a brilliant detective who can deduce everything a stranger has been up to from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-yglesias/arthur-conan-doyle-was-entranced-by-the-notion-of-a-brilliant/) [Rafael Yglesias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-yglesias/) > [“That boy had wanted to be Ser Arthur Dayne, but someplace along the way he had become the Smiling Knight instead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/that-boy-had-wanted-to-be-ser-arthur-dayne-but-someplace-along-the/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [The book that really, really shaped my politics and has forever is Arthur Koestler's "Darkness at Noon," which is a novel based on terrible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/the-book-that-really-really-shaped-my-politics-and-has-forever-is/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [Since I came here I have learned that Chester A. Arthur is one man and the President of the United States is another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-a-arthur/since-i-came-here-i-have-learned-that-chester-a-arthur-is-one-man-and/) [Chester A. Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-a-arthur/) > [“In the energies of the Green Knight, we have an Elder who comes to the entire court of Arthur to challenge and "open a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-chandler/in-the-energies-of-the-green-knight-we-have-an-elder-who-comes-to-the/) [Virginia Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-chandler/) > [“AT&T developed cross-country systems of microwave relay towers, which marched across the countryside from coast to coast and border to border, every 20 to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-t-developed-cross-country-systems-of-microwave-relay-towers-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Now that Marilyn Monroe is kosher, Arthur Miller can eat her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-levant/now-that-marilyn-monroe-is-kosher-arthur-miller-can-eat-her/) [Oscar Levant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-levant/) > [You don't have to believe that there was a King Arthur to get the significance of those stories, but Christians say we have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/you-don-t-have-to-believe-that-there-was-a-king-arthur-to-get-the/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) Browse all 340 Arthur quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My rule on honorary degrees has always been to have one more than Arthur Schlesinger Jr.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Kenneth Galbraith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/my-rule-on-honorary-degrees-has-always-been-to-have-one-more-than/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Arthur" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/my-rule-on-honorary-degrees-has-always-been-to-have-one-more-than/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f85/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_arthur_my-rule-on-honorary-degrees-has-always-b_1629199.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f85/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_arthur_my-rule-on-honorary-degrees-has-always-b_1629199.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f85/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_arthur_my-rule-on-honorary-degrees-has-always-b_1629199.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My rule on honorary degrees has always been to have one more than Arthur Schlesinger Jr.” — John Kenneth Galbraith", "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": "John Kenneth Galbraith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My rule on honorary degrees has...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/my-rule-on-honorary-degrees-has-always-been-to-have-one-more-than/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/my-rule-on-honorary-degrees-has-always-been-to-have-one-more-than/#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 } } ] } ```