---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Although objectively greater demands are…"
description: "\"Although objectively greater demands are placed on this authority, it operates less as a public opinion giving a rational foundation to the exercise of..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2aa/jurgen-habermas-12339_abstract_although-objectively-greater-demands-are_2217792.jpg"
---

#  Although objectively greater demands are placed on this…

![“Although objectively greater demands are placed on this authority, it operates less as a public opinion giving a rational foundation to the exercise of political and social authority, the more it is generated for the purpose of an abstract vote that amounts to no more than an act of acclamation…” quote by Jurgen Habermas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2aa/jurgen-habermas-12339_abstract_although-objectively-greater-demands-are_2217792.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2aa/jurgen-habermas-12339_abstract_although-objectively-greater-demands-are_2217792.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2aa/jurgen-habermas-12339_abstract_although-objectively-greater-demands-are_2217792.jpg)

> “Although objectively greater demands are placed on this authority, it operates less as a public opinion giving a rational foundation to the exercise of political and social authority, the more it is generated for the purpose of an abstract vote that amounts to no more than an act of acclamation within a public sphere temporarily manufactured for show or manipulation.”

[Jurgen Habermas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

When authority is used mainly to legitimize a superficial vote, its rational basis weakens, turning public discourse into a staged performance.

**In simple terms:** Authority loses legitimacy when used for empty voting; public sphere becomes theatrical.

Key Takeaway

Seek genuine rational discourse over performative approval.

Themes

politics public sphere legitimacy media manipulation

Mood

critical skeptical

Type

philosophical analytical

When to use this quote

- elections
- public debates
- media campaigns
- policy discussions

Key Concepts

deliberative democracy symbolic power

Questions to Reflect On

- How can citizens discern authentic deliberation?
- What safeguards protect against performative politics?

A Different Perspective

Even symbolic votes can have real consequences.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Amount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amount/) [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Authority Operates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority-operates-4937005/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Exercise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exercise/) [Exercise Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exercise-political-884365/) [Foundation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foundation/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Greater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greater/) [Manipulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manipulation/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Public opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-opinion/) [Public Sphere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-sphere-267591/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Rational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rational/) [Shows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shows/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-authority-894453/) [Spheres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spheres/) [Vote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vote/)

## Related quotes

> [Shareholders, of course, have every right to weigh in on whether (or how) they want a company to exercise political influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-melber/shareholders-of-course-have-every-right-to-weigh-in-on-whether-or-how/)

[Ari Melber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-melber/)

> [One way we exercise political freedom is to vote for the candidate of our choice. Another way is to use our money to try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/one-way-we-exercise-political-freedom-is-to-vote-for-the-candidate-of/)

[Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/)

> [The bourgeois public sphere may be conceived above all as the sphere of private people come together as a public; they soon claimed the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/the-bourgeois-public-sphere-may-be-conceived-above-all-as-the-sphere/)

[Jurgen Habermas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/)

> [The usage of the words "public" and "public sphere" betrays a multiplicity of concurrent meanings. Their origins go back to various historical phases and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/the-usage-of-the-words-public-and-public-sphere-betrays-a/)

[Jurgen Habermas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/)

> [“The infantile dream-state of the mass man is so unrealistic that he never thinks to ask who is paying for this paradise. The balancing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-infantile-dream-state-of-the-mass-man-is-so-unrealistic-that-he/)

[Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/)

> [“In the democratic, egalitarian spirit of our day, we hold in suspicion positions of social authority, yet we submit to the power of peers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-sayers/in-the-democratic-egalitarian-spirit-of-our-day-we-hold-in-suspicion/)

[Mark Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-sayers/)

> [“A crowd carries the social authority to redefine norms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mcgonigal/a-crowd-carries-the-social-authority-to-redefine-norms/)

[Jane McGonigal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mcgonigal/)

> [It's far from clear that restoring Christian social authority is an appropriate aim of politics in the first place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-hawley/it-s-far-from-clear-that-restoring-christian-social-authority-is-an/)

[Josh Hawley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-hawley/)

> [“But nothing in my previous work had prepared me for the experience of reinvestigating Cleveland. It is worth — given the passage of time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-richardson/but-nothing-in-my-previous-work-had-prepared-me-for-the-experience-of/)

[Sue Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-richardson/)

> [Fritzsche, radio propaganda chief, by manipulation of the truth goaded German public opinion into frenzied support of the regime and anesthetized the independent judgment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-fritzsche/fritzsche-radio-propaganda-chief-by-manipulation-of-the-truth-goaded/)

[Hans Fritzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-fritzsche/)

> [Facebook draws from the public and public-interest sphere, a simultaneously bold and modest step towards acknowledging that our new networked technologies deeply affect our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-zittrain/facebook-draws-from-the-public-and-public-interest-sphere-a/)

[Jonathan Zittrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-zittrain/)

> [Ability to disseminate one's ideas on the Internet is now a sine qua non of inclusion in the global public sphere. However, the Internet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeynep-tufekci/ability-to-disseminate-one-s-ideas-on-the-internet-is-now-a-sine-qua/)

[Zeynep Tufekci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeynep-tufekci/)

> [“Trump’s political career would have been impossible without the degradation of the whole idea of the public sphere, which has been unfolding over decades.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/trump-s-political-career-would-have-been-impossible-without-the/)

[Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/)

> [“The goal is all-out war on the public sphere and the public interest, whether in the form of antipollution regulations or programs for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/the-goal-is-all-out-war-on-the-public-sphere-and-the-public-interest/)

[Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/)

> [“Somehow Malaysia must find a way to create racially neutral space in the public sphere. This is not an easy task as most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/somehow-malaysia-must-find-a-way-to-create-racially-neutral-space-in/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

## More by Jurgen Habermas

> [The state is in danger of falling into disrepute due to the evidence of its inadequate resources.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/the-state-is-in-danger-of-falling-into-disrepute-due-to-the-evidence/)

[Jurgen Habermas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/)

> [Since the intervention in Afghanistan, we suddenly began to notice when, in political discussions, we found ourselves only among Europeans or Israelis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/since-the-intervention-in-afghanistan-we-suddenly-began-to-notice/)

[Jurgen Habermas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/)

> [Global terrorism is extreme both in its lack of realistic goals and in its cynical exploitation of the vulnerability of complex systems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/global-terrorism-is-extreme-both-in-its-lack-of-realistic-goals-and/)

[Jurgen Habermas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/)

> [“For the normative self-understanding of modernity, Christianity has functioned as more than just a precursor or catalyst. Universalistic egalitarianism, from which sprang the ideals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/for-the-normative-self-understanding-of-modernity-christianity-has/)

[Jürgen Habermas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/)

> [Osama bin Laden, the person, more likely serves the function of a stand-in. Compare the new terrorists with partisans or conventional terrorists in Israel.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/osama-bin-laden-the-person-more-likely-serves-the-function-of-a-stand/)

[Jurgen Habermas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/)

> [“Today, the language of the market penetrates every pore and forces every interpersonal relation into the schema of individual preference.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/today-the-language-of-the-market-penetrates-every-pore-and-forces/)

[Jürgen Habermas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/)

> [The usage of the words "public" and "public sphere" betrays a multiplicity of concurrent meanings. Their origins go back to various historical phases and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/the-usage-of-the-words-public-and-public-sphere-betrays-a/)

[Jurgen Habermas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/)

> [“Only one who takes over his own life history can see in it the realization of his self. Responsibility to take over one's own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/only-one-who-takes-over-his-own-life-history-can-see-in-it-the/)

[Jürgen Habermas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/)

> [ “\[Jürgen Habermas' obituary to friend and philosopher, Richard Rorty\] One small autobiographical piece by Rorty bears the title 'Wild Orchids and Trotsky.' In it,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/j-rgen-habermas-obituary-to-friend-and-philosopher-richard-rorty-one/)

[Jürgen Habermas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/)

> [After September 11, the European governments have completely failed. They are incapable of seeing beyond their own national scope of interests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/after-september-11-the-european-governments-have-completely-failed/)

[Jurgen Habermas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/)

> [Positivism stands or falls with the principle of scientism, that is that the meaning of knowledge is defined by what the sciences do and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/positivism-stands-or-falls-with-the-principle-of-scientism-that-is/)

[Jurgen Habermas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/)

> [Perhaps September 11 could be called the first historic world event in the strictest sense: the impact, the explosion, the slow collapse - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/perhaps-september-11-could-be-called-the-first-historic-world-event/)

[Jurgen Habermas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/)

> [I cannot imagine a context that would some day, in some manner, make the monstrous crime of September 11 an understandable or comprehensible political act](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/i-cannot-imagine-a-context-that-would-some-day-in-some-manner-make/)

[Jurgen Habermas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/)

> [Reaching and understanding is the process of bringing about an agreement on the presupposed basis of validity claims that are mutually recognized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/reaching-and-understanding-is-the-process-of-bringing-about-an/)

[Jurgen Habermas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/)

> [The misery in war-torn Afghanistan is reminiscent of images from the Thirty Years' War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/the-misery-in-war-torn-afghanistan-is-reminiscent-of-images-from-the/)

[Jurgen Habermas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/)

[Explore all 55 Jurgen Habermas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/)

## More Abstract quotes

> [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Wisdom is the abstract of the past, but beauty is the promise of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wisdom-is-the-abstract-of-the-past-but-beauty-is-the-promise-of-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Where human eyes have never seen, where human beings have never been, I build a world of abstract dreams, and I wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-ra/where-human-eyes-have-never-seen-where-human-beings-have-never-been-i/)

[Sun Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-ra/)

> [A little too abstract, a little too wise, It is time for us to kiss the earth again, It is time to let the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/a-little-too-abstract-a-little-too-wise-it-is-time-for-us-to-kiss-the/)

[Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/)

> [“Happy is very abstract, you can't touch it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-veal/happy-is-very-abstract-you-can-t-touch-it/)

[Julius Veal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-veal/)

> [Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/)

[Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/)

> [The more horrible this world (as today, for instance), the more abstract our art, whereas a happy world brings forth an art of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-more-horrible-this-world-as-today-for-instance-the-more-abstract/)

[Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/)

> [Describing comic sensibility is near impossible. It's sort of an abstract silliness, that sometimes the joke isn't the star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-carvey/describing-comic-sensibility-is-near-impossible-it-s-sort-of-an/)

[Dana Carvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-carvey/)

> [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/)

[Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/)

> [The word of the Lord never comes to us as an opinion, no attempt is made to support it by argument, it comes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-w-ivins/the-word-of-the-lord-never-comes-to-us-as-an-opinion-no-attempt-is/)

[Anthony W. Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-w-ivins/)

> [A mobile is an abstract sculpture made chiefly out of sheet metal, steel rods, wire and wood. Some or all of these elements move,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/a-mobile-is-an-abstract-sculpture-made-chiefly-out-of-sheet-metal/)

[Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/)

> [I'm this superphilosophical kind of person. Stuck in a prison of abstract ideas and overpowering emotions, I have this personality that makes it really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsuo-kirino/i-m-this-superphilosophical-kind-of-person-stuck-in-a-prison-of/)

[Natsuo Kirino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsuo-kirino/)

> [Future lawyers should be more aware that law is not a system of abstract logic, but the web of arrangements, rooted in history but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/future-lawyers-should-be-more-aware-that-law-is-not-a-system-of/)

[Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/)

> [The trouble is that when you read criticisms about the other films that I've made you get the impression that they're all about themes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-haneke/the-trouble-is-that-when-you-read-criticisms-about-the-other-films/)

[Michael Haneke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-haneke/)

> [Painting is... a richer language than words... Painting operates through signs which are not abstract and incorporeal like words. The signs of painting are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/painting-is-a-richer-language-than-words-painting-operates-through/)

[Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/)

[Browse all 1,403 Abstract quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Although objectively greater demands are placed on this authority, it operates less as a public opinion giving a rational foundation to the exercise of political and social authority, the more it is generated for the purpose of an abstract vote that amounts to no more than an act of acclamation within a public sphere temporarily manufactured for show or manipulation.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Jurgen Habermas"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/although-objectively-greater-demands-are-placed-on-this-authority-it/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Abstract"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/although-objectively-greater-demands-are-placed-on-this-authority-it/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2aa/jurgen-habermas-12339_abstract_although-objectively-greater-demands-are_2217792.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2aa/jurgen-habermas-12339_abstract_although-objectively-greater-demands-are_2217792.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2aa/jurgen-habermas-12339_abstract_although-objectively-greater-demands-are_2217792.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Although objectively greater demands are placed on this authority, it operates less as a public opinion…” — Jurgen Habermas",
                "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": "Jurgen Habermas",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Although objectively greater demands are placed...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/although-objectively-greater-demands-are-placed-on-this-authority-it/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/although-objectively-greater-demands-are-placed-on-this-authority-it/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
