--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have reached the point where ignorance…" description: "\"We have reached the point where ignorance and neglect are the best we can hope for in a ruler.\" — Lev Grossman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/921/lev-grossman-747_ignorance_we-have-reached-the-point-where-ignoranc_1161142.png" --- # We have reached the point where ignorance and neglect are… ![“We have reached the point where ignorance and neglect are the best we can hope for in a ruler.” quote by Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/921/lev-grossman-747_ignorance_we-have-reached-the-point-where-ignoranc_1161142.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/921/lev-grossman-747_ignorance_we-have-reached-the-point-where-ignoranc_1161142.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/921/lev-grossman-747_ignorance_we-have-reached-the-point-where-ignoranc_1161142.png) > “We have reached the point where ignorance and neglect are the best we can hope for in a ruler.” [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author suggests that the worst outcome for leadership is a ruler who is both ignorant and indifferent, implying that such a ruler is the most likely result of current societal trends. **In simple terms:** Neglectful, ignorant leaders are the worst we can expect. Key Takeaway Demand accountability in leadership. Themes politics leadership societal decay responsibility Mood cautious critical Type analytical concerned When to use this quote - elections - policy making - community activism - organizational governance Key Concepts civic neglect ignorance power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What systems can prevent neglectful leadership? - How can citizens hold indifferent rulers accountable? A Different Perspective Even a flawed ruler may still act with some intention, unlike pure neglect. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Neglect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neglect/) [Rulers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rulers/) ## Related quotes > [“It makes perfect political sense. We have reached the point where ignorance and neglect are the best we can hope for in a ruler.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/it-makes-perfect-political-sense-we-have-reached-the-point-where/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [Wildlife of the world is disappearing, not because of a malicious and deliberate policy of slaughter and extermination, but simply because of a general…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-philip/wildlife-of-the-world-is-disappearing-not-because-of-a-malicious-and/) [Prince Philip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-philip/) > [Wildlife of the world is disappearing... simply because of a general and widespread ignorance and neglect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-philip/wildlife-of-the-world-is-disappearing-simply-because-of-a-general-and/) [Prince Philip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-philip/) > [On entering this world our starting-point is ignorance. None, however, but idiots remain there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/on-entering-this-world-our-starting-point-is-ignorance-none-however/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [“None of us is a Da Vinci, painting the Mona Lisa in the morning and designing helicopters at night. That’s as it should be.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/none-of-us-is-a-da-vinci-painting-the-mona-lisa-in-the-morning-and/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“No, the bigger problem is that we’re proud of not knowing things. Americans have reached a point where ignorance, especially of anything related to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/no-the-bigger-problem-is-that-we-re-proud-of-not-knowing-things/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [“The sin of ignorance is the neglect of the Knowledge of salvation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-sin-of-ignorance-is-the-neglect-of-the-knowledge-of-salvation/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“It amazes me, every single time, to see so much certainty backed by so much ignorance and neglect on what is being believed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sacredfire/it-amazes-me-every-single-time-to-see-so-much-certainty-backed-by-so/) [Robin Sacredfire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sacredfire/) > [“The Lord is concerned about the poor receiving justice and that they are not neglected or cheated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-lord-is-concerned-about-the-poor-receiving-justice-and-that-they/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Thousands are the children of poor foreigners who have permitted them to grow up without school, education, or religion. All the neglect and bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-loring-brace/thousands-are-the-children-of-poor-foreigners-who-have-permitted-them/) Charles Loring Brace > [Wittgenstein's ruler: Unless you have confidence in the ruler's reliability, if you use a ruler to measure a table you may also be using…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/wittgenstein-s-ruler-unless-you-have-confidence-in-the-ruler-s/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Illiteracy does not impede the practice of democracy, as witnessed by the success of democracy in India despite the high illiteracy rate. One doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alaa-al-aswany/illiteracy-does-not-impede-the-practice-of-democracy-as-witnessed-by/) [Alaa Al Aswany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaa-al-aswany/) > [“For rulers, religion is a great tool to rule the common people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/for-rulers-religion-is-a-great-tool-to-rule-the-common-people/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [ \[T\]he tax code has been piling up, year after year, a symbol of everything gone wrong in America, of arrogant rulers and lost freedom,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-armey/t-he-tax-code-has-been-piling-up-year-after-year-a-symbol-of/) [Dick Armey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-armey/) > [In lightness the root is lost. In haste the ruler is lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/in-lightness-the-root-is-lost-in-haste-the-ruler-is-lost/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) ## More by Lev Grossman > [“It was about damn time something happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/it-was-about-damn-time-something-happened/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [We're wired to expect the world to be brighter and more meaningful and more obviously interesting than it actually is. And when we realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/we-re-wired-to-expect-the-world-to-be-brighter-and-more-meaningful/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“He was going to sign the papers and he was going to be a motherfucking magician.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/he-was-going-to-sign-the-papers-and-he-was-going-to-be-a/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“Being brave was easy when you would rather die than give up. Fatigue meant nothing when you actually wanted to suffer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/being-brave-was-easy-when-you-would-rather-die-than-give-up-fatigue/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [As a writer I'm more drawn to villains who are just slightly mad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/as-a-writer-i-m-more-drawn-to-villains-who-are-just-slightly-mad/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“He wasn't in a safe little story where wrongs were automatically righted; he was still in the real world, where bad bitter things happened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/he-wasn-t-in-a-safe-little-story-where-wrongs-were-automatically/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [I love rare books. Not that I own a lot of them, mind you. You couldn't quite call me a rare-book collector. But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/i-love-rare-books-not-that-i-own-a-lot-of-them-mind-you-you-couldn-t/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [By now he had learned enough to know that when he was getting annoyed at somebody else, it was usually because there was something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/by-now-he-had-learned-enough-to-know-that-when-he-was-getting-annoyed/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [About as close you can get to the perfect cerebral thriller: searingly smart, ridiculously funny, and fast as hell... I defy anybody to read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/about-as-close-you-can-get-to-the-perfect-cerebral-thriller-searingly/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“It's true," Eliot said. "Statistically, historically, and however else you want to look at it, you are almost never right. A monkey making life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/it-s-true-eliot-said-statistically-historically-and-however-else-you/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“God, I hope we don’t have to use that,” was all he said out loud. “Oh, come on, Quentina. We’re not looking for trouble.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/god-i-hope-we-don-t-have-to-use-that-was-all-he-said-out-loud-oh-come/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [I mean, when you're tired of book reviews, you're tired of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/i-mean-when-you-re-tired-of-book-reviews-you-re-tired-of-life/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [My specialty as a collector is books that almost have value. When I love a book, I don't buy the first edition, because those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/my-specialty-as-a-collector-is-books-that-almost-have-value-when-i/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [I used to write in a local coffee shop, but there was another guy, another writer, who kept sitting in my favorite seat. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/i-used-to-write-in-a-local-coffee-shop-but-there-was-another-guy/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [I don't know if I've ever derived such an immediate sense of calm and well-being from any book as I did from 'Right Ho,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/i-don-t-know-if-i-ve-ever-derived-such-an-immediate-sense-of-calm-and/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) [Explore all 379 Lev Grossman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) ## More Ignorance quotes > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ignorance is not bliss — it is oblivion. Determined ignorance is the hastiest kind of oblivion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-wylie/ignorance-is-not-bliss-it-is-oblivion-determined-ignorance-is-the/) [Philip Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-wylie/) > [... informed ignorance provides the natural state of mind for research scientists at the ever-shifting frontiers of knowledge. People who believe themselves ignorant of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/informed-ignorance-provides-the-natural-state-of-mind-for-research/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“If knowledge does not liberate the self from the self, then ignorance is better than such knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-sanai/if-knowledge-does-not-liberate-the-self-from-the-self-then-ignorance/) [Hakim Sanai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-sanai/) > [You are senile old fool, and because of your impudence, I cannot fathom how you still live!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-senile-old-fool-and-because-of-your-impudence-i-cannot-fathom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/knowledge-will-forever-govern-ignorance-and-a-people-who-mean-to-be/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [“Don’t turn your face away. Once you’ve seen, you can no longer act like you don’t know. Open your eyes to the truth. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vashti-quiroz-vega/don-t-turn-your-face-away-once-you-ve-seen-you-can-no-longer-act-like/) Vashti Quiroz-Vega > [Nothing is worse than active ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nothing-is-worse-than-active-ignorance/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The only victories which leave no regret are those which are gained over ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/the-only-victories-which-leave-no-regret-are-those-which-are-gained/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [“Those who embrace prejudice doom themselves to live in ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-p-lintz-sr/those-who-embrace-prejudice-doom-themselves-to-live-in-ignorance/) John P Lintz Sr > [“You are a lawmaker in your own right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-are-a-lawmaker-in-your-own-right/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Sanity can take one of only two forms: that of ignorance, or denial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-r-audette/sanity-can-take-one-of-only-two-forms-that-of-ignorance-or-denial/) [Derek R. Audette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-r-audette/) [Browse all 5,657 Ignorance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We have reached the point where ignorance and neglect are the best we can hope for in a ruler.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lev Grossman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/we-have-reached-the-point-where-ignorance-and-neglect-are-the-best-we/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ignorance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/we-have-reached-the-point-where-ignorance-and-neglect-are-the-best-we/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/921/lev-grossman-747_ignorance_we-have-reached-the-point-where-ignoranc_1161142.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/921/lev-grossman-747_ignorance_we-have-reached-the-point-where-ignoranc_1161142.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/921/lev-grossman-747_ignorance_we-have-reached-the-point-where-ignoranc_1161142.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We have reached the point where ignorance and neglect are the best we can hope for in a ruler.” — Lev Grossman", "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": "Lev Grossman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We have reached the point where...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/we-have-reached-the-point-where-ignorance-and-neglect-are-the-best-we/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/we-have-reached-the-point-where-ignorance-and-neglect-are-the-best-we/#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 } } ] } ```