--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Political orientation is unimportant in…" description: "\"Political orientation is unimportant in populism because it does not deal in evidence or detailed proposals for change but in the manipulation of feeli..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b1/margaret-macmillan-5907_change_political-orientation-is-unimportant-in_3230209.jpg" --- # Political orientation is unimportant in populism because… ![“Political orientation is unimportant in populism because it does not deal in evidence or detailed proposals for change but in the manipulation of feelings by charismatic leaders.” quote by Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b1/margaret-macmillan-5907_change_political-orientation-is-unimportant-in_3230209.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b1/margaret-macmillan-5907_change_political-orientation-is-unimportant-in_3230209.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b1/margaret-macmillan-5907_change_political-orientation-is-unimportant-in_3230209.jpg) > “Political orientation is unimportant in populism because it does not deal in evidence or detailed proposals for change but in the manipulation of feelings by charismatic leaders.” [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Populism focuses on emotional appeal over factual policy, making political orientation irrelevant. **In simple terms:** Populism relies on feelings, not facts. Key Takeaway Beware charismatic emotional manipulation. Themes populism leadership politics emotion evidence Mood cautious critical analytical Type political analytical cautionary When to use this quote - campaign speeches - social media rallies - grassroots movements - public debates Key Concepts charismatic influence emotional persuasion policy vacuum Questions to Reflect On - How do emotions shape political choices? - What safeguards can ensure evidence‑based policy? A Different Perspective It can oversimplify complex issues, leading to uninformed decisions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Charismatic Leaders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/charismatic-leaders-2632312/) [Evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evidence/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Manipulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manipulation/) [Political Orientation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-orientation-1663395/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Populism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/populism/) [Populism Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/populism-does-2270833/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) [Unimportant Populism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unimportant-populism-6107384/) ## Related quotes > [Populism has had as many incarnations as it has had provocations, but its constant ingredient has been resentment, and hence whininess. 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Guileful scoundrels in business, government, and media smugly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-befumo/regardless-of-your-political-orientation-if-you-are-reasonably/) [Joseph Befumo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-befumo/) > [“Thus political orientation about social issues reflects sensitivity to visceral disgust and strategies for coping with such disgust.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/thus-political-orientation-about-social-issues-reflects-sensitivity/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [The mistakes (of leaders) are amplified by the numbers who follow them without question. 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Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-j-sawyer/) > [“Great charismatic leaders don't just say what voters want to hear; they say what voters want to say.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-l-gammon/great-charismatic-leaders-don-t-just-say-what-voters-want-to-hear/) [C.L. Gammon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-l-gammon/) > [The word 'populism' was everywhere in 2016. Political leaders claiming to speak for the people have achieved significant victories in Europe, Asia, and, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/the-word-populism-was-everywhere-in-2016-political-leaders-claiming/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [The rise of populism is in part a response to stagnating incomes and job loss, owing mostly to new technologies but widely attributed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-n-haass/the-rise-of-populism-is-in-part-a-response-to-stagnating-incomes-and/) [Richard N. Haass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-n-haass/) > [The rise of populism has steadily coalesced movements of millions of people around its divisive us-against-them rhetoric, motivating so many more people to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-swinson/the-rise-of-populism-has-steadily-coalesced-movements-of-millions-of/) [Jo Swinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-swinson/) > [The problem is some of the populism on both the far left and the far right, it can make a Tweet but not make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/the-problem-is-some-of-the-populism-on-both-the-far-left-and-the-far/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [I chose to start Schwarzman Scholars because I saw the potential for the world to become focused and unhappy with China, in large part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-a-schwarzman/i-chose-to-start-schwarzman-scholars-because-i-saw-the-potential-for/) [Stephen A. Schwarzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-a-schwarzman/) > [Globalization is a reality. And this makes most leaders today realize that populist illusions can't be sustained before they collapse into stagnation and leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-henrique-cardoso/globalization-is-a-reality-and-this-makes-most-leaders-today-realize/) [Fernando Henrique Cardoso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-henrique-cardoso/) > [This work is either useless or harmful, because there is nothing good about populism. If you wanted to hear my opinion on this issue,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/this-work-is-either-useless-or-harmful-because-there-is-nothing-good/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) ## More by Margaret MacMillan > [Some might argue humans are hard-wired to fight. I don't agree: we are conscious beings who have the capacity to make decisions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/some-might-argue-humans-are-hard-wired-to-fight-i-don-t-agree-we-are/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [I wish we could see understanding the First World War as a European issue, or even a global one, and not a nationalistic one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/i-wish-we-could-see-understanding-the-first-world-war-as-a-european/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [Theodore Roosevelt's policy to build a two-ocean navy confirmed that the old-style isolationism of the founders had not survived the modern, increasingly globalized world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/theodore-roosevelt-s-policy-to-build-a-two-ocean-navy-confirmed-that/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [Individual lives remind us that there is something called a common humanity and that, over the centuries, there have been people who have lived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/individual-lives-remind-us-that-there-is-something-called-a-common/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [The 1898 annexation of the Hawaiian Islands merely formally recognized what had long been American domination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/the-1898-annexation-of-the-hawaiian-islands-merely-formally/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [“There are only two perfectly useless things in the world,” he quipped. “One is an appendix and the other is Poincaré!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/there-are-only-two-perfectly-useless-things-in-the-world-he-quipped/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [“Nationalist movements often overlapped with economic and class issues: Rumanian and Ruthenian peasants, for example, challenged their Hungarian and Polish landlords.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/nationalist-movements-often-overlapped-with-economic-and-class-issues/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [How curious that such an outsize man, in physique as well as personality, should be remembered today mainly for giving his name to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/how-curious-that-such-an-outsize-man-in-physique-as-well-as/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [“Part of Nietzsche’s appeal was that it was easy to read a great deal into his work, and people including socialists, vegetarians, feminists, conservatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/part-of-nietzsche-s-appeal-was-that-it-was-easy-to-read-a-great-deal/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [The Great War was nobody's fault - or everybody's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/the-great-war-was-nobody-s-fault-or-everybody-s/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [If we do not, as historians, write the history of great events as well as the small stories that make up the past, others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/if-we-do-not-as-historians-write-the-history-of-great-events-as-well/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [Many in the English-speaking world came to agree with the Germans that the Treaty of Versailles, and the reparations in particular, were unjust, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/many-in-the-english-speaking-world-came-to-agree-with-the-germans/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [Women are interested in relationships and how other societies manage those relationships. 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That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) [Phil Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-hogan/) > [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. 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