--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The other component was to build cadres…" description: "\"“The other component was to build cadres through political education. Republicans sought out wealthy donors to set up foundations and think tanks as sa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80c/mark-lilla-13300_college-student_the-other-component-was-to-build-cadres_72864.jpg" --- # The other component was to build cadres through political… ![“The other component was to build cadres through political education. Republicans sought out wealthy donors to set up foundations and think tanks as safe spaces outside the university for elaborating the Republican catechism, a document that grew from a cocktail napkin to a vast library of popular…” quote by Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80c/mark-lilla-13300_college-student_the-other-component-was-to-build-cadres_72864.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80c/mark-lilla-13300_college-student_the-other-component-was-to-build-cadres_72864.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80c/mark-lilla-13300_college-student_the-other-component-was-to-build-cadres_72864.jpg) > ““The other component was to build cadres through political education. Republicans sought out wealthy donors to set up foundations and think tanks as safe spaces outside the university for elaborating the Republican catechism, a document that grew from a cocktail napkin to a vast library of popular books and academic policy studies. They set up summer camps where college students could read Aristotle and Alexander Hamilton and Friedrich von Hayek, and learn to connect them. They set up reading groups for professors, who got paid to attend. They funded graduate students and apprenticed them under movement-approved professors. They also funded campus newspapers and national organizations like the Federalist Society, which introduces students to the "originalist" interpretation of constitutional law and acts as an an employment agency for young lawyers looking for clerkships and teaching positions. This one organization has revolutionized the way law is taught and interpreted in this country, and therefore how we are governed. It is the fruit of the conservatives' pedagogical strategy. The movement's fathers and godfathers, some of whom had once been Trotskyites, understood intuitively that to make lasting change the movement would have to build and sustain cadres, and send them out with full backpacks on the long march through the institutions. Marching with the aim of dismantling government by first seizing control of it, thus achieving anti-political ends by political means.”” [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage describes how conservative groups strategically cultivated intellectual and professional elites through targeted education, funding, and networking to influence institutions and policy. **In simple terms:** Strategic elite cultivation for political influence. Key Takeaway Education + funding shape power structures. Themes Political strategy Education Institutional influence Network building Ideological propagation Mood Analytical Critical Informative Type Analytical Historical Political When to use this quote - University curricula design - Law school career pathways - Policy research funding - Student summer programs - Academic reading groups Key Concepts Think tanks Federalist Society Originalist law Cadre building Funding mechanisms Practical Applications - Designing political education curricula - Creating funding pipelines for ideological groups Questions to Reflect On - How does elite education affect democratic representation? - What are the risks of ideological echo chambers in academia? A Different Perspective null ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alexander-hamilton/) [College student](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college-student/) [College students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college-students/) [Conservatives Pedagogical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservatives-pedagogical-951816/) [Constitutional law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitutional-law/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Education Republicans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education-republicans-951817/) [Elaborating Republican](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elaborating-republican-951818/) [Graduate student](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduate-student/) [Graduate students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduate-students/) [Political education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-education/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Republican Catechism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/republican-catechism-951819/) [Safe Spaces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/safe-spaces/) [Von hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/von-hayek/) ## Related quotes > [“Liberal political education now takes place, if it takes place at all, on campuses that are largely detached socially and geographically from the rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lilla/liberal-political-education-now-takes-place-if-it-takes-place-at-all/) [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) > [I can't resist telling you that when the Vienna Economics Institute celebrated its centennial, many years ago, they invited, as their keynote speaker, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-k-galbraith/i-can-t-resist-telling-you-that-when-the-vienna-economics-institute/) [James K. 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They funded graduate students and apprenticed them under movement-approved professors. They also funded campus newspapers and national organizations like the Federalist Society, which introduces students to the \"originalist\" interpretation of constitutional law and acts as an an employment agency for young lawyers looking for clerkships and teaching positions. This one organization has revolutionized the way law is taught and interpreted in this country, and therefore how we are governed. It is the fruit of the conservatives' pedagogical strategy. The movement's fathers and godfathers, some of whom had once been Trotskyites, understood intuitively that to make lasting change the movement would have to build and sustain cadres, and send them out with full backpacks on the long march through the institutions. 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