--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The reason all the 'intellectuals' –…" description: "\"“The reason all the 'intellectuals' – Sartre and Marx, Hemingway and Hellman – (. . .) are Leftists is that a defining characteristic of the 'intellect..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/markham-shaw-pyle-22408_conservative_the-reason-all-the-intellectuals-sartre_833940.jpg" --- # The reason all the 'intellectuals' – Sartre and Marx… ![“The reason all the 'intellectuals' – Sartre and Marx, Hemingway and Hellman – (. . .) are Leftists is that a defining characteristic of the 'intellectual' is the belief, stemming from inane notions of the perfectibility of man, that he can sit in a darkened room and purely by thinking, create a…” quote by Markham Shaw Pyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/markham-shaw-pyle-22408_conservative_the-reason-all-the-intellectuals-sartre_833940.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/markham-shaw-pyle-22408_conservative_the-reason-all-the-intellectuals-sartre_833940.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/markham-shaw-pyle-22408_conservative_the-reason-all-the-intellectuals-sartre_833940.jpg) > ““The reason all the 'intellectuals' – Sartre and Marx, Hemingway and Hellman – (. . .) are Leftists is that a defining characteristic of the 'intellectual' is the belief, stemming from inane notions of the perfectibility of man, that he can sit in a darkened room and purely by thinking, create a new heaven and a new earth, utopia, the eschaton immanentized. Rubbish, of course, but there you have it.”” [Markham Shaw Pyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markham-shaw-pyle/) ## 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 critiques intellectual idealism, arguing that believing in radical societal transformation through pure thought is unrealistic. **In simple terms:** Intellectuals overestimate thinking’s power to reshape society. Key Takeaway Question lofty ideals. Themes politics idealism intellectualism Mood skeptical critical Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - academic debates - policy making - activism - education reform Key Concepts utopia philosophy critical theory Questions to Reflect On - Can thought alone inspire change? - What role does action play? A Different Perspective It may dismiss genuine attempts at progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conservative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservative/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Intellectuals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectuals/) [Leftist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leftist/) [Liberal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberal/) [New earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-earth/) ## Related quotes > [You don't reason with intellectuals. 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Among the full range…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pollin/i-think-it-is-inevitable-that-leftist-forces-in-the-us-would-be/) [Robert Pollin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pollin/) > [Young people in college - many living away from their parents for the first time in their lives - are particularly vulnerable to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kirk/young-people-in-college-many-living-away-from-their-parents-for-the/) [Charlie Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kirk/) > [Political correctness is a thing of leftist radicals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jair-bolsonaro/political-correctness-is-a-thing-of-leftist-radicals/) [Jair Bolsonaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jair-bolsonaro/) > [A leftist government doesn't exist because being on the left has nothing to do with governments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilles-deleuze/a-leftist-government-doesn-t-exist-because-being-on-the-left-has/) [Gilles Deleuze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilles-deleuze/) ## More by Markham Shaw Pyle > [“In the past few years, genetics have confirmed that the hunter-gatherers were not overwhelmed by the new wave of sedentary farmers, and that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markham-shaw-pyle/in-the-past-few-years-genetics-have-confirmed-that-the-hunter/) [Markham Shaw Pyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markham-shaw-pyle/) > [“... in 1912, although he, more even than other members of the Senate and the House, thought himself presidential timber (a delusion from which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markham-shaw-pyle/in-1912-although-he-more-even-than-other-members-of-the-senate-and/) [Markham Shaw Pyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markham-shaw-pyle/) > [“Recent fads in history and biography have increasingly exalted the aridity of chronology and fact, and have, with some valid reason, rejected romanticizing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markham-shaw-pyle/recent-fads-in-history-and-biography-have-increasingly-exalted-the/) [Markham Shaw Pyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markham-shaw-pyle/) > [ “Show me you care about our common tongue. 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