--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An intellectual may be interested in…" description: "\"An intellectual may be interested in ideas and policies for their own sake, but a politician's interest is exclusively in the question of whether an id..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8a/michael-ignatieff-3146_ideas_an-intellectual-may-be-interested-in-ide_264927.jpg" --- # An intellectual may be interested in ideas and policies… ![“An intellectual may be interested in ideas and policies for their own sake, but a politician's interest is exclusively in the question of whether an idea's time has come,” quote by Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8a/michael-ignatieff-3146_ideas_an-intellectual-may-be-interested-in-ide_264927.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8a/michael-ignatieff-3146_ideas_an-intellectual-may-be-interested-in-ide_264927.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8a/michael-ignatieff-3146_ideas_an-intellectual-may-be-interested-in-ide_264927.jpg) > “An intellectual may be interested in ideas and policies for their own sake, but a politician's interest is exclusively in the question of whether an idea's time has come,” [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intellectuals value ideas for their own merit; politicians care only if ideas are politically viable now. **In simple terms:** Ideas are judged differently by thinkers and politicians. Key Takeaway Consider timing when proposing ideas. Themes politics intellectualism strategy Mood analytical critical Type political strategic When to use this quote - legislative debates - campaign planning - policy advocacy Key Concepts public opinion policy adoption timing Questions to Reflect On - How do you assess when an idea is ready for action? - What risks arise from focusing solely on timing? A Different Perspective An idea's merit may be ignored if timing is wrong. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Politician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politician/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [If you are interested in ideas, radio is way more pure than television. You're not distracted by somebody's nose or hair or posture. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-gross/if-you-are-interested-in-ideas-radio-is-way-more-pure-than-television/) [Terry Gross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-gross/) > [I was interested in ideas, not merely visual products. I wanted to put painting once again at the service of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/i-was-interested-in-ideas-not-merely-visual-products-i-wanted-to-put/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [I guess I'm interested in politics - I'm interested in ideas and ideology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-armstrong/i-guess-i-m-interested-in-politics-i-m-interested-in-ideas-and/) [Jesse Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-armstrong/) > [I was interested in the ideas - freedom, free speech and having control of my own life. That's why I became a Tory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-truss/i-was-interested-in-the-ideas-freedom-free-speech-and-having-control/) [Liz Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-truss/) > [I was interested in ideas, not in visual products. I wanted to put painting again in the service of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/i-was-interested-in-ideas-not-in-visual-products-i-wanted-to-put/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [People are more interested in ideas than dress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-trudeau/people-are-more-interested-in-ideas-than-dress/) [Pierre Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-trudeau/) > [I am interested in ideas, not merely in visual products.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/i-am-interested-in-ideas-not-merely-in-visual-products/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [“The main difference between me and other people who have amassed this kind of money is that I am primarily interested in ideas, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/the-main-difference-between-me-and-other-people-who-have-amassed-this-2/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [There aren't that many things left that haven't already been done, especially with music. I'm interested in ideas that can shake us all up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-white/there-aren-t-that-many-things-left-that-haven-t-already-been-done/) [Jack White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-white/) > [I think I am too interested in my own ideas to copy anyone else's, but I find that other people's imagery, the flow of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mahy/i-think-i-am-too-interested-in-my-own-ideas-to-copy-anyone-else-s-but/) [Margaret Mahy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mahy/) > [I wasn't really that interested in objects. 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We will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaya-prada/people-have-been-saying-that-amar-singh-is-more-of-an-intellectual/) [Jaya Prada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaya-prada/) > [Closing his eyes, he sent up a prayer to anyone who was listening, asking please, for God's sake, stop sending him signals that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/closing-his-eyes-he-sent-up-a-prayer-to-anyone-who-was-listening/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) ## More by Michael Ignatieff > [The Only cure for nihilism is for liberal democratic societies - their electorates, their judiciary, and their political leadership- to insist that force is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-only-cure-for-nihilism-is-for-liberal-democratic-societies-their/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [What really matters is getting new people in. The constitutional changes matter, but the thing that the party mustn't do is turn in on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/what-really-matters-is-getting-new-people-in-the-constitutional/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [The medium's gaze is brief, intense, and promiscuous. The shelf life of the moral causes it makes its own is brutally short.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-medium-s-gaze-is-brief-intense-and-promiscuous-the-shelf-life-of/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [Those with a gift for action, for their part, often express contempt for those whose gifts are more reflective. 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They're inside someone else's state and they want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/there-are-lots-of-nations-in-the-world-or-national-peoples-who-don-t/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [There's a civic nationalism in Britain and dozens of other countries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/there-s-a-civic-nationalism-in-britain-and-dozens-of-other-countries/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [Affirming belief that America is an exceptional nation has become a test of patriotism in American politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/affirming-belief-that-america-is-an-exceptional-nation-has-become-a/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [Both Iraq and Syria are a fissile mixture of ethnicities and religions thrown together after Versailles by departing French and British imperialists and only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/both-iraq-and-syria-are-a-fissile-mixture-of-ethnicities-and/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [The legitimacy of coercive acts in a democracy arises from the process by which they are justified and by the degree to which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-legitimacy-of-coercive-acts-in-a-democracy-arises-from-the/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [Some of our finest leaders were not intellectuals at all, and I admire them enormously because they weren't. Harry Truman wasn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/some-of-our-finest-leaders-were-not-intellectuals-at-all-and-i-admire/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [If you get the access to see history happen, do you understand the history when it does happen? And the answer to that question…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/if-you-get-the-access-to-see-history-happen-do-you-understand-the/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [I have been a journalist, off and on, since I was 17. I was a copy boy for the 'New York Times,' when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/i-have-been-a-journalist-off-and-on-since-i-was-17-i-was-a-copy-boy/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [In academic life, false ideas are merely false, and useless ones can be fun to play with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/in-academic-life-false-ideas-are-merely-false-and-useless-ones-can-be/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [Liberal democracy has endured because its institutions are designed for handling morally hazardous forms of coercive power. It puts the question of how far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/liberal-democracy-has-endured-because-its-institutions-are-designed/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [I think no one could have made peace in Bosnia besides Holbrooke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/i-think-no-one-could-have-made-peace-in-bosnia-besides-holbrooke/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) [Explore all 138 Michael Ignatieff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) ## More Ideas quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. A company that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcmillon/companies-with-cultures-that-celebrate-diverse-opinions-and-encourage/) [Doug McMillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-mcmillon/) > [You'd be surprised how hard it can often be to translate an action into an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/you-d-be-surprised-how-hard-it-can-often-be-to-translate-an-action/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [I know for my wife and I, we always loved the idea of being young parents. It is an incredibly inspiring and challenging job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hanson/i-know-for-my-wife-and-i-we-always-loved-the-idea-of-being-young/) [Taylor Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hanson/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I've always been fascinated by the idea that there's no such thing as evil; it's all in your point of view. To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [It revealed a cruelty that really made one wonder if the universe was such a good idea after all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-lindsay/it-revealed-a-cruelty-that-really-made-one-wonder-if-the-universe-was/) [Jeff Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-lindsay/) > [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [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/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [Making movies seemed so impossible as far as getting my ideas funded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boots-riley/making-movies-seemed-so-impossible-as-far-as-getting-my-ideas-funded/) [Boots Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boots-riley/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. 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It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) [Browse all 24,908 Ideas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "An intellectual may be interested in ideas and policies for their own sake, but a politician's interest is exclusively in the question of whether an idea's time has come,", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Ignatieff" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/an-intellectual-may-be-interested-in-ideas-and-policies-for-their-own/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ideas" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/an-intellectual-may-be-interested-in-ideas-and-policies-for-their-own/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8a/michael-ignatieff-3146_ideas_an-intellectual-may-be-interested-in-ide_264927.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8a/michael-ignatieff-3146_ideas_an-intellectual-may-be-interested-in-ide_264927.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8a/michael-ignatieff-3146_ideas_an-intellectual-may-be-interested-in-ide_264927.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An intellectual may be interested in ideas and policies for their own sake, but a politician's interest is…” — Michael Ignatieff", "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": "Michael Ignatieff", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "An intellectual may be interested in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/an-intellectual-may-be-interested-in-ideas-and-policies-for-their-own/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/an-intellectual-may-be-interested-in-ideas-and-policies-for-their-own/#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 } } ] } ```