--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For most people, political activity is a…" description: "\"For most people, political activity is a secondary activity - that is to say, they have something else to do beside attending to these arrangements. Bu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71d/michael-joseph-oakeshott-25415_activity_for-most-people-political-activity-is-a_2896065.png" --- # For most people, political activity is a secondary… ![“For most people, political activity is a secondary activity - that is to say, they have something else to do beside attending to these arrangements. But the activity is one which every member of the group who is not a child nor a lunatic has some part and some responsibility.” quote by Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71d/michael-joseph-oakeshott-25415_activity_for-most-people-political-activity-is-a_2896065.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71d/michael-joseph-oakeshott-25415_activity_for-most-people-political-activity-is-a_2896065.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71d/michael-joseph-oakeshott-25415_activity_for-most-people-political-activity-is-a_2896065.png) > “For most people, political activity is a secondary activity - that is to say, they have something else to do beside attending to these arrangements. But the activity is one which every member of the group who is not a child nor a lunatic has some part and some responsibility.” [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Political engagement is a duty for all competent adults, not a hobby for the few. **In simple terms:** Adults must take part in politics. Key Takeaway Participate responsibly in civic life. Themes civic duty responsibility political engagement Mood reflective serious Type philosophical political When to use this quote - voting - community meetings - public consultations - advocacy groups Key Concepts democratic theory citizen participation Questions to Reflect On - How can we motivate busy adults to engage? - What barriers prevent participation? A Different Perspective Not everyone has time or interest, limiting effective involvement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) [Activity Secondary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity-secondary-4093030/) [Arrangements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrangements/) [Attending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attending/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Groups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/groups/) [Lunatic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lunatic/) [Members](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/members/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-political-667702/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political Activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-activity-372278/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Secondary Activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secondary-activity-4093029/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) ## Related quotes > [In political activity, then, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea; there is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/in-political-activity-then-men-sail-a-boundless-and-bottomless-sea/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [Politics I take to be the activity of attending to the general arrangements of a set of people whom chance or choice have brought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/politics-i-take-to-be-the-activity-of-attending-to-the-general/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [There can be no effective control of corporations while their political activity remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/there-can-be-no-effective-control-of-corporations-while-their/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Gandhi saw how people have to re-think their own individuality before engaging in political activity. Otherwise they're just playing the game that the adversary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/gandhi-saw-how-people-have-to-re-think-their-own-individuality-before/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [Political activity by unions is not wrong. It's their First Amendment right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-scalia/political-activity-by-unions-is-not-wrong-it-s-their-first-amendment/) [Eugene Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-scalia/) > [The unique character of political activity lies, quite literally, in its publicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-crick/the-unique-character-of-political-activity-lies-quite-literally-in/) [Bernard Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-crick/) > [No partisan political activity transpired in my office during the recount period.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-harris/no-partisan-political-activity-transpired-in-my-office-during-the/) [Katherine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-harris/) > [All political activity must serve and promote the good of the human person and be based on respect for his or her dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/all-political-activity-must-serve-and-promote-the-good-of-the-human/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [ The \[Burmese\] government appears to be more interested in stamping out political activity than drug addiction. Very few university students on the campus could… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aung-san-suu-kyi/the-burmese-government-appears-to-be-more-interested-in-stamping-out/) [Aung San Suu Kyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aung-san-suu-kyi/) > [In political activity men sail a boundless and bottomless sea; there is neither harbor for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting point nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-oakeshott/in-political-activity-men-sail-a-boundless-and-bottomless-sea-there/) [Michael Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-oakeshott/) > [Writing fiction is an inherently political activity because people-even imaginary ones-do not live in vacuums... From Twilight to Romeo and Juliet to The Little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/writing-fiction-is-an-inherently-political-activity-because-people/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Public service does not necessarily mean service in the House of Commons, and public service is not synonymous with partisan political activity. It comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/public-service-does-not-necessarily-mean-service-in-the-house-of/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [“It is so much easier to throw oneself into social and political activity than to understand life as a whole; to be associated with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/it-is-so-much-easier-to-throw-oneself-into-social-and-political/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I have no regrets about my political activity, only that I sometimes got carried away with it and didn't find the right balance between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/i-have-no-regrets-about-my-political-activity-only-that-i-sometimes/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [When I was first elected I was puzzled why they were holding events in my honor as a mere freshman. I asked myself, why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-baird/when-i-was-first-elected-i-was-puzzled-why-they-were-holding-events/) [Brian Baird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-baird/) ## More by Michael Joseph Oakeshott > [In political activity, then, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea; there is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/in-political-activity-then-men-sail-a-boundless-and-bottomless-sea/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [Education is ... the invitation to disentangle oneself, for a time, from the urgencies of the here and now and to listen to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/education-is-the-invitation-to-disentangle-oneself-for-a-time-from/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [It is certain that most who concentrate upon achievement miss life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/it-is-certain-that-most-who-concentrate-upon-achievement-miss-life/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [A recorded past is no more than a bygone present composed of the footprints made by human beings actually going somewhere but not knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/a-recorded-past-is-no-more-than-a-bygone-present-composed-of-the/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [To be conservative…is to prefer the familiar to the unknown, to prefer the tried to the untried, fact to mystery, the actual to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/to-be-conservative-is-to-prefer-the-familiar-to-the-unknown-to-prefer/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [The man of conservative temperament believes that a known good is not lightly to be surrendered for an unknown better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/the-man-of-conservative-temperament-believes-that-a-known-good-is-not/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [The rule of law bakes no bread, it is unable to distribute loaves or fishes (it has none), and it cannot protect itself against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/the-rule-of-law-bakes-no-bread-it-is-unable-to-distribute-loaves-or/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [The conjunction of ruling and dreaming generates tyranny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/the-conjunction-of-ruling-and-dreaming-generates-tyranny/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [This, I believe, is the appropriate image of human intercourse -- appropriate because it recognizes the qualities, the diversities, and the proper relationships of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/this-i-believe-is-the-appropriate-image-of-human-intercourse/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [Our predicament is not the difficulty of attaining happiness, but the difficult of avoiding the misery to which the pursuit of happiness exposes us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/our-predicament-is-not-the-difficulty-of-attaining-happiness-but-the/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [History is what the evidence compels us to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/history-is-what-the-evidence-compels-us-to-believe/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [Politics I take to be the activity of attending to the general arrangements of a set of people whom chance or choice have brought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/politics-i-take-to-be-the-activity-of-attending-to-the-general/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [Economics is not an attempt to generalize human desires or human behavior; but to generalize the phenomena of price.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/economics-is-not-an-attempt-to-generalize-human-desires-or-human/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [We consider ourselves to be free because no one in our society is allowed unlimited powerno leader, faction, party or 'class', no majority, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/we-consider-ourselves-to-be-free-because-no-one-in-our-society-is/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) > [Like Midas, the Rationalist is always in the unfortunate position of not being able to touch anything, without transforming it into an abstraction; he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-joseph-oakeshott/like-midas-the-rationalist-is-always-in-the-unfortunate-position-of/) [Michael Joseph Oakeshott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) [Explore all 23 Michael Joseph Oakeshott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-joseph-oakeshott/) ## More Activity quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [For the longest time, neuroscientists were forced to be passive observers of brain activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gero-miesenbock/for-the-longest-time-neuroscientists-were-forced-to-be-passive/) [Gero Miesenbock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gero-miesenbock/) > [Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/enjoyment-is-not-a-goal-it-is-a-feeling-that-accompanies-important/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Once an activity has been socialized, it is impossible to point out, by concrete example, how men in a free market could better conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/once-an-activity-has-been-socialized-it-is-impossible-to-point-out-by/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [“Fun is not an activity, it is a state of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/fun-is-not-an-activity-it-is-a-state-of-mind/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I have to consider everything I eat; I consider every activity I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kimball/i-have-to-consider-everything-i-eat-i-consider-every-activity-i-do/) [Charlie Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kimball/) > [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Browse all 3,263 Activity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For most people, political activity is a secondary activity - that is to say, they have something else to do beside attending to these arrangements. 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