--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Politics is a literal game. Every word…" description: "\"Politics is a literal game. Every word must represent a strict view - or be so abstract as to be meaningless.\" — Michael Wolff" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48a/michael-wolff-423_abstract_politics-is-a-literal-game-every-word-mu_1658569.jpg" --- # Politics is a literal game. Every word must represent a… ![“Politics is a literal game. Every word must represent a strict view - or be so abstract as to be meaningless.” quote by Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48a/michael-wolff-423_abstract_politics-is-a-literal-game-every-word-mu_1658569.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48a/michael-wolff-423_abstract_politics-is-a-literal-game-every-word-mu_1658569.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48a/michael-wolff-423_abstract_politics-is-a-literal-game-every-word-mu_1658569.jpg) > “Politics is a literal game. Every word must represent a strict view - or be so abstract as to be meaningless.” [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Claims politics reduces language to rigid ideologies or meaningless abstraction, limiting nuanced discourse. **In simple terms:** Politics forces extreme or vague language. Key Takeaway Encourage nuanced dialogue. Themes politics language ideology Mood critical thoughtful Type political philosophical When to use this quote - debates - policy drafting - media commentary - public discourse Key Concepts communication theory polarization Questions to Reflect On - How can we foster nuanced political speech? - What role does media play in simplification? A Different Perspective Complex issues often need compromise. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Abstract Meaningless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract-meaningless-733791/) [Game](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/game/) [Literal Game](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literal-game-733790/) [Meaningless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaningless/) [Must](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/must/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Politics Literal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics-literal-733789/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) [View](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/view/) ## Related quotes > [“Don’t forget I could make you play a literal game of ‘stop hitting yourself,’” Aegis said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bolryder/don-t-forget-i-could-make-you-play-a-literal-game-of-stop-hitting/) [Terry Bolryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bolryder/) > [When you fight, you don't fight for abstract values like the flag, or the nation, or democracy. You fight for your buddy. You fight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-marcinko/when-you-fight-you-don-t-fight-for-abstract-values-like-the-flag-or/) [Richard Marcinko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-marcinko/) > [Donald Trump doesn't necessarily stay mad for very long. He's a transactional guy. If you can offer him something, he will take it. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/donald-trump-doesn-t-necessarily-stay-mad-for-very-long-he-s-a/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [We live not only in a world of thoughts, but also in a world of things. Words without experience are meaningless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/we-live-not-only-in-a-world-of-thoughts-but-also-in-a-world-of-things/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [A creative writing workshop will contain students whose ambitions and abilities, whose conceptions of literature itself, are so diverse that what they have in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/a-creative-writing-workshop-will-contain-students-whose-ambitions-and/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [Music. A meaningless acceleration in the rhythm of celestial experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/music-a-meaningless-acceleration-in-the-rhythm-of-celestial-experience/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We are going to die, as is everyone we adore - I hate this! But the question is, how do we live as women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/we-are-going-to-die-as-is-everyone-we-adore-i-hate-this-but-the/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“Within the grand scale of things, sitting in a classroom day after day is so utterly meaningless and pointless that it actually makes his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabitha-suzuma/within-the-grand-scale-of-things-sitting-in-a-classroom-day-after-day/) [Tabitha Suzuma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabitha-suzuma/) > [Life is meaningless, but worth living, provided you recognize it's meaningless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/life-is-meaningless-but-worth-living-provided-you-recognize-it-s/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“...anything I do is trivial and meaningless because I'm not in a relationship and I don't have children.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-alderton/anything-i-do-is-trivial-and-meaningless-because-i-m-not-in-a/) [Dolly Alderton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-alderton/) > [“The question 'What was there before creation?' is meaningless. Time is a property of creation, therefore before creation there was no before creation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/the-question-what-was-there-before-creation-is-meaningless-time-is-a/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [The future and the past are equally meaningless because they are nebulous entities, times that do not exist, containing events which have no echo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lebbon/the-future-and-the-past-are-equally-meaningless-because-they-are/) [Tim Lebbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lebbon/) > [Without food, man at most can live but a few weeks; without it all other components of social justice are meaningless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-borlaug/without-food-man-at-most-can-live-but-a-few-weeks-without-it-all/) [Norman Borlaug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-borlaug/) > [I don't feel I have to write deep and meaningful songs; they can be light and meaningless. It has to do with the place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-diamond/i-don-t-feel-i-have-to-write-deep-and-meaningful-songs-they-can-be/) [Neil Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-diamond/) > [“The only thing that belongs to us is our LIFE. Yet, we waste it in the pursuit of meaningless things that will never belong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rvm/the-only-thing-that-belongs-to-us-is-our-life-yet-we-waste-it-in-the/) [RVM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rvm/) ## More by Michael Wolff > [Donald Trump doesn't necessarily stay mad for very long. He's a transactional guy. If you can offer him something, he will take it. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/donald-trump-doesn-t-necessarily-stay-mad-for-very-long-he-s-a/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“he could yet make a case for a straight line from Nixon to Trump.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/he-could-yet-make-a-case-for-a-straight-line-from-nixon-to-trump/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“it confirmed Bannon’s worst fear: Trump, in his true heart, was a marshmallow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/it-confirmed-bannon-s-worst-fear-trump-in-his-true-heart-was-a/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“An important aspect of Kaplan’s New York Observer and its self-conscious inside media baseball was that the paper became the prime school for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/an-important-aspect-of-kaplan-s-new-york-observer-and-its-self/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“The candidate who billed himself as a billionaire—ten times over—refused even to invest his own money in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/the-candidate-who-billed-himself-as-a-billionaire-ten-times-over/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [If institutions don't grow, they... well, I don't know what happens to them, because they always grow. I suppose the point is that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/if-institutions-don-t-grow-they-well-i-don-t-know-what-happens-to/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“Even though Trump liked to portray his business as an empire, it was actually a discrete holding company and boutique enterprise,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/even-though-trump-liked-to-portray-his-business-as-an-empire-it-was/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“the organizational premise of the Trump White House: the family would always prevail.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/the-organizational-premise-of-the-trump-white-house-the-family-would/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“Trump, who referred to the Chinese leader as “Mr. X-i”; the president was told to think of him as a woman and call him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/trump-who-referred-to-the-chinese-leader-as-mr-x-i-the-president-was/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“Donald Trump, even more than his father, was perceived as a vulgarian—after all, he put his name on his buildings, quite a déclassé thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/donald-trump-even-more-than-his-father-was-perceived-as-a-vulgarian/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your e-book. Please use the search function…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/the-index-that-appeared-in-the-print-version-of-this-title-does-not/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“Trump liked to say that one of the things that made life worth living was getting your friends’ wives into bed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/trump-liked-to-say-that-one-of-the-things-that-made-life-worth-living/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“The kids”—Jared and Ivanka—exhibited an increasingly panicked sense that the FBI and DOJ were moving beyond Russian election interference and into family finances. “Ivanka…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/the-kids-jared-and-ivanka-exhibited-an-increasingly-panicked-sense/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [I am old enough to think the word 'journalist' is not all that noble a designation. Journalist - that record keeper, quote taker and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/i-am-old-enough-to-think-the-word-journalist-is-not-all-that-noble-a/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“Politics had seemed to become, even well before the age of Trump, a mortal affair. It was now zero-sum: When one side profited, another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/politics-had-seemed-to-become-even-well-before-the-age-of-trump-a/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) [Explore all 570 Michael Wolff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) ## More Abstract quotes > [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/) > [Wisdom is the abstract of the past, but beauty is the promise of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wisdom-is-the-abstract-of-the-past-but-beauty-is-the-promise-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Where human eyes have never seen, where human beings have never been, I build a world of abstract dreams, and I wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-ra/where-human-eyes-have-never-seen-where-human-beings-have-never-been-i/) [Sun Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-ra/) > [A little too abstract, a little too wise, It is time for us to kiss the earth again, It is time to let the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/a-little-too-abstract-a-little-too-wise-it-is-time-for-us-to-kiss-the/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [“Happy is very abstract, you can't touch it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-veal/happy-is-very-abstract-you-can-t-touch-it/) [Julius Veal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-veal/) > [Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [The more horrible this world (as today, for instance), the more abstract our art, whereas a happy world brings forth an art of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-more-horrible-this-world-as-today-for-instance-the-more-abstract/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [Describing comic sensibility is near impossible. It's sort of an abstract silliness, that sometimes the joke isn't the star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-carvey/describing-comic-sensibility-is-near-impossible-it-s-sort-of-an/) [Dana Carvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-carvey/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The word of the Lord never comes to us as an opinion, no attempt is made to support it by argument, it comes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-w-ivins/the-word-of-the-lord-never-comes-to-us-as-an-opinion-no-attempt-is/) [Anthony W. Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-w-ivins/) > [A mobile is an abstract sculpture made chiefly out of sheet metal, steel rods, wire and wood. Some or all of these elements move,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/a-mobile-is-an-abstract-sculpture-made-chiefly-out-of-sheet-metal/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [I'm this superphilosophical kind of person. Stuck in a prison of abstract ideas and overpowering emotions, I have this personality that makes it really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsuo-kirino/i-m-this-superphilosophical-kind-of-person-stuck-in-a-prison-of/) [Natsuo Kirino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsuo-kirino/) > [Future lawyers should be more aware that law is not a system of abstract logic, but the web of arrangements, rooted in history but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/future-lawyers-should-be-more-aware-that-law-is-not-a-system-of/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [The trouble is that when you read criticisms about the other films that I've made you get the impression that they're all about themes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-haneke/the-trouble-is-that-when-you-read-criticisms-about-the-other-films/) [Michael Haneke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-haneke/) > [Painting is... a richer language than words... Painting operates through signs which are not abstract and incorporeal like words. The signs of painting are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/painting-is-a-richer-language-than-words-painting-operates-through/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) [Browse all 1,403 Abstract quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Politics is a literal game. Every word must represent a strict view - or be so abstract as to be meaningless.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Wolff" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/politics-is-a-literal-game-every-word-must-represent-a-strict-view-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abstract" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/politics-is-a-literal-game-every-word-must-represent-a-strict-view-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48a/michael-wolff-423_abstract_politics-is-a-literal-game-every-word-mu_1658569.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48a/michael-wolff-423_abstract_politics-is-a-literal-game-every-word-mu_1658569.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48a/michael-wolff-423_abstract_politics-is-a-literal-game-every-word-mu_1658569.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Politics is a literal game. Every word must represent a strict view - or be so abstract as to be meaningless.” — Michael Wolff", "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 Wolff", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Politics is a literal game. Every...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/politics-is-a-literal-game-every-word-must-represent-a-strict-view-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/politics-is-a-literal-game-every-word-must-represent-a-strict-view-or/#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 } } ] } ```