Indoctrinated Quote by Noam Chomsky
![“My guess is that you would find that the intellectual elite is the most heavily indoctrinated sector [of society], for good reasons. It's their role as a secular priesthood to really believe the nonsense that they put forth. Other people can repeat it, but it's not that crucial that they really…” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/19d/noam-chomsky-42_quote_my-guess-is-that-you-would-find-that-the_802251.jpg)
““My guess is that you would find that the intellectual elite is the most heavily indoctrinated sector [of society], for good reasons. It's their role as a secular priesthood to really believe the nonsense that they put forth. Other people can repeat it, but it's not that crucial that they really believe it. But for the intellectual elite themselves, it's crucial that they believe it because, after all, they are the guardians of the faith. Except for a very rare person who's an outright liar, it's hard to be a convincing exponent of the faith unless you've internalized it and come to believe it.””
About This Quote
Source Lecture: Intellectual elite and belief, 2018
Intellectuals often act as secular priests, internalizing and defending prevailing doctrines, making genuine dissent rare.
In simple terms: Thinkers can become believers in the systems they critique.
Key Takeaway
Question the foundations of accepted knowledge.
Themes
authority
belief
critical thinking
Mood
skeptical
analytical
Type
philosophical
political
When to use this quote
- academia
- policy analysis
- media commentary
- education
Key Concepts
secular priesthood
indoctrination
Questions to Reflect On
- What doctrines do you accept without question?
- How can you foster independent thought?
A Different Perspective
Even elites can be blind to alternatives; dissent may be suppressed.
![“To believe is not intellectual assent: "Yes, I believe in Jesus. I will sign my name to the Nicene Creed. I believe it all" - which you could do, [but] it would have no effect on who you were or what you did. It is, rather, to give your heart.” quote by Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/9d5/frederick-buechner-883_believe_to-believe-is-not-intellectual-assent-ye_635623.jpg)
![“I wrote an article about the marine landing [in Haiti] right away, but barely mentioned the oil, because my article would come out two months later and I assumed by then, "of course, everybody knows." Nobody knew. There was a news report in the Wall Street Journal, in the petroleum journals, and…” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/dc5/noam-chomsky-42_articles_i-wrote-an-article-about-the-marine-land_13341.jpg)
