--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Isaiah Berlin described the intellectuals…" description: "\"Isaiah Berlin described the intellectuals of [Mikhail] Bakunin's \"Red bureaucracy\" as a \"secular priesthood.\" — Noam Chomsky" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f94/noam-chomsky-42_berlin_isaiah-berlin-described-the-intellectual_1617519.jpg" --- # Isaiah Berlin described the intellectuals of \[Mikhail\]… ![“Isaiah Berlin described the intellectuals of [Mikhail] Bakunin's "Red bureaucracy" as a "secular priesthood.” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f94/noam-chomsky-42_berlin_isaiah-berlin-described-the-intellectual_1617519.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f94/noam-chomsky-42_berlin_isaiah-berlin-described-the-intellectual_1617519.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f94/noam-chomsky-42_berlin_isaiah-berlin-described-the-intellectual_1617519.jpg) > “Isaiah Berlin described the intellectuals of \[Mikhail\] Bakunin's "Red bureaucracy" as a "secular priesthood.” [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intellectuals can become dogmatic, resembling a religious hierarchy. **In simple terms:** Critique of rigid academic elites. Key Takeaway Question authority. Themes intellectualism authority dogma Mood analytical critical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - university curricula - policy advising - public discourse Key Concepts secularism power structures critical theory Questions to Reflect On - How can intellectuals stay humble? - What safeguards prevent elitism? A Different Perspective May overgeneralize diverse scholars. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bakunin-3006224/) [Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/berlin/) [Bureaucracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bureaucracy/) [Described Intellectuals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/described-intellectuals-6166572/) [Intellectuals Mikhail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectuals-mikhail-6166571/) [Isaiah Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isaiah-berlin-3188648/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mikhail-bakunin-4201828/) [Priesthood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priesthood/) [Red](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/red/) [Secular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secular/) ## Related quotes > [ \[Mikhail Bakunin\] expectations were generally confirmed, including his prediction that some would seek to gain state power on the backs of popular revolution, then… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/mikhail-bakunin-expectations-were-generally-confirmed-including-his/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [That intellectuals, including academics, would become a "new class" of technocrats, claiming the name of science while cooperating with the powerful, was predicted by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/that-intellectuals-including-academics-would-become-a-new-class-of/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [ \[Isaiah\] Berlin's observation is accurate enough, and applies at home as well, and even more harshly for the reasons already mentioned: the apparatchiks and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/isaiah-berlin-s-observation-is-accurate-enough-and-applies-at-home-as/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [A dining club which I was involved in at Oxford University invited Sir Isaiah Berlin to dinner, who I believe was probably the greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-brandis/a-dining-club-which-i-was-involved-in-at-oxford-university-invited/) [George Brandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-brandis/) > [“My own interest in Herzen was sparked by an exception to this rule: Isaiah Berlin’s essays. These still seem to me to have best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aileen-m-kelly/my-own-interest-in-herzen-was-sparked-by-an-exception-to-this-rule/) [Aileen M. Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aileen-m-kelly/) > [You know what a miracle is. Not what Bakunin said. But another world’s intrusion into this one. Most of the time we coexist peacefully,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/you-know-what-a-miracle-is-not-what-bakunin-said-but-another-world-s-2/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“You know what a miracle is. Not what Bakunin said. But another world’s intrusion into this one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/you-know-what-a-miracle-is-not-what-bakunin-said-but-another-world-s/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“In the large sense, I have to disagree with Bakunin, one thing austerity rhetoric has suggested is that when the people are being beaten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-de-oliveira/in-the-large-sense-i-have-to-disagree-with-bakunin-one-thing/) [Bruno De Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-de-oliveira/) > [If by 'intellectual' you mean people who are a special class who are in the business of imposing thoughts and forming ideas for people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-by-intellectual-you-mean-people-who-are-a-special-class-who-are-in/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Priesthood power blesses all of us. Priesthood keys direct women as well as men, and priesthood ordinances and priesthood authority pertain to women as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallin-h-oaks/priesthood-power-blesses-all-of-us-priesthood-keys-direct-women-as/) [Dallin H. Oaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallin-h-oaks/) > [In the priesthood we share the sacred duty to labor for the souls of men. We must do more than learn that this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/in-the-priesthood-we-share-the-sacred-duty-to-labor-for-the-souls-of/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [And I was very interested in the priesthood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keneally/and-i-was-very-interested-in-the-priesthood/) [Thomas Keneally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keneally/) > [To understand the power of the priesthood, we must know its limitations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-m-nelson/to-understand-the-power-of-the-priesthood-we-must-know-its-limitations/) [Russell M. Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-m-nelson/) > [The word religion comes from an origin which means "coming together." But priesthood has been doing just the opposite, it has created splits in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-word-religion-comes-from-an-origin-which-means-coming-together/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I pray that wherever we are and whatever duties we have in the priesthood of God, we will be united in the cause to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/i-pray-that-wherever-we-are-and-whatever-duties-we-have-in-the/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) ## More by Noam Chomsky > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [If you believe in democracy, why shouldn't you know what the government is doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-believe-in-democracy-why-shouldn-t-you-know-what-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are questions as to whether it should even exist. Who should corporations be responsive to, the management of a corporation? Theoretically they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-questions-as-to-whether-it-should-even-exist-who-should/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Governments regard their own citizens as their main enemy, and they have to be - protect themselves. That's why you have state secret laws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/governments-regard-their-own-citizens-as-their-main-enemy-and-they/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The first thing you ought to do is verify what I present. Just because I say it doesn't make it true. So check it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-first-thing-you-ought-to-do-is-verify-what-i-present-just-because/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [ I wrote an article about the marine landing \[in Haiti\] right away, but barely mentioned the oil, because my article would come out two… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-wrote-an-article-about-the-marine-landing-in-haiti-right-away-but/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [American society is now remarkably atomized. Political organizations have collapsed. In fact, it seems like even bowling leagues are collapsing. The left has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/american-society-is-now-remarkably-atomized-political-organizations/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's an interesting book about that called The Third Reich and the Ivory Tower, written by Stephen H. Norwood. It has a long discussion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-an-interesting-book-about-that-called-the-third-reich-and-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [This is class war on an international scale, and power is in the hands of those who control the international economic system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/this-is-class-war-on-an-international-scale-and-power-is-in-the-hands/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are big, extremely irrational parts of the society, and they have now been mobilized politically by the Republican establishment, hoping that these people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-big-extremely-irrational-parts-of-the-society-and-they-have/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's plenty to criticize about the mass media, but they are the source of regular information about a wide range of topics. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-plenty-to-criticize-about-the-mass-media-but-they-are-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The 50,000 Korean mercenaries we had in Vietnam were professional killers and just massacred people outright. And the American army did plenty of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-50-000-korean-mercenaries-we-had-in-vietnam-were-professional/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Explore all 2,129 Noam Chomsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More Berlin quotes > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [I did a concert... in September with the Berlin Philharmonic... They're great musicians, and there's always something to learn from them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecilia-bartoli/i-did-a-concert-in-september-with-the-berlin-philharmonic-they-re/) [Cecilia Bartoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecilia-bartoli/) > [The fall of the Berlin Wall makes for nice pictures. But it all started in the shipyards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/the-fall-of-the-berlin-wall-makes-for-nice-pictures-but-it-all/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [The music changed. We had Irving Berlin and Gershwin and Lerner and Loewe and Cole Porter. Great music. Now we have 'Rent.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyd-charisse/the-music-changed-we-had-irving-berlin-and-gershwin-and-lerner-and/) [Cyd Charisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyd-charisse/) > [My works are dear to me, each in its own way, I shall have to answer for them on the Day off Judgement. God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-chagall/my-works-are-dear-to-me-each-in-its-own-way-i-shall-have-to-answer/) [Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) > [I'm not a prophet, but I always thought it was natural for dictatorships to fall. I remember in 1989, two months before the fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-not-a-prophet-but-i-always-thought-it-was-natural-for/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The church of St. Peter at Berlin, notwithstanding the total difference between them in the style of building, appears in some respects to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-philipp-moritz/the-church-of-st-peter-at-berlin-notwithstanding-the-total-difference/) [Karl Philipp Moritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-philipp-moritz/) > [...what happened in New York and Washington is the same thing that England and America did to Berlin every day for three years during…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemmy-kilmister/what-happened-in-new-york-and-washington-is-the-same-thing-that/) [Lemmy Kilmister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemmy-kilmister/) > [I am in Paris. Yes ma'am , I made it back. I came up from Berlin, stopped here ten days, fought a losing battle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/i-am-in-paris-yes-ma-am-i-made-it-back-i-came-up-from-berlin-stopped/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [God bless America, land that I love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-berlin/god-bless-america-land-that-i-love/) [Irving Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-berlin/) > [I wouldn't want to live in Berlin. It's bombed out and there's a lot of techno.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/i-wouldn-t-want-to-live-in-berlin-it-s-bombed-out-and-there-s-a-lot/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) > [Berlin is still a very edgy place, a very cosmopolitan place. It's a place where completely different ideas and cultures come together and clash…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bremmer/berlin-is-still-a-very-edgy-place-a-very-cosmopolitan-place-it-s-a/) [Ian Bremmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bremmer/) > [Berlin would be a great place to have no cell phone, I think. Especially if you were able to live in a central location.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-ebert/berlin-would-be-a-great-place-to-have-no-cell-phone-i-think/) [Alex Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-ebert/) > [Those who have ever valued liberty for its own sake believed that to be free to choose, and not to be chosen for, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-berlin/those-who-have-ever-valued-liberty-for-its-own-sake-believed-that-to/) [Isaiah Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-berlin/) > [The toughest thing about success is that you've got to keep on being a success. Talent is only a starting point in this business.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-berlin/the-toughest-thing-about-success-is-that-you-ve-got-to-keep-on-being/) [Irving Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-berlin/) [Browse all 438 Berlin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/berlin/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Isaiah Berlin described the intellectuals of [Mikhail] Bakunin's \"Red bureaucracy\" as a \"secular priesthood.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Noam Chomsky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/isaiah-berlin-described-the-intellectuals-of-mikhail-bakunin-s-red/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Berlin" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/isaiah-berlin-described-the-intellectuals-of-mikhail-bakunin-s-red/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f94/noam-chomsky-42_berlin_isaiah-berlin-described-the-intellectual_1617519.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f94/noam-chomsky-42_berlin_isaiah-berlin-described-the-intellectual_1617519.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f94/noam-chomsky-42_berlin_isaiah-berlin-described-the-intellectual_1617519.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Isaiah Berlin described the intellectuals of [Mikhail] Bakunin's \"Red bureaucracy\" as a \"secular priesthood.” — Noam Chomsky", "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": "Noam Chomsky", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Isaiah Berlin described the intellectuals of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/isaiah-berlin-described-the-intellectuals-of-mikhail-bakunin-s-red/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/isaiah-berlin-described-the-intellectuals-of-mikhail-bakunin-s-red/#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 } } ] } ```