--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My guess is that you would find that the…" description: "\"“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 a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/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… ![“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/i/19d/noam-chomsky-42_quote_my-guess-is-that-you-would-find-that-the_802251.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/noam-chomsky-42_quote_my-guess-is-that-you-would-find-that-the_802251.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/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.”” [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 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. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Indoctrinated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indoctrinated/) [Rare person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rare-person/) ## Related quotes > [“It has to do with conquest, with oppression. If you’re robbing somebody, oppressing them, dictating their lives, it’s a very rare person who can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-has-to-do-with-conquest-with-oppression-if-you-re-robbing-somebody/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [You don't have any other society where the educated classes are so effectively indoctrinated and controlled by a subtle propaganda system - a private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/you-don-t-have-any-other-society-where-the-educated-classes-are-so/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“The recurring choice-between faith and science, Christianity and feminism, the Bible and historical criticism, doctrine and compassion-kept tripping me up like roots on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-held-evans/the-recurring-choice-between-faith-and-science-christianity-and/) [Rachel Held Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-held-evans/) > [“He believed in mission. But . . . he did not believe in it as an intellectual imperative, or even as a professional standard.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/he-believed-in-mission-but-he-did-not-believe-in-it-as-an/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [Believe me, the intellectual revolution is going on, and that has to come first before you see the political changes. That's where I'm very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/believe-me-the-intellectual-revolution-is-going-on-and-that-has-to/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“As a child of civil war, I disbelieve in structured learning—actually I believe that one can be an intellectual without being a nerd, provided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/as-a-child-of-civil-war-i-disbelieve-in-structured-learning-actually/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Christianity becomes just a set of things you believe in. It's almost an intellectual kind of abstract issue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/christianity-becomes-just-a-set-of-things-you-believe-in-it-s-almost/) [Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/) > [To believe is not intellectual assent: "Yes, I believe in Jesus. I will sign my name to the Nicene Creed. I believe it all"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/to-believe-is-not-intellectual-assent-yes-i-believe-in-jesus-i-will/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [“It might seem that being a genius is a golden ticket to a life of glamorous soirees with the intellectual elite, champagne flute in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-de-guillaume/it-might-seem-that-being-a-genius-is-a-golden-ticket-to-a-life-of/) André de Guillaume > [It seems disingenuous for the intellectual elite of the first world to dwell on the subject of too many babies being born in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-rifkin/it-seems-disingenuous-for-the-intellectual-elite-of-the-first-world/) [Jeremy Rifkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-rifkin/) > [If all our political and intellectual elite offers by way of a national culture is "pop music, gambling, fashionable clothes or television," then we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-daniels/if-all-our-political-and-intellectual-elite-offers-by-way-of-a/) [Anthony Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-daniels/) > [“Ulysses was an elaborate prank, and our supposed intellectual elite continue to fall for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/ulysses-was-an-elaborate-prank-and-our-supposed-intellectual-elite/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“To see the futurity of the species has always been the privilege of the intellectual elite, or of those who have learnt from them;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/to-see-the-futurity-of-the-species-has-always-been-the-privilege-of/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [Most of the intellectual elite of the USA completely disavow the idea of absolute truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/most-of-the-intellectual-elite-of-the-usa-completely-disavow-the-idea/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [I doubt very much if Mao would ever command great respect from the intellectual élite of China, perhaps not entirely because he has an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-snow/i-doubt-very-much-if-mao-would-ever-command-great-respect-from-the/) [Edgar Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-snow/) ## 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 Indoctrinated quotes > [“Today, the entire nation has been indoctrinated to go along with whatever the Supreme Court says, regardless of whether it is right or wrong;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-befumo/today-the-entire-nation-has-been-indoctrinated-to-go-along-with/) [Joseph Befumo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-befumo/) > [A lot of dudes can't function too long in mainstream life because they've been indoctrinated into that penal system where that shapes their life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadat-x/a-lot-of-dudes-can-t-function-too-long-in-mainstream-life-because/) [Sadat X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadat-x/) > [Young people never do have a clue. There are some young people that do, but they've always been the exception. They always all grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/young-people-never-do-have-a-clue-there-are-some-young-people-that-do/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [“If you aren't destroying your enemies, it's because you have been conquered and assimilated, you do not even have an idea of who your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/if-you-aren-t-destroying-your-enemies-it-s-because-you-have-been/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [The village atheist has the right to be heard; he has no right to be heeded. While he has a right not to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/the-village-atheist-has-the-right-to-be-heard-he-has-no-right-to-be/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [The fact that I have an ideology, however, doesn't mean I'm indoctrinated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/the-fact-that-i-have-an-ideology-however-doesn-t-mean-i-m/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [“Ideally, what should be said to every child, repeatedly, throughout his or her school life is something like this: 'You are in the process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/ideally-what-should-be-said-to-every-child-repeatedly-throughout-his/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“Some people who helped lead that movement—including me—were very much like Hunka Munka and Tom Thumb. We lived lives informed by beliefs that were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/some-people-who-helped-lead-that-movement-including-me-were-very-much/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [“People have been indoctrinated so completely by their jobs that they don’t want to know how something works, they’re willing to accept that perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/people-have-been-indoctrinated-so-completely-by-their-jobs-that-they/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [I was raised a black child in the South, where you're indoctrinated into a religion that an oppressor gave you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/killer-mike/i-was-raised-a-black-child-in-the-south-where-you-re-indoctrinated/) [Killer Mike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/killer-mike/) > [I was a teenager, we were pretty much fully indoctrinated, thanks to sexual scare tactics. I remember so many public-health commercials with a B-actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/i-was-a-teenager-we-were-pretty-much-fully-indoctrinated-thanks-to/) [Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/) > [“Jesus was indoctrinated in the Therapeutae Buddhist Monk tradition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-vickers/jesus-was-indoctrinated-in-the-therapeutae-buddhist-monk-tradition/) [Lee Vickers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-vickers/) > [If a teacher have any opinion which he wishes to conceal, his pupils will become as fully indoctrinated into that as into any which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-a-teacher-have-any-opinion-which-he-wishes-to-conceal-his-pupils/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The oppressor has always indoctrinated the weak with his interpretation of the crimes of the strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-oppressor-has-always-indoctrinated-the-weak-with-his/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Our children should be indoctrinated in the principles of the Gospel from their earliest childhood. They should be made familiar with the contents of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilford-woodruff/our-children-should-be-indoctrinated-in-the-principles-of-the-gospel/) [Wilford Woodruff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilford-woodruff/) [Browse all 36 Indoctrinated quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indoctrinated/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“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. 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