--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What's called \"liberal\" in the…" description: "\"What's called \"liberal\" in the intelectual culture means highly conformist to power, but mildly critical.\" — Noam Chomsky" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbd/noam-chomsky-42_conformist_what-s-called-liberal-in-the-intelectual_1566072.jpg" --- # What's called "liberal" in the intelectual culture means… ![“What's called "liberal" in the intelectual culture means highly conformist to power, but mildly critical.” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbd/noam-chomsky-42_conformist_what-s-called-liberal-in-the-intelectual_1566072.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbd/noam-chomsky-42_conformist_what-s-called-liberal-in-the-intelectual_1566072.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbd/noam-chomsky-42_conformist_what-s-called-liberal-in-the-intelectual_1566072.jpg) > “What's called "liberal" in the intelectual culture means highly conformist to power, but mildly critical.” [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. In intellectual circles, "liberal" often means conforming to power while offering only mild criticism. **In simple terms:** Liberal label can mask conformity. Key Takeaway Question true independence. Themes politics language power Mood critical analytical Type political observational When to use this quote - media analysis - academic discourse - policy critique Key Concepts sociology critical theory Questions to Reflect On - How does this conformity affect public debate? - What alternatives exist? A Different Perspective The term varies across cultures, limiting its precision. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Called Liberal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-liberal-765069/) [Conformist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformist/) [Conformist Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformist-power-5885241/) [Critical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critical/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Highly Conformist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/highly-conformist-5885242/) [Liberal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberal/) [Liberal Intelectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberal-intelectual-5885240/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) ## Related quotes > [Only those are called liberal or free which are concerned with knowledge; those which are concerned with utilitarian ends... are called servile...The question is...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-pieper/only-those-are-called-liberal-or-free-which-are-concerned-with/) [Josef Pieper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-pieper/) > [I'm happy to be called a liberal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/i-m-happy-to-be-called-a-liberal/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [A man who has both feet planted firmly in the air can be safely called a liberal as opposed to the conservative, who has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/a-man-who-has-both-feet-planted-firmly-in-the-air-can-be-safely/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [Take like, say, Obama, he's called "liberal" and he's praised for his "principled objection to the Iraq war". What was his "principled objection"? He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/take-like-say-obama-he-s-called-liberal-and-he-s-praised-for-his/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The intellectual world is deeply conformist... We talk a lot about the crimes of others. When it comes to our own crimes, we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-intellectual-world-is-deeply-conformist-we-talk-a-lot-about-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Furthermore, what profit was it to me that I, rascally slave of selfish ambitions that I was, read and understood by myself as many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/furthermore-what-profit-was-it-to-me-that-i-rascally-slave-of-selfish/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [These are times when what used to be called liberal is now called radical; what used to be called radical is now called insane;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-vanden-heuvel/these-are-times-when-what-used-to-be-called-liberal-is-now-called/) [Katrina vanden Heuvel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-vanden-heuvel/) > [I don't mind being called a liberal. I just don't really think it's true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-dean/i-don-t-mind-being-called-a-liberal-i-just-don-t-really-think-it-s/) [Howard Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-dean/) > [Our two major parties are actually called the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stockwell-day/our-two-major-parties-are-actually-called-the-liberal-party-and-the/) [Stockwell Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stockwell-day/) > [The power of consumer goods . . . has been engendered by the so-called liberal and progressive demands of freedom, and, by appropriating them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pier-paolo-pasolini/the-power-of-consumer-goods-has-been-engendered-by-the-so-called/) [Pier Paolo Pasolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pier-paolo-pasolini/) > [Liberals are liberals, and it's not helpful to them when they are so identified. They go out of their way to avoid being called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/liberals-are-liberals-and-it-s-not-helpful-to-them-when-they-are-so/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [The party that called itself liberal aimed at respecting the liberty to dispose of one's own goods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vilfredo-pareto/the-party-that-called-itself-liberal-aimed-at-respecting-the-liberty/) [Vilfredo Pareto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vilfredo-pareto/) > [A man who has both feet planted firmly in the air can be safely called a liberal as opposed to the conservative, who has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/a-man-who-has-both-feet-planted-firmly-in-the-air-can-be-safely-2/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [Sometimes, it might be called conservative; sometimes it might be called liberal. But the point is that the meaning of the Constitution and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cornyn/sometimes-it-might-be-called-conservative-sometimes-it-might-be/) [John Cornyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cornyn/) > [With the development of industrial capitalism, a new and unanticipated system of injustice, it is libertarian socialism that has preserved and extended the radical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/with-the-development-of-industrial-capitalism-a-new-and-unanticipated/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## 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 Conformist quotes > [Today it is the skeptics who are the social conformists, though because of powerful intellectual propaganda they continue to enjoy thinking of themselves as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/today-it-is-the-skeptics-who-are-the-social-conformists-though/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [Education, for most people, means trying to lead the child to resemble the typical adult of his society . . . but for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/education-for-most-people-means-trying-to-lead-the-child-to-resemble/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [While my dad is a rebel at heart, I am a conformist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivaan-shah/while-my-dad-is-a-rebel-at-heart-i-am-a-conformist/) [Vivaan Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivaan-shah/) > [Our legal system, including the police, is anti-Dalit and anti-poor. The death penalty laws' wrathful majesty, in blood-shot equality, deals the fatal blow on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-r-krishna-iyer/our-legal-system-including-the-police-is-anti-dalit-and-anti-poor-the/) [V. R. Krishna Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-r-krishna-iyer/) > [Only conformists are ever adored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-breillat/only-conformists-are-ever-adored/) [Catherine Breillat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-breillat/) > [The American people...have a stake in non-conformity. For they know that the American genius is non-conformist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-steele-commager/the-american-people-have-a-stake-in-non-conformity-for-they-know-that/) [Henry Steele Commager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-steele-commager/) > [The first step in freeing yourself from social restrictions is the realization that there is no such thing as a safe code of conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-browne/the-first-step-in-freeing-yourself-from-social-restrictions-is-the/) [Harry Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-browne/) > [I think it killed my sister as the times she was living in were so conformist. This is a subject I really want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nan-goldin/i-think-it-killed-my-sister-as-the-times-she-was-living-in-were-so/) [Nan Goldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nan-goldin/) > [Not long ago, a hat was a conformist accessory. Then the 1960s came along, and young people didn't want to wear hats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-treacy/not-long-ago-a-hat-was-a-conformist-accessory-then-the-1960s-came/) [Philip Treacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-treacy/) > [It's the non-conformist who gives color to history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-fuldheim/it-s-the-non-conformist-who-gives-color-to-history/) [Dorothy Fuldheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-fuldheim/) > [“Mom and Dad liked to make a big point about never surrendering to fear or to prejudice or to the narrow-minded conformist sticks-in-the-mud who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/mom-and-dad-liked-to-make-a-big-point-about-never-surrendering-to/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [Woe to him inside a non-conformist clique who does not conform to non-conformity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/woe-to-him-inside-a-non-conformist-clique-who-does-not-conform-to-non/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Schools are generally feminine places, institutions where conformity is valued, taught largely by conformist women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-m-bardwick/schools-are-generally-feminine-places-institutions-where-conformity/) [Judith M Bardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-m-bardwick/) > [The courage to be as oneself within the atmosphere of Enlightenment is the courage to affirm oneself as a bridge from a lower to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tillich/the-courage-to-be-as-oneself-within-the-atmosphere-of-enlightenment/) [Paul Tillich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tillich/) > [ \[F\]or the most part football these days is the opium of the people, not to speak of their crack cocaine. Its icon is the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/f-or-the-most-part-football-these-days-is-the-opium-of-the-people-not/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) [Browse all 143 Conformist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What's called \"liberal\" in the intelectual culture means highly conformist to power, but mildly critical.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Noam Chomsky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/what-s-called-liberal-in-the-intelectual-culture-means-highly/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conformist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/what-s-called-liberal-in-the-intelectual-culture-means-highly/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbd/noam-chomsky-42_conformist_what-s-called-liberal-in-the-intelectual_1566072.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbd/noam-chomsky-42_conformist_what-s-called-liberal-in-the-intelectual_1566072.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbd/noam-chomsky-42_conformist_what-s-called-liberal-in-the-intelectual_1566072.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What's called \"liberal\" in the intelectual culture means highly conformist to power, but mildly critical.” — 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": "What's called \"liberal\" in the intelectual...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/what-s-called-liberal-in-the-intelectual-culture-means-highly/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/what-s-called-liberal-in-the-intelectual-culture-means-highly/#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 } } ] } ```