--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The people could still have their…" description: "\"“The people could still have their republic, but much legislative power would be shifted out of an elected body and into the hands of the right sort of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a66/philip-hamburger-28176_democracy_the-people-could-still-have-their-republ_1409613.jpg" --- # The people could still have their republic, but much… ![“The people could still have their republic, but much legislative power would be shifted out of an elected body and into the hands of the right sort of people. Rather than narrowly a matter of racism, this has been a transfer of legislative power to the knowledge class – meaning not a class defined…” quote by Philip Hamburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a66/philip-hamburger-28176_democracy_the-people-could-still-have-their-republ_1409613.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a66/philip-hamburger-28176_democracy_the-people-could-still-have-their-republ_1409613.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a66/philip-hamburger-28176_democracy_the-people-could-still-have-their-republ_1409613.jpg) > ““The people could still have their republic, but much legislative power would be shifted out of an elected body and into the hands of the right sort of people. Rather than narrowly a matter of racism, this has been a transfer of legislative power to the knowledge class – meaning not a class defined in Marxist or other economic terms but those persons whose identity or sense of selfworth centers on their knowledge. More than merely the intelligentsia, this class includes all who are more attached to the authority of knowledge than to the authority of local political communities. Which is not to say that they have been particularly knowledgeable, but that their sense of affinity with cosmopolitan knowledge, rather than local connectedness, has been the foundation of their influence and identity.”” [Philip Hamburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-hamburger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Legislative power is shifting from elected bodies to a knowledge‑based elite whose identity is tied to cosmopolitan expertise rather than local community ties. **In simple terms:** Power moves to knowledge‑based elite. Key Takeaway Beware of power held by those valuing knowledge over community. Themes politics power knowledge elitism identity Mood critical reflective Type political analytical When to use this quote - policy making - academic influence - media commentary Key Concepts knowledge class legislative shift cosmopolitanism Questions to Reflect On - How can democratic accountability be maintained? - What safeguards protect local communities? A Different Perspective Knowledge does not guarantee wisdom or fairness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cosmopolitan Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cosmopolitan-knowledge-4964458/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Intelligentsia Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligentsia-class-4964459/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Knowledge Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge-class-4110780/) [Legislative Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legislative-power-842410/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Republic Legislative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/republic-legislative-4964460/) ## Related quotes > [Urban areas tend to attract members of the 'knowledge class' - people who work with ideas, data, information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/urban-areas-tend-to-attract-members-of-the-knowledge-class-people-who/) [Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/) > [“Executive power thus could be exercised adjacent to legislation without actually trespassing on legislative power. The executive, for example, could make regulations and interpretations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-hamburger/executive-power-thus-could-be-exercised-adjacent-to-legislation/) [Philip Hamburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-hamburger/) > [“By the same token, the executive cannot exercise legislative power, even if it has legislative authorization, for when it acts alone, it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-hamburger/by-the-same-token-the-executive-cannot-exercise-legislative-power/) [Philip Hamburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-hamburger/) > [Is there a Legislative power in fact, not expressly prohibited by the Constitution, which might not, according to the doctrine of the Court, be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/is-there-a-legislative-power-in-fact-not-expressly-prohibited-by-the/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [“Article 73 of the Constitution clearly stipulates that, subject to the Constitution, the executive power of the union shall extend to matters in respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justice-asok-kumar-ganguly/article-73-of-the-constitution-clearly-stipulates-that-subject-to-the/) [Justice Asok Kumar Ganguly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justice-asok-kumar-ganguly/) > [Upon you, fellow-citizens, as the representatives of the States and the people, is wisely devolved the legislative power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millard-fillmore/upon-you-fellow-citizens-as-the-representatives-of-the-states-and-the/) [Millard Fillmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millard-fillmore/) > [The power of the legislative being derived from the people by a positive voluntary grant and institution, can be no other than what that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-locke/the-power-of-the-legislative-being-derived-from-the-people-by-a/) [John Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-locke/) > [The principles of a free constitution are irrecoverably lost, when the legislative power is nominated by the executive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/the-principles-of-a-free-constitution-are-irrecoverably-lost-when-the/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [The parliamentary principle of vesting legislative power in the decision of the majority rejects the authority of the individual and puts a numerical quota…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-parliamentary-principle-of-vesting-legislative-power-in-the/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [There is as yet no liberty if the power of judging be not separated from legislative power and the executrix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-de-montesquieu/there-is-as-yet-no-liberty-if-the-power-of-judging-be-not-separated/) [Baron de Montesquieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-de-montesquieu/) > [“Madison suggested that the president should have “power to carry into effect the national laws, to appoint to offices in cases not otherwise provided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brion-t-mcclanahan/madison-suggested-that-the-president-should-have-power-to-carry-into/) [Brion T. McClanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brion-t-mcclanahan/) > [In Islam, the legislative power and competence to establish laws belong exclusively to God Almighty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruhollah-khomeini/in-islam-the-legislative-power-and-competence-to-establish-laws/) [Ruhollah Khomeini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruhollah-khomeini/) > [Nothing in the 14th Amendment or in any other constitutional provision suggests that the president may usurp legislative power to prevent a violation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-tribe/nothing-in-the-14th-amendment-or-in-any-other-constitutional/) [Laurence Tribe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-tribe/) > [I have appealed to our own experience for the truth of what I advance on this subject \[that the legislative power is the predominant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/i-have-appealed-to-our-own-experience-for-the-truth-of-what-i-advance/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/elections-belong-to-the-people-it-s-their-decision-if-they-decide-to/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) ## More by Philip Hamburger > [“On behalf of the deference under the Administrative Procedure Act, it is said that Congress is not constitutionally barred from authorizing deference—as if Congress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-hamburger/on-behalf-of-the-deference-under-the-administrative-procedure-act-it/) [Philip Hamburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-hamburger/) > [“By the same token, the executive cannot exercise legislative power, even if it has legislative authorization, for when it acts alone, it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-hamburger/by-the-same-token-the-executive-cannot-exercise-legislative-power/) [Philip Hamburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-hamburger/) > [“Indeed, they embraced a tradition that was notorious for its incompatibility with American law and liberty. 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Although this mode of power is unrecognized by the Constitution, it has become the government’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-hamburger/administrative-law-thereby-has-transformed-american-government-and/) [Philip Hamburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-hamburger/) > [“The danger of an administrative return to an extralegal regime becomes particularly concrete when one recognizes the potential for evasion. 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Legal obligation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-hamburger/in-general-the-natural-dividing-line-between-legislative-and/) [Philip Hamburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-hamburger/) > [“This breadth of constitutional law in barring extralegal legislation is revealing about more than the past. The reader will have to wait patiently until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-hamburger/this-breadth-of-constitutional-law-in-barring-extralegal-legislation/) [Philip Hamburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-hamburger/) > [“Following in this tradition, Americans constitutions almost uniformly authorized American governments to act against their subjects only through and under law. As put by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-hamburger/following-in-this-tradition-americans-constitutions-almost-uniformly/) [Philip Hamburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-hamburger/) > [“And already here the danger should be evident—that government has returned to the era before constitutions, when kings or executives ruled not through law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-hamburger/and-already-here-the-danger-should-be-evident-that-government-has/) [Philip Hamburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-hamburger/) > [“Some specialized types of administrative legislation require further attention—for example, determinations that make law. These determinations echo the old determinations of facts, in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-hamburger/some-specialized-types-of-administrative-legislation-require-further/) [Philip Hamburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-hamburger/) > [“Roger Twysden—a mid-seventeenth-century commentator—observed, “This maxim, that the king cannot alone alter the law” is “the basis or ground of all the liberty and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-hamburger/roger-twysden-a-mid-seventeenth-century-commentator-observed-this/) [Philip Hamburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-hamburger/) > [“Gary Lawson observes: “The modern administrative state is not merely unconstitutional; it is anti-constitutional. 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But right now, as of October 17, 2014, the Republican Senate candidates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-continetti/there-is-plenty-of-time-for-republicans-to-have-a-macaca-moment-but/) [Matthew Continetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-continetti/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [ Vote for Donald Trump. You're going to see something and you'll be so happy, you'll be so thrilled. 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