--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I do not wish to be either governor nor…" description: "\"I do not wish to be either governor nor governed!\" — Pierre-Joseph Proudhon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/826/pierre-joseph-proudhon-11634_governors_i-do-not-wish-to-be-either-governor-nor_1819937.jpg" --- # I do not wish to be either governor nor governed! ![“I do not wish to be either governor nor governed!” quote by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/826/pierre-joseph-proudhon-11634_governors_i-do-not-wish-to-be-either-governor-nor_1819937.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/826/pierre-joseph-proudhon-11634_governors_i-do-not-wish-to-be-either-governor-nor_1819937.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/826/pierre-joseph-proudhon-11634_governors_i-do-not-wish-to-be-either-governor-nor_1819937.jpg) > “I do not wish to be either governor nor governed!” [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker rejects both exercising authority and being subject to it, advocating for autonomy. **In simple terms:** Rejecting both ruling and being ruled. Key Takeaway Seek self‑governance and mutual respect. Themes autonomy politics freedom Mood defiant reflective Type political philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - community governance - political activism Key Concepts anarchism self‑determination Questions to Reflect On - Can true independence exist? - What alternatives to governance are viable? A Different Perspective Total autonomy may be impractical. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Governed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/governed/) [Governor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/governor/) [Governor Governed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/governor-governed-2184555/) [Governors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/governors/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) [Wish Governor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish-governor-2184554/) ## Related quotes > [“To be GOVERNED is to be watched, inspected, spied upon, directed, law-driven, numbered, regulated, enrolled, indoctrinated, preached at, controlled, checked, estimated, valued, censured, commanded,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/to-be-governed-is-to-be-watched-inspected-spied-upon-directed-law-3/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [To be governed is to be watched, inspected, spied upon, directed, law-ridden, regulated, penned up, indoctrinated, preached at, checked, appraised, seized, censured, commanded, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/to-be-governed-is-to-be-watched-inspected-spied-upon-directed-law-2/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [To be governed is, under pretext of public utility and in the name of the general interest, to be laid under contribution, drilled, fleeced,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/to-be-governed-is-under-pretext-of-public-utility-and-in-the-name-of/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [To be governed ... is to be watched, inspected, directed, indoctrinated, numbered, estimated, regulated, commanded, controlled, law-driven, preached at, spied upon, censured, checked, valued,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/to-be-governed-is-to-be-watched-inspected-directed-indoctrinated/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [Let me tell you, it’s a lot easier to raise money for a governor. They have all kinds of business to hand out, road…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcauliffe/let-me-tell-you-it-s-a-lot-easier-to-raise-money-for-a-governor-they/) [Terry McAuliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcauliffe/) > [In the governor's race, Chris Bell has as good a shot as anybody in a four-way race. If Bell holds on to his base…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-martin/in-the-governor-s-race-chris-bell-has-as-good-a-shot-as-anybody-in-a/) [Ed Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-martin/) > [If you want gridlock in Washington,then I'm probably not your guy because I'm running a campaign to say I can fix these things because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bush/if-you-want-gridlock-in-washington-then-i-m-probably-not-your-guy/) [Jeb Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-bush/) > [Illinois is the only state where the present governor rides around in a car whose license plate was made by a previous governor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/illinois-is-the-only-state-where-the-present-governor-rides-around-in/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [It is puzzling why anyone would want to (become governor of California). It's like vying to become Roseanne Barr's next husband. Sure you'd get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/it-is-puzzling-why-anyone-would-want-to-become-governor-of-california/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [The most anxious man in a prison is the governor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-most-anxious-man-in-a-prison-is-the-governor/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/well-governor-we-also-have-fewer-horses-and-bayonets/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Tim Kaine has been obviously a governor. He's been a senator. He's one of the smartest rising stars in the Democratic Party. He is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/tim-kaine-has-been-obviously-a-governor-he-s-been-a-senator-he-s-one/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [The people I have no feeling for are professional killers. But I count that man no worse than a governor who won't commute a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-lee-bailey/the-people-i-have-no-feeling-for-are-professional-killers-but-i-count/) [F. Lee Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-lee-bailey/) > [This is a difference between being a governor and being in a legislature. Because when something doesn't work in New Jersey, they look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-christie/this-is-a-difference-between-being-a-governor-and-being-in-a/) [Chris Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-christie/) > [ I do not make decisions \[as governor\] based on what have I learned through my Bible studies, what have I learned in my religious… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-schwarzenegger/i-do-not-make-decisions-as-governor-based-on-what-have-i-learned/) [Arnold Schwarzenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-schwarzenegger/) ## More by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon > [When deeds speak, words are nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/when-deeds-speak-words-are-nothing/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [In any given society the authority of man over man runs in inverse proportion to the intellectual development of that society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/in-any-given-society-the-authority-of-man-over-man-runs-in-inverse/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [Communism is inequality, but not as property is. Property is exploitation of the weak by the strong. Communism is exploitation of the strong by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/communism-is-inequality-but-not-as-property-is-property-is/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [ The faults of which we ask you \[God\] the remittance, it is you who make us commit them; the traps of which we implore… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/the-faults-of-which-we-ask-you-god-the-remittance-it-is-you-who-make/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [Does it seem to you impossible to imagine anything more inextricable than the social contract, when you think of the frightful number of relations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/does-it-seem-to-you-impossible-to-imagine-anything-more-inextricable/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [The proprietor, producing neither by his own labor nor by his implement, and receiving products in exchange for nothing, is either a parasite or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/the-proprietor-producing-neither-by-his-own-labor-nor-by-his/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [The great are only great because we are on our knees. Let us rise!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/the-great-are-only-great-because-we-are-on-our-knees-let-us-rise/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [The social revolution is seriously compromised if it comes through a political revolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/the-social-revolution-is-seriously-compromised-if-it-comes-through-a/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [Property is impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/property-is-impossible/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [Justice is a faculty that may be developed. This development is what constitutes the education of the human race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/justice-is-a-faculty-that-may-be-developed-this-development-is-what/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [To be governed ... is to be watched, inspected, directed, indoctrinated, numbered, estimated, regulated, commanded, controlled, law-driven, preached at, spied upon, censured, checked, valued,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/to-be-governed-is-to-be-watched-inspected-directed-indoctrinated/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [Communism--the first expression of the social nature--is the first term of social development--the thesis; property, the reverse of communism, is the second term--the antithesis.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/communism-the-first-expression-of-the-social-nature-is-the-first-term/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [Democracy is nothing but the Tyranny of Majorities, the most abominable tyranny of all, for it is not based on the authority of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/democracy-is-nothing-but-the-tyranny-of-majorities-the-most/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [“Of a real, true contract, on whatsoever subject, there is no vestige in Rousseau's book. To give an exact idea of his theory, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/of-a-real-true-contract-on-whatsoever-subject-there-is-no-vestige-in/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [the government can do nothing for you. But you can do everything for yourselves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/the-government-can-do-nothing-for-you-but-you-can-do-everything-for/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) [Explore all 57 Pierre-Joseph Proudhon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) ## More Governed quotes > [The only legitimate right to govern is an express grant of power from the governed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-harrison/the-only-legitimate-right-to-govern-is-an-express-grant-of-power-from/) [William Henry Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-harrison/) > [The prime communities of the Southwest are survival communities. Their sustenance is governed by rainfall and wind direction. You can study little enclaves of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-predock/the-prime-communities-of-the-southwest-are-survival-communities-their/) [Antoine Predock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-predock/) > [A well governed people are generally a people who do not think much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-siegfried/a-well-governed-people-are-generally-a-people-who-do-not-think-much/) [Andre Siegfried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-siegfried/) > [True is the saying: 'In order to make the world tranquil and happy, the nation must first be well governed!'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-yat-sen/true-is-the-saying-in-order-to-make-the-world-tranquil-and-happy-the/) [Sun Yat-sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-yat-sen/) > [That is because the conflict with al Qaeda is not governed by the Geneva Conventions, which applies only to international conflicts between states that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-yoo/that-is-because-the-conflict-with-al-qaeda-is-not-governed-by-the/) [John Yoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-yoo/) > [Men can never escape being governed. Either they must govern themselves or they must submit to being governed by others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/men-can-never-escape-being-governed-either-they-must-govern/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [We must be governed by the force of law, not by the law of force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sloane-coffin/we-must-be-governed-by-the-force-of-law-not-by-the-law-of-force/) [William Sloane Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sloane-coffin/) > [Government has ceased to mean upholding and reinforcing the traditional rights and morals of the governed; it now means compulsion in the service of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/government-has-ceased-to-mean-upholding-and-reinforcing-the/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [Democracy is a device that ensures the people shall be governed no better than they deserve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-scaramucci/democracy-is-a-device-that-ensures-the-people-shall-be-governed-no/) [Anthony Scaramucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-scaramucci/) > [In a democratic set-up, people who are being governed should also be a part of the governing system. They should be drafted into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajyavardhan-singh-rathore/in-a-democratic-set-up-people-who-are-being-governed-should-also-be-a/) [Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajyavardhan-singh-rathore/) > [I must govern the clock, not be governed by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/golda-meir/i-must-govern-the-clock-not-be-governed-by-it/) [Golda Meir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/golda-meir/) > [I think parenting is very different now. We're totally governed by our children!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/i-think-parenting-is-very-different-now-we-re-totally-governed-by-our/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [The world cannot be governed without juggling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-selden/the-world-cannot-be-governed-without-juggling/) [John Selden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-selden/) > [Governments must conform to the nature of the men governed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giambattista-vico/governments-must-conform-to-the-nature-of-the-men-governed/) [Giambattista Vico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giambattista-vico/) > [A lot of what I've done as Nine Inch Nails has been governed by fear. I was trying to keep the songs in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trent-reznor/a-lot-of-what-i-ve-done-as-nine-inch-nails-has-been-governed-by-fear/) [Trent Reznor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trent-reznor/) [Browse all 134 Governed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/governed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I do not wish to be either governor nor governed!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pierre-Joseph Proudhon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/i-do-not-wish-to-be-either-governor-nor-governed/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Governed" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/i-do-not-wish-to-be-either-governor-nor-governed/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/826/pierre-joseph-proudhon-11634_governors_i-do-not-wish-to-be-either-governor-nor_1819937.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/826/pierre-joseph-proudhon-11634_governors_i-do-not-wish-to-be-either-governor-nor_1819937.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/826/pierre-joseph-proudhon-11634_governors_i-do-not-wish-to-be-either-governor-nor_1819937.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I do not wish to be either governor nor governed!” — Pierre-Joseph Proudhon", "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": "Pierre-Joseph Proudhon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I do not wish to be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/i-do-not-wish-to-be-either-governor-nor-governed/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/i-do-not-wish-to-be-either-governor-nor-governed/#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 } } ] } ```