--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art is not a mobocracy. It’s a republic." description: "\"“Art is not a mobocracy. It’s a republic.”\" — Richard Powers" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/763/richard-powers-8111_art_art-is-not-a-mobocracy-it-s-a-republic-3_3223494.jpg" --- # Art is not a mobocracy. It’s a republic. ![“Art is not a mobocracy. It’s a republic.” quote by Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/763/richard-powers-8111_art_art-is-not-a-mobocracy-it-s-a-republic-3_3223494.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/763/richard-powers-8111_art_art-is-not-a-mobocracy-it-s-a-republic-3_3223494.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/763/richard-powers-8111_art_art-is-not-a-mobocracy-it-s-a-republic-3_3223494.jpg) > ““Art is not a mobocracy. It’s a republic.”” [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art thrives when governed by shared standards rather than majority rule, emphasizing collective responsibility. **In simple terms:** Art works best with shared standards. Key Takeaway Promote collaborative decision‑making in art. Themes art governance collaboration Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - museum c - artist collectives - public art projects - cultural policy Key Concepts aesthetics public good collective responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance shared standards with individual expression? - What mechanisms ensure diverse voices in artistic decisions? A Different Perspective May limit creative freedom if consensus suppresses dissent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Republic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/republic/) ## Related quotes > [“Mobocracy in democracy is a perfect ochlocracy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anyaele-sam-chiyson/mobocracy-in-democracy-is-a-perfect-ochlocracy/) Anyaele Sam Chiyson > [The republic I fell in love with, the republic I risked my life to defend, the values I hold dear, the integrity that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-west/the-republic-i-fell-in-love-with-the-republic-i-risked-my-life-to/) [Allen West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-west/) > [A republic, by which I mean a government in which the scheme of representation takes place, opens a different prospect and promises the cure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/a-republic-by-which-i-mean-a-government-in-which-the-scheme-of/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [A Republic is its people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-nath-kovind/a-republic-is-its-people/) [Ram Nath Kovind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-nath-kovind/) > [“I bet the Republic hasn't seen the last of you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-lu/i-bet-the-republic-hasn-t-seen-the-last-of-you/) [Marie Lu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-lu/) > [The American founding is not just about a group of people, a group of men. 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People there are overflowing with energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-have-lived-in-countries-that-were-coming-out-of-conflict-ireland/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) ## More by Richard Powers > [I write the way you might arrange flowers. Not every try works, but each one launches another. Every constraint, even dullness, frees up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/i-write-the-way-you-might-arrange-flowers-not-every-try-works-but/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [If you're going to immerse yourself in a project for three years, why not stake out a chunk of the world that is completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/if-you-re-going-to-immerse-yourself-in-a-project-for-three-years-why/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [“It seemed to me that half of life’s problems would be solved if one of us had a vagina.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/it-seemed-to-me-that-half-of-life-s-problems-would-be-solved-if-one/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [“Information may travel at light speed, but meaning spreads at the speed of dark.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/information-may-travel-at-light-speed-but-meaning-spreads-at-the/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [Science is not about control. It is about cultivating a perpetual condition of wonder in the face of something that forever grows one step…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/science-is-not-about-control-it-is-about-cultivating-a-perpetual/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [What we can do should never by itself determine what we choose to do, yet this is the way technology tends to work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/what-we-can-do-should-never-by-itself-determine-what-we-choose-to-do/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [I really like science because it seems to be that place where you get the big picture, everything connects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/i-really-like-science-because-it-seems-to-be-that-place-where-you-get/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [For me, university was just awful because it was closing one door after the other of all these candy shops of professional possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/for-me-university-was-just-awful-because-it-was-closing-one-door/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [We will live with racism for ever. 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It is you, in silence, hearing voices in your head, unfolding at a time that has nothing to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/a-book-is-still-atemporal-it-is-you-in-silence-hearing-voices-in-your/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [My dream has always been to suspend myself in space when I write, and lying horizontal in bed is the closest to doing that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/my-dream-has-always-been-to-suspend-myself-in-space-when-i-write-and/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [“Je ne fais aucun mal en restant ici. I do no harm by remaining here.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/je-ne-fais-aucun-mal-en-restant-ici-i-do-no-harm-by-remaining-here/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [The use of music is to remind us how short a time we have a body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/the-use-of-music-is-to-remind-us-how-short-a-time-we-have-a-body/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) [Explore all 84 Richard Powers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Art is not a mobocracy. 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