--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A tiny and closed fraternity of…" description: "\"A tiny and closed fraternity of privileged men, elected by no one, and enjoying a monopoly sanctioned and licensed by government.\" — Spiro T. Agnew" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31f/spiro-t-agnew-12707_fraternity_a-tiny-and-closed-fraternity-of-privileg_1799379.jpg" --- # A tiny and closed fraternity of privileged men, elected by… ![“A tiny and closed fraternity of privileged men, elected by no one, and enjoying a monopoly sanctioned and licensed by government.” quote by Spiro T. Agnew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31f/spiro-t-agnew-12707_fraternity_a-tiny-and-closed-fraternity-of-privileg_1799379.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31f/spiro-t-agnew-12707_fraternity_a-tiny-and-closed-fraternity-of-privileg_1799379.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31f/spiro-t-agnew-12707_fraternity_a-tiny-and-closed-fraternity-of-privileg_1799379.jpg) > “A tiny and closed fraternity of privileged men, elected by no one, and enjoying a monopoly sanctioned and licensed by government.” [Spiro T. Agnew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spiro-t-agnew/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A small, exclusive group of powerful men controls authority without public selection, backed by the state. **In simple terms:** Privileged men control power without public choice. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge unaccountable power structures. Themes power elitism government accountability Mood critical concerned Type political analytical When to use this quote - political activism - journalism - civic education - policy reform Key Concepts political theory elite capture democracy Questions to Reflect On - How does lack of public election affect legitimacy? - What mechanisms can ensure accountability? A Different Perspective Such groups may claim legitimacy through tradition, which can be hard to dismantle. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fraternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fraternity/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Monopoly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monopoly/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) ## Related quotes > [Old models of farming with chemicals and credit mostly favored privileged men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/old-models-of-farming-with-chemicals-and-credit-mostly-favored/) [Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/) > [It's a little simplistic to say trans men are privileged because they're men. I was socialized female and I transitioned at 25, so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-ernst/it-s-a-little-simplistic-to-say-trans-men-are-privileged-because-they/) [Rhys Ernst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-ernst/) > [It has been the struggle between privileged men who have managed to get hold of the levers of power and the people in general…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/it-has-been-the-struggle-between-privileged-men-who-have-managed-to/) [John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/) > [According to our social pyramid, all men who feel displaced racially, culturally, and/or because of economic hardships will turn on those whom they feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-castillo/according-to-our-social-pyramid-all-men-who-feel-displaced-racially/) [Ana Castillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-castillo/) > [In politics women type the letters, lick the stamps, distribute the pamphlets and get out the vote. Men get elected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-boothe-luce/in-politics-women-type-the-letters-lick-the-stamps-distribute-the/) [Clare Boothe Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-boothe-luce/) > [More men have been elected between Sundown and Sunup than ever were elected between Sunup and Sundown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/more-men-have-been-elected-between-sundown-and-sunup-than-ever-were/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [I cannot doubt that women will line up, like the men elected, with the groups whose political thinking and convictions are in accord with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-rogers/i-cannot-doubt-that-women-will-line-up-like-the-men-elected-with-the/) Edith Rogers > [It is not in the nature of politics that the best men should be elected. The best men do not want to govern their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/it-is-not-in-the-nature-of-politics-that-the-best-men-should-be/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [“Whence follows the plain conclusion, that if all men were elected, no man would perish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/whence-follows-the-plain-conclusion-that-if-all-men-were-elected-no/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [Indian spirituality, proclaimed that the true Godhead was beyond number and count; that it had many manifestations which did not exclude or repel each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-swarup/indian-spirituality-proclaimed-that-the-true-godhead-was-beyond/) Ram Swarup > [Baseball is a game dominated by vital ghosts; it's a fraternity, like no other we have of the active and the no longer so,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-gilman/baseball-is-a-game-dominated-by-vital-ghosts-it-s-a-fraternity-like/) [Richard Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-gilman/) > [My mother worked as a maid, cleaning the fraternity dorm of the local college.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/my-mother-worked-as-a-maid-cleaning-the-fraternity-dorm-of-the-local/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [The French Revolution gave us three... powerful ideas, or concepts - liberty, equality and fraternity. But these ideas... are not only right in themselves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-barenboim/the-french-revolution-gave-us-three-powerful-ideas-or-concepts/) [Daniel Barenboim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-barenboim/) > [I would say my fraternity was nothing but a bunch of farm boys; we weren't really in the whole fraternity scene, but yeah, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-bryan/i-would-say-my-fraternity-was-nothing-but-a-bunch-of-farm-boys-we/) [Luke Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-bryan/) > [David Rockefeller is the most conspicuous representative today of the ruling class, a multinational fraternity of men who shape the global economy and manage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-moyers/david-rockefeller-is-the-most-conspicuous-representative-today-of-the/) [Bill Moyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-moyers/) ## More by Spiro T. Agnew > [You can't hit my team in the groin and expect me to smile about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spiro-t-agnew/you-can-t-hit-my-team-in-the-groin-and-expect-me-to-smile-about-it/) [Spiro T. Agnew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spiro-t-agnew/) > [Nixon's own protection from the assassin's bullet... nattering nabobs of negativism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spiro-t-agnew/nixon-s-own-protection-from-the-assassin-s-bullet-nattering-nabobs-of/) [Spiro T. Agnew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spiro-t-agnew/) > [The student now goes to college to proclaim rather than to learn. A spirit of national masochism prevails, encouraged by an effete corps of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spiro-t-agnew/the-student-now-goes-to-college-to-proclaim-rather-than-to-learn-a/) [Spiro T. Agnew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spiro-t-agnew/) > [Three things have been difficult to tame: the oceans, fools and women. We may soon be able to tame the oceans; fools and women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spiro-t-agnew/three-things-have-been-difficult-to-tame-the-oceans-fools-and-women/) [Spiro T. Agnew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spiro-t-agnew/) > [In the United States today, we have more than our share of the nattering nabobs of negativism. They have formed their own 4-H Club…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spiro-t-agnew/in-the-united-states-today-we-have-more-than-our-share-of-the/) [Spiro T. Agnew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spiro-t-agnew/) > [If a theology student in lowa should get up at a PTA luncheon in Sioux City and attack the President's military policy, my guess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spiro-t-agnew/if-a-theology-student-in-lowa-should-get-up-at-a-pta-luncheon-in/) [Spiro T. Agnew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spiro-t-agnew/) > [... vicars of vacillation ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spiro-t-agnew/vicars-of-vacillation/) [Spiro T. Agnew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spiro-t-agnew/) > [An intellectual is a man who doesn't know how to park a bike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spiro-t-agnew/an-intellectual-is-a-man-who-doesn-t-know-how-to-park-a-bike/) [Spiro T. Agnew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spiro-t-agnew/) > [I am not asking for government censorship or any other kind of censorship. I am asking whether a kind of censorship already exists when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spiro-t-agnew/i-am-not-asking-for-government-censorship-or-any-other-kind-of/) [Spiro T. Agnew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spiro-t-agnew/) > [Some of the politicians in this country, in their feverish search for group acceptance, are ready to endorse tumultuous confrontation as a substitute for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spiro-t-agnew/some-of-the-politicians-in-this-country-in-their-feverish-search-for/) [Spiro T. Agnew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spiro-t-agnew/) > [A raised eyebrow, an inflection of the voice, a caustic remark dropped in the middle of a broadcast can raise doubts in a million…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spiro-t-agnew/a-raised-eyebrow-an-inflection-of-the-voice-a-caustic-remark-dropped/) [Spiro T. Agnew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spiro-t-agnew/) > [Listening to Democrats complain about inflation is like listening to germs complain about disease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spiro-t-agnew/listening-to-democrats-complain-about-inflation-is-like-listening-to/) [Spiro T. Agnew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spiro-t-agnew/) > [Ultraliberalism today translates into a whimpering isolationism in foreign policy, a mulish obstructionism in domestic policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spiro-t-agnew/ultraliberalism-today-translates-into-a-whimpering-isolationism-in/) [Spiro T. Agnew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spiro-t-agnew/) > [Some newspapers dispose of their garbage by printing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spiro-t-agnew/some-newspapers-dispose-of-their-garbage-by-printing-it/) [Spiro T. Agnew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spiro-t-agnew/) > [The United States, for all its faults, is till the greatest nation in the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spiro-t-agnew/the-united-states-for-all-its-faults-is-till-the-greatest-nation-in/) [Spiro T. Agnew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spiro-t-agnew/) [Explore all 53 Spiro T. Agnew quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spiro-t-agnew/) ## More Fraternity quotes > [David Rockefeller is the most conspicuous representative today of the ruling class, a multinational fraternity of men who shape the global economy and manage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-moyers/david-rockefeller-is-the-most-conspicuous-representative-today-of-the/) [Bill Moyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-moyers/) > [I would say my fraternity was nothing but a bunch of farm boys; we weren't really in the whole fraternity scene, but yeah, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-bryan/i-would-say-my-fraternity-was-nothing-but-a-bunch-of-farm-boys-we/) [Luke Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-bryan/) > [The French Revolution gave us three... powerful ideas, or concepts - liberty, equality and fraternity. But these ideas... are not only right in themselves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-barenboim/the-french-revolution-gave-us-three-powerful-ideas-or-concepts/) [Daniel Barenboim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-barenboim/) > [My mother worked as a maid, cleaning the fraternity dorm of the local college.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/my-mother-worked-as-a-maid-cleaning-the-fraternity-dorm-of-the-local/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [Baseball is a game dominated by vital ghosts; it's a fraternity, like no other we have of the active and the no longer so,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-gilman/baseball-is-a-game-dominated-by-vital-ghosts-it-s-a-fraternity-like/) [Richard Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-gilman/) > [Indian spirituality, proclaimed that the true Godhead was beyond number and count; that it had many manifestations which did not exclude or repel each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-swarup/indian-spirituality-proclaimed-that-the-true-godhead-was-beyond/) Ram Swarup > [“She knew instinctively: he will be fine as the fraternity boy just out of an Ivy League school who knows he will never stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/she-knew-instinctively-he-will-be-fine-as-the-fraternity-boy-just-out/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Common right is nought but the protection of all radiating over the right of each. This protection of all is termed Fraternity. The point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/common-right-is-nought-but-the-protection-of-all-radiating-over-the/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [One little secret of the guys who have won one slam, is that we don't want other guys to win one because its like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-roddick/one-little-secret-of-the-guys-who-have-won-one-slam-is-that-we-don-t/) [Andy Roddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-roddick/) > [I imagine that one of the biggest troubles with colleges is there are too many distractions, too much panty-raiding, fraternities, and boola-boola and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/i-imagine-that-one-of-the-biggest-troubles-with-colleges-is-there-are/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [For me certainly Earl Campbell and Tony Dorsett come to mind, and Roger Staubach. I've grown up here in Dallas watching Roger and his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-brown/for-me-certainly-earl-campbell-and-tony-dorsett-come-to-mind-and/) [Tim Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-brown/) > [In India, most people are not aware or are unconcerned about copyright laws. This has proved disastrous for the music fraternity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilaiyaraaja/in-india-most-people-are-not-aware-or-are-unconcerned-about-copyright/) [Ilaiyaraaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilaiyaraaja/) > [Knuckleball pitching is a very small fraternity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wakefield/knuckleball-pitching-is-a-very-small-fraternity/) [Tim Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wakefield/) > [Doing a reality show is like being in a fraternity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bert-kreischer/doing-a-reality-show-is-like-being-in-a-fraternity/) [Bert Kreischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bert-kreischer/) > [“Brothers and sisters we are like one thing,like a soil filled with specialities such as caring and fraternity”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucas-fenyane/brothers-and-sisters-we-are-like-one-thing-like-a-soil-filled-with/) Lucas fenyane [Browse all 236 Fraternity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fraternity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A tiny and closed fraternity of privileged men, elected by no one, and enjoying a monopoly sanctioned and licensed by government.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Spiro T. 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