--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Men had better be without education than…" description: "\"Men had better be without education than be educated by their rulers.\" — Thomas Hodgskin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/thomas-hodgskin-80291_educated_men-had-better-be-without-education-than_1118728.jpg" --- # Men had better be without education than be educated by… ![“Men had better be without education than be educated by their rulers.” quote by Thomas Hodgskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/thomas-hodgskin-80291_educated_men-had-better-be-without-education-than_1118728.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/thomas-hodgskin-80291_educated_men-had-better-be-without-education-than_1118728.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/thomas-hodgskin-80291_educated_men-had-better-be-without-education-than_1118728.jpg) > “Men had better be without education than be educated by their rulers.” [Thomas Hodgskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hodgskin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Education imposed by rulers can become a tool of oppression, limiting true freedom and critical thought. **In simple terms:** Rulers' education can oppress. Key Takeaway Seek independent learning. Themes freedom education authority critical thinking Mood cautious critical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - activism - self‑education - community organizing - political discourse Key Concepts political philosophy libertarianism Questions to Reflect On - How can individuals protect intellectual autonomy? - What alternatives to state‑run education exist? A Different Perspective Rulers may still influence through culture and media. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Better Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-education/) [Educated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/educated/) [Educated Rulers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/educated-rulers-1528634/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Education Educated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education-educated-1165788/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-better/) [Rulers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rulers/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) ## Related quotes > [Men had better be without education than be educated by their rulers; for their education is but the mere breaking in of the steer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hodgskin/men-had-better-be-without-education-than-be-educated-by-their-rulers/) [Thomas Hodgskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hodgskin/) > [I remember that - you know, I didnt receive a formal education. I was educated in the Montevideo cafe, in the cafes of Montevideo.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-galeano/i-remember-that-you-know-i-didnt-receive-a-formal-education-i-was/) [Eduardo Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-galeano/) > [As countries get rich they start increasing education and the very educated people tend to not like trial and error, because they think they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/as-countries-get-rich-they-start-increasing-education-and-the-very/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Why do most Americans look up to education and down upon educated people?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/why-do-most-americans-look-up-to-education-and-down-upon-educated/) [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) > [I remember that - you know, I didn't receive a formal education. I was educated in the Montevideo cafe, in the cafes of Montevideo.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-galeano/i-remember-that-you-know-i-didn-t-receive-a-formal-education-i-was/) [Eduardo Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-galeano/) > [Don't' call it a failure, call it an education. Some of us are very educated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/don-t-call-it-a-failure-call-it-an-education-some-of-us-are-very/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [No other investment yields as great a return as the investment in education. An educated workforce is the foundation of every community and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-henry/no-other-investment-yields-as-great-a-return-as-the-investment-in/) [Brad Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-henry/) > [“People can never be educated with education, they can only be educated with humor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sneha-mehta/people-can-never-be-educated-with-education-they-can-only-be-educated/) [Sneha Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sneha-mehta/) > [Everyone wins when children - and especially girls – have access to education. An educated girl is likely to increase her personal earning potential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelique-kidjo/everyone-wins-when-children-and-especially-girls-have-access-to/) [Angelique Kidjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelique-kidjo/) > [Education is a cause very close to me. What matters is encouraging my fans to focus on their education, because only an educated generation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-garrix/education-is-a-cause-very-close-to-me-what-matters-is-encouraging-my/) [Martin Garrix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-garrix/) > [I had no education whatsoever, and my mother said, 'Oh, you'll get a much better education in life.' I did to some extent, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-andrews/i-had-no-education-whatsoever-and-my-mother-said-oh-you-ll-get-a-much/) [Julie Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-andrews/) > [“not because the moral law enjoins unselfishness, but because, given the society in which they live, it is the way in which their impulses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/not-because-the-moral-law-enjoins-unselfishness-but-because-given-the/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [There is no better education than rap battling in terms of performance. It makes you fearless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doc-brown/there-is-no-better-education-than-rap-battling-in-terms-of/) [Doc Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doc-brown/) > [You can't get a better education in what it is to write songs until you listen to American soul music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roisin-murphy/you-can-t-get-a-better-education-in-what-it-is-to-write-songs-until/) [Roisin Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roisin-murphy/) > [By hook or by crook, we're going to make sure that when I leave this office, that the country is more prosperous, more people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/by-hook-or-by-crook-we-re-going-to-make-sure-that-when-i-leave-this/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) ## More by Thomas Hodgskin > [Men had better be without education than be educated by their rulers; for their education is but the mere breaking in of the steer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hodgskin/men-had-better-be-without-education-than-be-educated-by-their-rulers/) [Thomas Hodgskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hodgskin/) > [I look in a right of property - on the right of individuals, to have and to own, for their own separate and selfish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hodgskin/i-look-in-a-right-of-property-on-the-right-of-individuals-to-have-and/) [Thomas Hodgskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hodgskin/) [Explore all 3 Thomas Hodgskin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hodgskin/) ## More Educated quotes > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) > [Though my grandmother had picked up modern ideas in America, she still had some conflicting 19th-century Irish notions. She believed that daughters, educated though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-mahoney/though-my-grandmother-had-picked-up-modern-ideas-in-america-she-still/) [Rosemary Mahoney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-mahoney/) > [Why shouldn't I be confident? I'm well educated, I can deliver a line, and I have more than three expressions. That's good right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonakshi-sinha/why-shouldn-t-i-be-confident-i-m-well-educated-i-can-deliver-a-line/) [Sonakshi Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonakshi-sinha/) > [ He \[an earnest young reporter\] seemed to share the view of many intelligent, well-educated, well-meaning people that, while adult literature may aim to be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/he-an-earnest-young-reporter-seemed-to-share-the-view-of-many/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [The poor and ignorant will continue to lie and steal as long as the rich and educated show them how.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/the-poor-and-ignorant-will-continue-to-lie-and-steal-as-long-as-the/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [I speak not for myself, but so those without a voice can be heard. Those who have fought for their rights. Their right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malala-yousafzai/i-speak-not-for-myself-but-so-those-without-a-voice-can-be-heard/) [Malala Yousafzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malala-yousafzai/) > [The unpreparedness of the educated classes, the lack of practical links between them and the mass of the people, their laziness, and, let it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/the-unpreparedness-of-the-educated-classes-the-lack-of-practical/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [I'm not an educated man. I only know what I'm told, and I'm not told that much; I have no frame of reference for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/i-m-not-an-educated-man-i-only-know-what-i-m-told-and-i-m-not-told/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [“Freedom is for the educated people who fought for it. 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I was educated in some ways by my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronee-blakley/by-the-time-i-was-about-ten-i-had-started-to-lose-faith-with-church/) [Ronee Blakley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronee-blakley/) [Browse all 1,843 Educated quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/educated/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Men had better be without education than be educated by their rulers.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Hodgskin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hodgskin/men-had-better-be-without-education-than-be-educated-by-their-rulers-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Educated" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hodgskin/men-had-better-be-without-education-than-be-educated-by-their-rulers-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/thomas-hodgskin-80291_educated_men-had-better-be-without-education-than_1118728.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/thomas-hodgskin-80291_educated_men-had-better-be-without-education-than_1118728.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/thomas-hodgskin-80291_educated_men-had-better-be-without-education-than_1118728.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Men had better be without education than be educated by their rulers.” — Thomas Hodgskin", "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": "Thomas Hodgskin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hodgskin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Men had better be without education...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hodgskin/men-had-better-be-without-education-than-be-educated-by-their-rulers-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hodgskin/men-had-better-be-without-education-than-be-educated-by-their-rulers-2/#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 } } ] } ```