--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ego trips by coteries of self-exalting…" description: "\"Ego trips by coteries of self-exalting people are treated in the media as idealism, rather than the petty tyranny it is.\" — Thomas Sowell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/942/thomas-sowell-247_ego_ego-trips-by-coteries-of-self-exalting-p_1413141.jpg" --- # Ego trips by coteries of self-exalting people are treated… ![“Ego trips by coteries of self-exalting people are treated in the media as idealism, rather than the petty tyranny it is.” quote by Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/942/thomas-sowell-247_ego_ego-trips-by-coteries-of-self-exalting-p_1413141.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/942/thomas-sowell-247_ego_ego-trips-by-coteries-of-self-exalting-p_1413141.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/942/thomas-sowell-247_ego_ego-trips-by-coteries-of-self-exalting-p_1413141.jpg) > “Ego trips by coteries of self-exalting people are treated in the media as idealism, rather than the petty tyranny it is.” [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Media glorifies self‑important groups as idealistic, ignoring their petty tyranny. **In simple terms:** Media can misrepresent power. Key Takeaway Critically evaluate praised narratives. Themes media power idealism tyranny Mood skeptical critical Type political analytical When to use this quote - news consumption - political discourse - social media Key Concepts propaganda social hierarchy critique Practical Applications - Idealism can mask oppression. Questions to Reflect On - What signs reveal underlying tyranny? A Different Perspective Why do we admire charismatic leaders? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego/) [Ego trip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego-trip/) [Idealism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealism/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Tyranny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyranny/) ## Related quotes > [Remember, most of the things you think you need are ego trips designed to bolster your image and your perception of security… You'll waste…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-wilde/remember-most-of-the-things-you-think-you-need-are-ego-trips-designed/) [Stuart Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-wilde/) > [The moment one starts sharing one's being without any motive life becomes a sweet fragrance. It is all honey. Then everything remains the same,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-moment-one-starts-sharing-one-s-being-without-any-motive-life/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I don't know that I ever wanted greatness, on its own. It seems rather like wanting to be an engineer, rather than wanting to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/i-don-t-know-that-i-ever-wanted-greatness-on-its-own-it-seems-rather/) [Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/) > [Drop jealousy and love wells up. Jealousy means that I am the owner. It is an ego trip, and wherever there is ego there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/drop-jealousy-and-love-wells-up-jealousy-means-that-i-am-the-owner-it/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [You may be trying to attain power in this world, then you start trying to attain power in that world. First you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/you-may-be-trying-to-attain-power-in-this-world-then-you-start-trying/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Questing... is not an ego trip; it is an adventure to bring into fulfillment your gift to the world, which is yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/questing-is-not-an-ego-trip-it-is-an-adventure-to-bring-into/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [How do you tell a story that you're a part of without it being a big ego trip?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-weide/how-do-you-tell-a-story-that-you-re-a-part-of-without-it-being-a-big/) [Robert B. Weide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-weide/) > [One way to think about what psychedelics are is as catalysts for language development. They literally force the evolution of language. You cannot evolve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/one-way-to-think-about-what-psychedelics-are-is-as-catalysts-for/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I keep on repeating, I'll say it for the last time-I'm not on some ego trip.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-maxwell/i-keep-on-repeating-i-ll-say-it-for-the-last-time-i-m-not-on-some-ego/) [Robert Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-maxwell/) > [I'm very happy that I have an Italian version, a French version, and then I have my own company, but I'm not obsessed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-lagerfeld/i-m-very-happy-that-i-have-an-italian-version-a-french-version-and/) [Karl Lagerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-lagerfeld/) > [Infinity: Time on an ego trip.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-wagner/infinity-time-on-an-ego-trip/) [Jane Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-wagner/) > [Meditation is like light: when meditation comes, politics disappears. So you cannot be meditative and political. That is impossible: you are asking for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/meditation-is-like-light-when-meditation-comes-politics-disappears-so/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [You will have to go deep into man. From where comes this violence? From where comes this exploitation? From where come all these ego-trips?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/you-will-have-to-go-deep-into-man-from-where-comes-this-violence-from/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [The limousine is the ultimate ego trip, the supreme sign of success. It shouts: Hey, this guy is really and truly Mr Big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-proxmire/the-limousine-is-the-ultimate-ego-trip-the-supreme-sign-of-success-it/) [William Proxmire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-proxmire/) > [One has to be very alert to go beyond lust. And one has to be constantly aware of jealousy, of possessiveness, of domination, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/one-has-to-be-very-alert-to-go-beyond-lust-and-one-has-to-be/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) ## More by Thomas Sowell > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [There is no bigger waste of time than doing 90% of what is necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/there-is-no-bigger-waste-of-time-than-doing-90-of-what-is-necessary/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [If you have always believed that everyone should play by the same rules and be judged by the same standards, that would have gotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/if-you-have-always-believed-that-everyone-should-play-by-the-same/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“In 1962, Democratic President John F. Kennedy, like both Democratic and Republican Presidents and Secretaries of the Treasury in earlier years, pointed out that “it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/in-1962-democratic-president-john-f-kennedy-like-both-democratic-and/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Ideological bigotry has become the norm on even our most prestigious campuses, where students can go for years without reading or hearing anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/ideological-bigotry-has-become-the-norm-on-even-our-most-prestigious/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Bailing out people who made ill-advised mortgages makes no more sense that bailing out people who lost their life savings in Las Vegas casinos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/bailing-out-people-who-made-ill-advised-mortgages-makes-no-more-sense/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“One third of all Scots in the mid-nineteenth century moved from one county to another”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/one-third-of-all-scots-in-the-mid-nineteenth-century-moved-from-one/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The difference is that we have the hardest and most painful evidence that there was a Holocaust. But, for the global warming scenario that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-difference-is-that-we-have-the-hardest-and-most-painful-evidence/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“Just as price fluctuations allocate scarce resources which have alternative uses, price controls which limit those fluctuations reduce the incentives for individuals to limit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/just-as-price-fluctuations-allocate-scarce-resources-which-have/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The greatest danger to the liberal vision are facts about the consequences of liberalism itself and the laws, policies, and ways of life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-greatest-danger-to-the-liberal-vision-are-facts-about-the/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Having spent years ruining the housing markets with their interference, leading to a housing meltdown that has taken the whole economy down with it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/having-spent-years-ruining-the-housing-markets-with-their/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Do all children have some inherent right to live in America if they have done nothing wrong? If not, then why should the children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/do-all-children-have-some-inherent-right-to-live-in-america-if-they/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [What 'eminent domain' laws mean in practice is that politicians have a right to seize your property and turn it over to someone else,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/what-eminent-domain-laws-mean-in-practice-is-that-politicians-have-a/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“those parts of the British Isles without the advantage of coal deposits or ports, industrialization was as handicapped as in other countries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/those-parts-of-the-british-isles-without-the-advantage-of-coal/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The whole idea of equal justice under law is completely incompatible with the idea of judges deciding cases according to "empathy".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-whole-idea-of-equal-justice-under-law-is-completely-incompatible/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) [Explore all 823 Thomas Sowell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## More Ego quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [For us who are now in power, we need to be challenged to serve the people and ignore our own egos and personal interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/for-us-who-are-now-in-power-we-need-to-be-challenged-to-serve-the/) [Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/) > [I love playing ego and insecurity combined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-carrey/i-love-playing-ego-and-insecurity-combined/) [Jim Carrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-carrey/) > [“sometimes when everything seems at its worst when all conspires and gnaws and the hours, days, weeks years seem wasted – stretched there upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/sometimes-when-everything-seems-at-its-worst-when-all-conspires-and/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I'm a straight shooter, and most of the time my ego doesn't interrupt my relationships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-macht/i-m-a-straight-shooter-and-most-of-the-time-my-ego-doesn-t-interrupt/) [Gabriel Macht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-macht/) > [Thinking, or more precisely identification with thinking, gives rise to and maintains the ego, which, in our Western society in particular, is out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/thinking-or-more-precisely-identification-with-thinking-gives-rise-to/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Beware of self-indulgence. The romance surrounding the writing profession carries several myths: that one must suffer in order to be creative; that one must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/beware-of-self-indulgence-the-romance-surrounding-the-writing/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [“There are two kinds of people: goal-oriented and ego-oriented. Goal-oriented people work together and get things gone. Ego-oriented people don’t work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charbel-tadros/there-are-two-kinds-of-people-goal-oriented-and-ego-oriented-goal/) [Charbel Tadros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charbel-tadros/) > [Heart surgeons do not have the world's smallest egos: when you ask them to name the world's three leading practitioners, they never can remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/heart-surgeons-do-not-have-the-world-s-smallest-egos-when-you-ask/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [I hate acting when I see it. I don't want to feel it, I don't want to see it, I want to be taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-hauer/i-hate-acting-when-i-see-it-i-don-t-want-to-feel-it-i-don-t-want-to/) [Rutger Hauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-hauer/) > [It's a constant man-ego-check going on in the streets, in this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/it-s-a-constant-man-ego-check-going-on-in-the-streets-in-this-world/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [“... a man doesn't like to have his ego popped, especially when he prides himself on his sagacity, and then to be proved wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-a-bucchianeri/a-man-doesn-t-like-to-have-his-ego-popped-especially-when-he-prides/) [E.A. Bucchianeri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-a-bucchianeri/) > [Our real nature is not our imaginary, limited ego. Our true nature is vast, all-comprehensive, and intangible as empty space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anagarika-govinda/our-real-nature-is-not-our-imaginary-limited-ego-our-true-nature-is/) [Anagarika Govinda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anagarika-govinda/) > [The man of wisdom is devoid of ego even though he may appear to use it. His vacant or fasting mind is neither doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramesh-s-balsekar/the-man-of-wisdom-is-devoid-of-ego-even-though-he-may-appear-to-use/) [Ramesh S Balsekar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramesh-s-balsekar/) > [Show me success without ego!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivana-trump/show-me-success-without-ego/) [Ivana Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivana-trump/) [Browse all 3,462 Ego quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Ego trips by coteries of self-exalting people are treated in the media as idealism, rather than the petty tyranny it is.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Sowell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/ego-trips-by-coteries-of-self-exalting-people-are-treated-in-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ego" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/ego-trips-by-coteries-of-self-exalting-people-are-treated-in-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/942/thomas-sowell-247_ego_ego-trips-by-coteries-of-self-exalting-p_1413141.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/942/thomas-sowell-247_ego_ego-trips-by-coteries-of-self-exalting-p_1413141.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/942/thomas-sowell-247_ego_ego-trips-by-coteries-of-self-exalting-p_1413141.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ego trips by coteries of self-exalting people are treated in the media as idealism, rather than the petty…” — Thomas Sowell", "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 Sowell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Ego trips by coteries of self-exalting...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/ego-trips-by-coteries-of-self-exalting-people-are-treated-in-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/ego-trips-by-coteries-of-self-exalting-people-are-treated-in-the/#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 } } ] } ```