--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My book is focused on the power of the…" description: "\"My book is focused on the power of the American state, not least because the government of the United States governs so much that the case could be mad..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc6/todd-gitlin-16525_america_my-book-is-focused-on-the-power-of-the-a_538617.jpg" --- # My book is focused on the power of the American state, not… ![“My book is focused on the power of the American state, not least because the government of the United States governs so much that the case could be made that everybody around the world ought to have a vote in determining some of its policies.” quote by Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc6/todd-gitlin-16525_america_my-book-is-focused-on-the-power-of-the-a_538617.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc6/todd-gitlin-16525_america_my-book-is-focused-on-the-power-of-the-a_538617.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc6/todd-gitlin-16525_america_my-book-is-focused-on-the-power-of-the-a_538617.jpg) > “My book is focused on the power of the American state, not least because the government of the United States governs so much that the case could be made that everybody around the world ought to have a vote in determining some of its policies.” [Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author argues that the U.S. government’s extensive influence justifies a global stake in its policy decisions, implying a democratic claim for worldwide participation. **In simple terms:** America’s power is so vast that everyone should help decide its policies. Key Takeaway Consider global input on U.S. policy. Themes democracy global governance power dynamics Mood critical thought‑provoking Type political philosophical When to use this quote - international forums - UN debates - policy advisory panels Key Concepts political theory sovereignty policy influence global democracy Questions to Reflect On - Should all nations have a say in U.S. policy? - How can global input be balanced with domestic interests? A Different Perspective Assuming global consensus may be impractical and conflict with national sovereignty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Around the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/around-the-world/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [State government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/state-government/) [Vote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vote/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I am asking that every American everywhere, in every state, in every zip code have the same opportunities and the same right to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-warnock/i-am-asking-that-every-american-everywhere-in-every-state-in-every/) [Raphael Warnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-warnock/) > [ I would prefer every \[American\] state keep the definition of marriage that's prevailed in Western civilization for a couple thousand years. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/i-would-prefer-every-american-state-keep-the-definition-of-marriage/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) > [I don't want to get into an argument with somebody about how they ought to vote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kasich/i-don-t-want-to-get-into-an-argument-with-somebody-about-how-they/) [John Kasich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kasich/) > [The average man votes below himself; he votes with half a mind or a hundredth part of one. A man ought to vote with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/the-average-man-votes-below-himself-he-votes-with-half-a-mind-or-a/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [If the federal government is going to cost $100 million or more of your jobs going away, at a minimum the people who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/if-the-federal-government-is-going-to-cost-100-million-or-more-of/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [“Captain Jim thought women were delightful creatures, who ought to have the vote, and everything else they wanted, bless their hearts; but he did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/captain-jim-thought-women-were-delightful-creatures-who-ought-to-have/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [I know what the counterterrorism feels like because I was there. But I also operated within limits. And within the United States government, we've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-know-what-the-counterterrorism-feels-like-because-i-was-there-but-i/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The United States government has always been proud of the welcome it has extended to good men of every nation, seeking freedom and homes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/the-united-states-government-has-always-been-proud-of-the-welcome-it/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [The Alabama Department of Revenue is vital to state government, ensuring citizens are treated fairly and that all tax dollars are collected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-ivey/the-alabama-department-of-revenue-is-vital-to-state-government/) [Kay Ivey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-ivey/) > [State governments seek local remedies for the globally fabricated deprivations and miseries in vain - just as the individuals-by-the-decree-of-fate (read: by the impact of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/state-governments-seek-local-remedies-for-the-globally-fabricated/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [In spite of advances in technology and changes in the economy, state government still operates on an obsolete 1970s model. We have a typewriter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-blunt/in-spite-of-advances-in-technology-and-changes-in-the-economy-state/) [Matt Blunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-blunt/) > [We're going to restructure the state government into a government that's responsive to the needs of New York state taxpayers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-paladino/we-re-going-to-restructure-the-state-government-into-a-government/) [Carl Paladino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-paladino/) > [My concerns through the years increased about the concerns of an independent judiciary and how we maintain it. Certainly in the states. I'm a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/my-concerns-through-the-years-increased-about-the-concerns-of-an/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [Local and state governments have outrun the federal government. The EPA has served notice that it will enact a rule requiring CO2 reductions by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/local-and-state-governments-have-outrun-the-federal-government-the/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## More by Todd Gitlin > [The genius of the economic machine is in its ability to convert these indulgences into profitability. It converts desire into attention, a grip on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/the-genius-of-the-economic-machine-is-in-its-ability-to-convert-these/) [Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/) > [All I will say is that there are particular features of the American constitutional system that renders a third party futile - at best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/all-i-will-say-is-that-there-are-particular-features-of-the-american/) [Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/) > [Human inertia makes the everyday environment, the furniture, as it were, appear to be a given.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/human-inertia-makes-the-everyday-environment-the-furniture-as-it-were/) [Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/) > [I first came to think about media and politics in the late 1960s, having observed some distortions up close, but since then I wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/i-first-came-to-think-about-media-and-politics-in-the-late-1960s/) [Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/) > [I don't for the life of me understand how anybody could contemplate the results of the 2000 election in the US and say that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/i-don-t-for-the-life-of-me-understand-how-anybody-could-contemplate/) [Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/) > [Right now, we have no possibility of politics because we have a one-party state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/right-now-we-have-no-possibility-of-politics-because-we-have-a-one/) [Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/) > [The mobilisation which Bush has been able to perform since 11 September 2001 has to be fought - at least by Americans - in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/the-mobilisation-which-bush-has-been-able-to-perform-since-11/) [Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/) > [Navigation is power of a limited sort - it enables us to manage the immensity of the media torrent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/navigation-is-power-of-a-limited-sort-it-enables-us-to-manage-the/) [Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/) > [Mills insisted that a sociologist's proper subject was the intersection of biography and history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/mills-insisted-that-a-sociologist-s-proper-subject-was-the/) [Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/) > [Sure, I've often been misrepresented - anyone frequently quoted has this experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/sure-i-ve-often-been-misrepresented-anyone-frequently-quoted-has-this/) [Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/) > [A century of convulsive change leaves huge demographic gouge marks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/a-century-of-convulsive-change-leaves-huge-demographic-gouge-marks/) [Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/) > [If the Bible is a creation myth, it is an amorphous confusing one](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/if-the-bible-is-a-creation-myth-it-is-an-amorphous-confusing-one/) [Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/) > [So every day I'm mindful as I watch the Bush crowd extend their sway into policies of every imaginable variety, and over almost every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/so-every-day-i-m-mindful-as-i-watch-the-bush-crowd-extend-their-sway/) [Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/) > [Some versions of patriotism come close to the tribal, which we all want to surpass, and some don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/some-versions-of-patriotism-come-close-to-the-tribal-which-we-all/) [Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/) > [Collectively, we are in thrall to media - because they deliver to us many of the psychic goods we crave, and we know no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/collectively-we-are-in-thrall-to-media-because-they-deliver-to-us/) [Todd Gitlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/) [Explore all 39 Todd Gitlin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“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/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My book is focused on the power of the American state, not least because the government of the United States governs so much that the case could be made that everybody around the world ought to have a vote in determining some of its policies.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Todd Gitlin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/my-book-is-focused-on-the-power-of-the-american-state-not-least/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/my-book-is-focused-on-the-power-of-the-american-state-not-least/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc6/todd-gitlin-16525_america_my-book-is-focused-on-the-power-of-the-a_538617.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc6/todd-gitlin-16525_america_my-book-is-focused-on-the-power-of-the-a_538617.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc6/todd-gitlin-16525_america_my-book-is-focused-on-the-power-of-the-a_538617.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My book is focused on the power of the American state, not least because the government of the United States…” — Todd Gitlin", "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": "Todd Gitlin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gitlin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My book is focused on the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/my-book-is-focused-on-the-power-of-the-american-state-not-least/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gitlin/my-book-is-focused-on-the-power-of-the-american-state-not-least/#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 } } ] } ```