--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am a pragmatist. We are given what we…" description: "\"I am a pragmatist. We are given what we have here in terms of government, so as an anarchist, okay, I'll lean to the Republican side of getting the gov..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/vermin-supreme-10717_anarchist_i-am-a-pragmatist-we-are-given-what-we-h_2282008.jpg" --- # I am a pragmatist. We are given what we have here in terms… ![“I am a pragmatist. We are given what we have here in terms of government, so as an anarchist, okay, I'll lean to the Republican side of getting the government small enough to drown in a bathtub or whatever.” quote by Vermin Supreme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/vermin-supreme-10717_anarchist_i-am-a-pragmatist-we-are-given-what-we-h_2282008.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/vermin-supreme-10717_anarchist_i-am-a-pragmatist-we-are-given-what-we-h_2282008.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/vermin-supreme-10717_anarchist_i-am-a-pragmatist-we-are-given-what-we-h_2282008.jpg) > “I am a pragmatist. We are given what we have here in terms of government, so as an anarchist, okay, I'll lean to the Republican side of getting the government small enough to drown in a bathtub or whatever.” [Vermin Supreme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vermin-supreme/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He claims pragmatism while advocating minimal government, suggesting even a bathtub could drown it. **In simple terms:** Small government, extreme metaphor. Key Takeaway Consider practical limits of minimalism. Themes politics anarchism pragmatism Mood satirical thought‑provoking Type humorous political When to use this quote - policy debates - public discourse - civil liberties Key Concepts government size philosophical satire Questions to Reflect On - Is a bathtub realistic metaphor? - What are viable government reductions? 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Res publica; that is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/why-how-can-you-ask-such-a-question-you-are-a-republican-a-republican/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [The poor man who takes property by force is called a thief, but the creditor who can by legislation make a debtor pay a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-jennings-bryan/the-poor-man-who-takes-property-by-force-is-called-a-thief-but-the/) [William Jennings Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-jennings-bryan/) > [Everyone's a mixed bag. I'm a utopian social anarchist, but I'm also a pragmatist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vermin-supreme/everyone-s-a-mixed-bag-i-m-a-utopian-social-anarchist-but-i-m-also-a/) [Vermin Supreme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vermin-supreme/) > [“Of course the no-government ethics will meet with at least as many objections as the no-capital economics. Our minds have been so nurtured in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-kropotkin/of-course-the-no-government-ethics-will-meet-with-at-least-as-many/) [Pyotr Kropotkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pyotr-kropotkin/) > [As a social anarchist, I believe that capitalism itself is an inherently exploitative hierarchical situation - you do have a boss, you do have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vermin-supreme/as-a-social-anarchist-i-believe-that-capitalism-itself-is-an/) [Vermin Supreme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vermin-supreme/) > [In the sixties, during the Vietnam war, when anarchists and pacifists and socialists, Democrats and Republicans, decent-hearted Americans, all recoiled with horror at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/in-the-sixties-during-the-vietnam-war-when-anarchists-and-pacifists/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [Living more lives than one, knowing people of all classes, all shades of opinion, monarchists, republicans, socialists, anarchists, has had a salutary effect on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rheta-childe-dorr/living-more-lives-than-one-knowing-people-of-all-classes-all-shades/) [Rheta Childe Dorr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rheta-childe-dorr/) > [People are first and foremost Republicans, first and foremost Anarchists, first and foremost a man or woman, and that is a mistake. It hurts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-krause/people-are-first-and-foremost-republicans-first-and-foremost/) [Peter Krause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-krause/) > [For a pragmatist like me, the important issues concern the words we might deploy to achieve our purposes, rather than the language we actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kitcher/for-a-pragmatist-like-me-the-important-issues-concern-the-words-we/) [Philip Kitcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kitcher/) > [In the end, Arik believes in security above all and is a salient pragmatist, a disciple of Ben-Gurion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reuven-rivlin/in-the-end-arik-believes-in-security-above-all-and-is-a-salient/) [Reuven Rivlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reuven-rivlin/) > [I guess I can call myself a pragmatist with a conservative perspective. It would be hard for me to explain this, but I always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/i-guess-i-can-call-myself-a-pragmatist-with-a-conservative/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [“I'm a kindhearted but highly competitive pragmatist. When I seek to win something, I always make certain it's never at the expense of anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kieran/i-m-a-kindhearted-but-highly-competitive-pragmatist-when-i-seek-to/) [Jonathan Kieran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kieran/) > [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [I'm not a Pollyanna; I'm a pragmatist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lang/i-m-not-a-pollyanna-i-m-a-pragmatist/) [Laura Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lang/) > [pragmatist that I am, I always meet necessity with enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/pragmatist-that-i-am-i-always-meet-necessity-with-enthusiasm/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) ## More by Vermin Supreme > [One of the most important things about using a bullhorn is you don't have to yell over it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vermin-supreme/one-of-the-most-important-things-about-using-a-bullhorn-is-you-don-t/) [Vermin Supreme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vermin-supreme/) > [It is only the dogmatic, and the humorless, that don't succumb to my charm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vermin-supreme/it-is-only-the-dogmatic-and-the-humorless-that-don-t-succumb-to-my/) [Vermin Supreme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vermin-supreme/) > [Anarchists believe we can run our lives without the government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vermin-supreme/anarchists-believe-we-can-run-our-lives-without-the-government/) [Vermin Supreme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vermin-supreme/) > [Quite frankly, my constituency crosses a very wide swath of the political spectrum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vermin-supreme/quite-frankly-my-constituency-crosses-a-very-wide-swath-of-the/) [Vermin Supreme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vermin-supreme/) > [Imagination is very important to having vision and trying to find things that are different, alternate ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vermin-supreme/imagination-is-very-important-to-having-vision-and-trying-to-find/) [Vermin Supreme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vermin-supreme/) > [I'm the only candidate that will fund time-travel research.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vermin-supreme/i-m-the-only-candidate-that-will-fund-time-travel-research/) [Vermin Supreme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vermin-supreme/) > [Can a serious party put up an individual perceived previously or continuously as a joke candidate? I say yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vermin-supreme/can-a-serious-party-put-up-an-individual-perceived-previously-or/) [Vermin Supreme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vermin-supreme/) > [Gingivitis has been eroding the gum line of this great nation long enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vermin-supreme/gingivitis-has-been-eroding-the-gum-line-of-this-great-nation-long/) [Vermin Supreme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vermin-supreme/) > [For too long, this country has been suffering a great moral and oral decay in spirit and incisors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vermin-supreme/for-too-long-this-country-has-been-suffering-a-great-moral-and-oral/) [Vermin Supreme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vermin-supreme/) > [Strong teeth for a strong America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vermin-supreme/strong-teeth-for-a-strong-america/) [Vermin Supreme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vermin-supreme/) > [My own personal goal was always to beat Lyndon LaRouche.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vermin-supreme/my-own-personal-goal-was-always-to-beat-lyndon-larouche/) [Vermin Supreme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vermin-supreme/) > [We can afford all these wars; this, that, the other thing, why can't every American have a pony? If you break it down, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vermin-supreme/we-can-afford-all-these-wars-this-that-the-other-thing-why-can-t/) [Vermin Supreme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vermin-supreme/) > [All club owners are vermin. So I was Vermin Supreme with my Fabulous Galaxy Lounge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vermin-supreme/all-club-owners-are-vermin-so-i-was-vermin-supreme-with-my-fabulous/) [Vermin Supreme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vermin-supreme/) > [I've been truly blessed with an amazing audience and fan and support base.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vermin-supreme/i-ve-been-truly-blessed-with-an-amazing-audience-and-fan-and-support/) [Vermin Supreme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vermin-supreme/) > [When I was younger, it was very easy to ignore me because I was like some crazy hippie kid. But as I've gotten older,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vermin-supreme/when-i-was-younger-it-was-very-easy-to-ignore-me-because-i-was-like/) [Vermin Supreme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vermin-supreme/) [Explore all 64 Vermin Supreme quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vermin-supreme/) ## More Anarchist quotes > [The minimum that most minimalists want leaves in place just the institutions who protect their interests. That's libertarians for you - anarchists who want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-stanley-robinson/the-minimum-that-most-minimalists-want-leaves-in-place-just-the/) [Kim Stanley Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-stanley-robinson/) > [Anarchism is a definite intellectual current in the life of our times, whose adherents advocate the abolition of economic monopolies and of all political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-rocker/anarchism-is-a-definite-intellectual-current-in-the-life-of-our-times/) [Rudolf Rocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-rocker/) > [The hope of Internet anarchists was that repressive governments would have only two options: accept the Internet with its limitless possibilities of spreading information,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/the-hope-of-internet-anarchists-was-that-repressive-governments-would/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [“An anarchist government somehow creates an impression in the hearts of citizens that no one cares.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/an-anarchist-government-somehow-creates-an-impression-in-the-hearts/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [“Bruno was a musician with the temperament of an anarchist and the breath of a bartender's dishrag. He gave the lie to bookselling as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheridan-hay/bruno-was-a-musician-with-the-temperament-of-an-anarchist-and-the/) [Sheridan Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheridan-hay/) > [In the sixties, during the Vietnam war, when anarchists and pacifists and socialists, Democrats and Republicans, decent-hearted Americans, all recoiled with horror at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/in-the-sixties-during-the-vietnam-war-when-anarchists-and-pacifists/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [Creativity comes by breaking the rules, by saying that you're in love with the anarchist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-roddick/creativity-comes-by-breaking-the-rules-by-saying-that-you-re-in-love/) [Anita Roddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-roddick/) > [The modern day anarchists known as the Tea Party, they believe in no government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-reid/the-modern-day-anarchists-known-as-the-tea-party-they-believe-in-no/) [Harry Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-reid/) > [ \[On an anarchist acquaintance:\] Everything in appearance the most alarmist aunt could wish. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/on-an-anarchist-acquaintance-everything-in-appearance-the-most/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [Anarchists are opposed to violence; everyone knows that. The main plank of anarchism is the removal of violence from human relations. It is life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errico-malatesta/anarchists-are-opposed-to-violence-everyone-knows-that-the-main-plank/) [Errico Malatesta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errico-malatesta/) > [The Anarchists are simply unterrified Jeffersonian Democrats. They believe that 'the best government is that which governs least,' and that which governs least is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/the-anarchists-are-simply-unterrified-jeffersonian-democrats-they/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) > [I am in total opposition to any institutional power. I favor a world of neighborhoods in which all social organization is voluntary and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-hess/i-am-in-total-opposition-to-any-institutional-power-i-favor-a-world/) [Karl Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-hess/) > [I'm an anarchist. I'm implacably opposed to heirarchical systems of power and control. I also mistrust crowds, as they often operate according to their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-m-an-anarchist-i-m-implacably-opposed-to-heirarchical-systems-of/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [We must therefore turn to history for enlightenment; here we find that none of the proclaimed anarchist groups correspond to the libertarian position, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/we-must-therefore-turn-to-history-for-enlightenment-here-we-find-that/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“I became an anarchist very early on. Anarchism, in my mind, meant taking democracy seriously and organizing prefiguratively- that is, in a way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrej-gruba-i/i-became-an-anarchist-very-early-on-anarchism-in-my-mind-meant-taking/) [Andrej Grubačić](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrej-gruba-i/) [Browse all 408 Anarchist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am a pragmatist. 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