--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Government is as unreal, as intangible…" description: "\"Government is as unreal, as intangible, as unapproachable as God. Try it, if you don't believe it. Seek through the legislative halls of America and fi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/voltairine-de-cleyre-13597_agents_government-is-as-unreal-as-intangible-as_2596639.jpg" --- # Government is as unreal, as intangible, as unapproachable… ![“Government is as unreal, as intangible, as unapproachable as God. Try it, if you don't believe it. Seek through the legislative halls of America and find, if you can, the Government. In the end you will be doomed to confer with the agent, as before.” quote by Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/voltairine-de-cleyre-13597_agents_government-is-as-unreal-as-intangible-as_2596639.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/voltairine-de-cleyre-13597_agents_government-is-as-unreal-as-intangible-as_2596639.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/voltairine-de-cleyre-13597_agents_government-is-as-unreal-as-intangible-as_2596639.jpg) > “Government is as unreal, as intangible, as unapproachable as God. Try it, if you don't believe it. Seek through the legislative halls of America and find, if you can, the Government. In the end you will be doomed to confer with the agent, as before.” [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She critiques government as distant and intangible, urging direct exploration of its halls. **In simple terms:** Government feels unreachable. Key Takeaway Seek direct understanding. Themes politics anarchism government critique Mood critical philosophical Type analytical skeptical When to use this quote - civic engagement - policy research - activism - public discourse Key Concepts authority institutional analysis Questions to Reflect On - How to make government more tangible? - What alternatives exist to current structures? A Different Perspective May ignore benefits of organized governance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agents/) [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [America Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america-government-787885/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Don't believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/don-t-believe/) [Doomed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doomed/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Government Unreal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government-unreal-1909696/) [Halls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/halls/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Intangible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intangible/) [Intangible Unapproachable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intangible-unapproachable-1909697/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Seek Legislative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seek-legislative-1909699/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Unapproachable God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unapproachable-god-1909698/) [Unreal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unreal/) ## Related quotes > [Senior development specialists in the Treasury can be counted on one hand. America's government is not even aware of the gap between its commitments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-sachs/senior-development-specialists-in-the-treasury-can-be-counted-on-one/) [Jeffrey Sachs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-sachs/) > [I believe in the United States of America as a government of the people, by the people, for the people, whose just powers are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-tyler/i-believe-in-the-united-states-of-america-as-a-government-of-the/) [William Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-tyler/) > ["Big" government? Who wants that? I just want effective government. That means America's government needs to be big in some places, small in others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/big-government-who-wants-that-i-just-want-effective-government-that/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [Politics doesn't work. Look at the parts of America where government has had the most power, where government has spent the most money. Look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/politics-doesn-t-work-look-at-the-parts-of-america-where-government/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [That's not how national security works... I don't care what the Supreme Court said 30 years ago or what some judge said 15 minutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-levin/that-s-not-how-national-security-works-i-don-t-care-what-the-supreme/) [Mark Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-levin/) > [Go back to bed America, your government is in control again. Go back to bed America... you are free to do as we tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/go-back-to-bed-america-your-government-is-in-control-again-go-back-to/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is still a government of the naive, for the naive, and by the naive. He who does not know this, nor relish it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/america-is-still-a-government-of-the-naive-for-the-naive-and-by-the/) [Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/) > [This is the United States of America and the government cannot intrude into worship. We stand on that amendment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-macarthur/this-is-the-united-states-of-america-and-the-government-cannot/) [John MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-macarthur/) > [In America the government took the land from the Indians and then established laws protecting private property.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-francis-poussaint/in-america-the-government-took-the-land-from-the-indians-and-then/) [Alvin Francis Poussaint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-francis-poussaint/) > [We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/we-in-america-do-not-have-government-by-the-majority-we-have/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [In America, we have a government that is now run by white nationalists, by billionaires, by incredible misogynists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/in-america-we-have-a-government-that-is-now-run-by-white-nationalists/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [We need our president to be successful because our futures are all tied to the success of America, which means America's government, which means,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bloomberg/we-need-our-president-to-be-successful-because-our-futures-are-all/) [Michael Bloomberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bloomberg/) > [In America, we will have a government of, by and for the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/in-america-we-will-have-a-government-of-by-and-for-the-people/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [The America of Obama's dreams is not the one of self-reliance and entrepreneurship to which he paid phony lip service at the beginning of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-limbaugh/the-america-of-obama-s-dreams-is-not-the-one-of-self-reliance-and/) [David Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-limbaugh/) > [Here in America, government began as a tool to assure freedom. It gradually turned into a hideously expensive political toy designed to redistribute your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-skousen/here-in-america-government-began-as-a-tool-to-assure-freedom-it/) [Mark Skousen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-skousen/) ## More by Voltairine de Cleyre > [And now, what has Anarchism to say to all this, this bankruptcy of republicanism, this modern empire that has grown up on the ruins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/and-now-what-has-anarchism-to-say-to-all-this-this-bankruptcy-of/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [“It is the city that is wrong, and its creations can never be right; they may be improved; they can never be what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/it-is-the-city-that-is-wrong-and-its-creations-can-never-be-right/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [Private enterprise manages better all that to which it is equal. Anarchism declares that private enterprise, whether individual or cooperative, is equal to all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/private-enterprise-manages-better-all-that-to-which-it-is-equal/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [No one can hate petitions worse than I, and no one has less faith in them than I. But for my champion I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/no-one-can-hate-petitions-worse-than-i-and-no-one-has-less-faith-in/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [A standing army is a standing menace to liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/a-standing-army-is-a-standing-menace-to-liberty/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [ “\[T\]o remain in a continually exalted moral condition is not human nature.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/t-o-remain-in-a-continually-exalted-moral-condition-is-not-human/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [“As to the essence of Commerce and Manufacture, it is this: to establish bonds between every corner of the earth’s surface and every other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/as-to-the-essence-of-commerce-and-manufacture-it-is-this-to-establish/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [Anarchism, to me, means not only the denial of authority, not only a new economy, but a revision of the principles of morality. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/anarchism-to-me-means-not-only-the-denial-of-authority-not-only-a-new/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [There is one common struggle against those who have appropriated the earth, the money, and the machines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/there-is-one-common-struggle-against-those-who-have-appropriated-the/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [“It is understood that when we speak of history we do not allude to the unspeakable trash contained in public school text-books (which in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/it-is-understood-that-when-we-speak-of-history-we-do-not-allude-to/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [“Nearly all the laws which were originally framed with the intention of benefiting the workers, have either turned into weapons in their enemies’ hands,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/nearly-all-the-laws-which-were-originally-framed-with-the-intention/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [ \[The married woman is\] is a bonded slave, who takes her master's name, her master's bread, and serves her master's passion; \[and\] who passes… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/the-married-woman-is-is-a-bonded-slave-who-takes-her-master-s-name/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [Is it not enough that 'things are cruel and blind'? Must we also be cruel and blind?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/is-it-not-enough-that-things-are-cruel-and-blind-must-we-also-be/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [The revolution is ... the blow dealt ... agains the counter force of tyranny, which has never entirely recovered from the blow, but which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/the-revolution-is-the-blow-dealt-agains-the-counter-force-of-tyranny/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [... it is better to study how to live rather than how to die; ... it is better to have a religion of deeds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/it-is-better-to-study-how-to-live-rather-than-how-to-die-it-is-better/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) [Explore all 50 Voltairine de Cleyre quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) ## More Agents quotes > [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 don't see \[ Trainspotting \] as an albatross, I see it more as a calling card. It's got me out to Hollywood, I've… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/i-don-t-see-trainspotting-as-an-albatross-i-see-it-more-as-a-calling/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [Our attitude towards evil must be freed from hatred, and has itself need to be enlightened in character...Satan rejoices when he succeeds in inspiring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-berdyaev/our-attitude-towards-evil-must-be-freed-from-hatred-and-has-itself/) [Nikolai Berdyaev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-berdyaev/) > [We are coming to a place where the road ends. From here on out, we will be making the road as we walk it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-atlee/we-are-coming-to-a-place-where-the-road-ends-from-here-on-out-we-will/) [Tom Atlee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-atlee/) > [Love is the supreme form of communication. In the hierarchy of needs, love stands as the supreme developing agent of the humanity of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-montagu/love-is-the-supreme-form-of-communication-in-the-hierarchy-of-needs/) [Ashley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-montagu/) > [I have always believed that women are not victims, we are agents of change, we are drivers of progress, we are makers of peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-have-always-believed-that-women-are-not-victims-we-are-agents-of/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Many American TV actors employ agents, managers, business managers, publicists and stylists, and are now adding digital media manager to the list. Their job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-bellman/many-american-tv-actors-employ-agents-managers-business-managers/) [Gina Bellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-bellman/) > [The ultimate goal of radical politics is gradually to displace the limit of social exclusions, empowering the excluded agents (sexual and ethnic minorities) by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/the-ultimate-goal-of-radical-politics-is-gradually-to-displace-the/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [In politics we face the choice between warmongering, nation-state loving, big-business agents on one hand; and risk-blind, top-down, epistemic arrogant big servants of large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/in-politics-we-face-the-choice-between-warmongering-nation-state/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [My first job was a film called 'Storm Damage' for the BBC. I was 16 and working with really respected British actors. I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-madekwe/my-first-job-was-a-film-called-storm-damage-for-the-bbc-i-was-16-and/) [Ashley Madekwe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-madekwe/) > [Government is the agent of those who are too refined to do their own mugging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/government-is-the-agent-of-those-who-are-too-refined-to-do-their-own/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [While much of modern behavioral and social science treats individuals as autonomous agents, it is absolutely clear that the way we think and act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-r-nelson/while-much-of-modern-behavioral-and-social-science-treats-individuals/) [Richard R. Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-r-nelson/) > [People went out there and they wrote articles and went on television shows saying that I am an operative that the CIA who used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/people-went-out-there-and-they-wrote-articles-and-went-on-television/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [The chief beneficiary of life insurance policies for young, single people is the life insurance agent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-smith/the-chief-beneficiary-of-life-insurance-policies-for-young-single/) [Wes Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-smith/) > [“Honestly,” he says, “I judge writers on how they write queries. If you’re a good writer, you’re a good writer.” And if not, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-gessen/honestly-he-says-i-judge-writers-on-how-they-write-queries-if-you-re/) [Keith Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-gessen/) [Browse all 1,567 Agents quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agents/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Government is as unreal, as intangible, as unapproachable as God. Try it, if you don't believe it. Seek through the legislative halls of America and find, if you can, the Government. In the end you will be doomed to confer with the agent, as before.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Voltairine de Cleyre" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/government-is-as-unreal-as-intangible-as-unapproachable-as-god-try-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Agents" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/government-is-as-unreal-as-intangible-as-unapproachable-as-god-try-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/voltairine-de-cleyre-13597_agents_government-is-as-unreal-as-intangible-as_2596639.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/voltairine-de-cleyre-13597_agents_government-is-as-unreal-as-intangible-as_2596639.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e48/voltairine-de-cleyre-13597_agents_government-is-as-unreal-as-intangible-as_2596639.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Government is as unreal, as intangible, as unapproachable as God. Try it, if you don't believe it. Seek…” — Voltairine de Cleyre", "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": "Voltairine de Cleyre", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Government is as unreal, as intangible,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/government-is-as-unreal-as-intangible-as-unapproachable-as-god-try-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/government-is-as-unreal-as-intangible-as-unapproachable-as-god-try-it/#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 } } ] } ```