--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's a flip side to having prominent…" description: "\"There's a flip side to having prominent public intellectuals, which is that they start meddling in politics and often with quite disastrous results.\" —..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/will-self-2296_flip_there-s-a-flip-side-to-having-prominent_1032031.png" --- # There's a flip side to having prominent public… ![“There's a flip side to having prominent public intellectuals, which is that they start meddling in politics and often with quite disastrous results.” quote by Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/will-self-2296_flip_there-s-a-flip-side-to-having-prominent_1032031.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/will-self-2296_flip_there-s-a-flip-side-to-having-prominent_1032031.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/will-self-2296_flip_there-s-a-flip-side-to-having-prominent_1032031.png) > “There's a flip side to having prominent public intellectuals, which is that they start meddling in politics and often with quite disastrous results.” [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Prominent thinkers often intervene in politics, which can lead to harmful outcomes. **In simple terms:** Intellectuals meddling in politics may cause disaster. Key Takeaway Beware of expert overreach in governance. Themes politics intellectuals risk responsibility Mood critical cautious Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - policy advising - public discourse - media commentary Key Concepts expert influence democratic theory Questions to Reflect On - When should experts stay silent? - How to balance expertise with democratic input? A Different Perspective Expert opinions can be misused or ignored. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Intellectuals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectuals/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) ## Related quotes > [What the British seem to like are television historians and naturalists, not public intellectuals. You can't help feeling that's because one supplies narrative and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/what-the-british-seem-to-like-are-television-historians-and/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [These anti-public intellectuals are part of a disimagination machine that solidifies the power of the rich and the structures of the military-industrial-surveillance-academic complex by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/these-anti-public-intellectuals-are-part-of-a-disimagination-machine/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Public intellectuals come from a range of areas and use their expertise to comment more widely than just their field. They want to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/public-intellectuals-come-from-a-range-of-areas-and-use-their/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [Public intellectuals are often put in the position of having their words, no matter how off-the-cuff, treated as doctrine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/public-intellectuals-are-often-put-in-the-position-of-having-their/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [We have so few unaffiliated public intellectuals now - people who are not beholden to a think tank, corporate-owned media, or academic department -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/we-have-so-few-unaffiliated-public-intellectuals-now-people-who-are/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [I think public intellectuals have a responsibility - to be self-critical on the one hand, to do serious, nuanced work rigorously executed; but to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/i-think-public-intellectuals-have-a-responsibility-to-be-self/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [I think I'll always be a better playwright than a pundit, but I believe that writers should be public intellectuals and that theater, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/i-think-i-ll-always-be-a-better-playwright-than-a-pundit-but-i/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [Public values are not only under attack in the United States and elsewhere but appear to have become irrelevant just as those spaces that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/public-values-are-not-only-under-attack-in-the-united-states-and/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [We live in a country where posting 'Let's riot or something bruv!' on Facebook will get you a couple of years in prison, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frankie-boyle/we-live-in-a-country-where-posting-let-s-riot-or-something-bruv-on/) [Frankie Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frankie-boyle/) > [It is time that scientists and other public intellectuals observed that the contest between faith and reason is zero-sum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/it-is-time-that-scientists-and-other-public-intellectuals-observed/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [The United States has degenerated into a social order that is awash in public stupidity and views critical thought as both a liability and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/the-united-states-has-degenerated-into-a-social-order-that-is-awash/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Meddling with another man's folly is always thankless work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/meddling-with-another-man-s-folly-is-always-thankless-work/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [Mrs. Jennings was a widow, with an ample jointure. She had only two daughters, both of whom she had lived to see respectably married,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/mrs-jennings-was-a-widow-with-an-ample-jointure-she-had-only-two/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“Never stand in the way of letting God use people’s actions, in order to solve a greater issue in the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/never-stand-in-the-way-of-letting-god-use-people-s-actions-in-order/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [The Gulf States are extraordinarily suspicious of Iran for good reason. They view Iran as meddling in their affairs. They have seen Iran level…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-gulf-states-are-extraordinarily-suspicious-of-iran-for-good/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) ## More by Will Self > [As for critical writing about modernism, its moments of lucidity are but fulgurations illuminating the dark and incomprehensible landscape of its subject's unabashed difficulty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/as-for-critical-writing-about-modernism-its-moments-of-lucidity-are/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [“As my voice died away I became conscious of the voice of another woman two tables away. I couldn't hear what she was saying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/as-my-voice-died-away-i-became-conscious-of-the-voice-of-another/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [That tertiary education is under a sustained assault by a political and - it often seems - social consensus that equates all education with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/that-tertiary-education-is-under-a-sustained-assault-by-a-political/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [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/) > [What fiction offers us is an intimacy shorn of the messy contingencies of human existence - gender, race, class or age. Those moments of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/what-fiction-offers-us-is-an-intimacy-shorn-of-the-messy/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [I'd rather fiddle with my phone for precious seconds than neglect an apostrophe; I'd rather insert a word laboriously keyed out than resort to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-d-rather-fiddle-with-my-phone-for-precious-seconds-than-neglect-an/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [I'm very happy for whatever plaudits might come the way of my work, but I never ever sit down to write x with y…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-m-very-happy-for-whatever-plaudits-might-come-the-way-of-my-work/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [As a writer, I'm not convinced that we are the best equipped to understand how we go about the business of literary production.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/as-a-writer-i-m-not-convinced-that-we-are-the-best-equipped-to/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [“I explained to him - as I withdrew the cup, ripped open the sachet and dunked the tea bag - that tea was an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-explained-to-him-as-i-withdrew-the-cup-ripped-open-the-sachet-and/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [There is something mysteriously powerful that can happen when young, inchoate minds come into contact with older and more worldly ones in a spirit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/there-is-something-mysteriously-powerful-that-can-happen-when-young/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [It would seem that I, who never could make much sense of physics when I was at school, have now gained a strong sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/it-would-seem-that-i-who-never-could-make-much-sense-of-physics-when/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [Drug use and procrastination often go hand in tourniquet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/drug-use-and-procrastination-often-go-hand-in-tourniquet/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [“…with the morbid realisation that his sexual being was a dull thing, a lifeless thing, a mass-produced marionette with chipped paint and fraying strings”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/with-the-morbid-realisation-that-his-sexual-being-was-a-dull-thing-a/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [A creative life cannot be sustained by approval any more than it can be destroyed by criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/a-creative-life-cannot-be-sustained-by-approval-any-more-than-it-can/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [I don't think in terms of that bizarre tautology 'value for money' in my literary and journalistic work - and nor will I in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-don-t-think-in-terms-of-that-bizarre-tautology-value-for-money-in/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) [Explore all 172 Will Self quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) ## More Flip quotes > [Because hate's just the flip side of love. Like heads and tails on a dime. If you don't know what it feels like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/because-hate-s-just-the-flip-side-of-love-like-heads-and-tails-on-a/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [I like that you can easily flip the sheets over and have a different feel or vibe in your room. You don't have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-white/i-like-that-you-can-easily-flip-the-sheets-over-and-have-a-different/) [Shaun White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-white/) > [I've taken my cue from people here and from viewers, especially survivors-who said, 'When it's time to literally flip your wig, you'll know.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-roberts/i-ve-taken-my-cue-from-people-here-and-from-viewers-especially/) [Robin Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-roberts/) > [Attitude fucked up, ain't saying to much...flip the bird!!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gee-linder/attitude-fucked-up-ain-t-saying-to-much-flip-the-bird/) [Gee Linder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gee-linder/) > [If you are going to flip something, you must have the courage of your convictions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/if-you-are-going-to-flip-something-you-must-have-the-courage-of-your/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [Did he only wear a shirt during class? Oh my God, he seriously lived across the hall. Jacob was going to flip... and probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-lynn/did-he-only-wear-a-shirt-during-class-oh-my-god-he-seriously-lived/) [J. Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-lynn/) > [John McCain is a liar and flip-flopper and panderer and bully and whiner. And it seems to be working.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tomasky/john-mccain-is-a-liar-and-flip-flopper-and-panderer-and-bully-and/) Michael Tomasky > [As a child, I certainly wanted to have hair that I could grow long and flip around. I no longer want that. My own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-okonedo/as-a-child-i-certainly-wanted-to-have-hair-that-i-could-grow-long-and/) [Sophie Okonedo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-okonedo/) > [Everyone thinks I'm a wimp and even my own band hates me. Oh, well. I guess I'll just flip 'em the bird!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-francis/everyone-thinks-i-m-a-wimp-and-even-my-own-band-hates-me-oh-well-i/) [Black Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-francis/) > [In many ways, the young are more religiously minded than the older generations. I think it's the flip side of an age of individualism.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-nichols/in-many-ways-the-young-are-more-religiously-minded-than-the-older/) [Vincent Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-nichols/) > [I do flip between being chatty and argumentative - and being a psycho-loner werewolf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hammill/i-do-flip-between-being-chatty-and-argumentative-and-being-a-psycho/) [Peter Hammill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hammill/) > [According to a new study, Botox injections can help back pain. So you see, that's why John Kerry had all that Botox - his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/according-to-a-new-study-botox-injections-can-help-back-pain-so-you/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [If we didn't love things, then we couldn't feel their loss. The flip side of loving is losing. I mean, you can't experience one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-holbrook-pierson/if-we-didn-t-love-things-then-we-couldn-t-feel-their-loss-the-flip/) [Melissa Holbrook Pierson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-holbrook-pierson/) > [Our ideas of happiness, gratification, contentment, satisfaction, all demand that those feelings come from within us. If you flip that on its head and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/our-ideas-of-happiness-gratification-contentment-satisfaction-all/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [On the other hand, if I walk in the house, I don't even bother to find her, I just walk in the den and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-chapman/on-the-other-hand-if-i-walk-in-the-house-i-don-t-even-bother-to-find/) [Gary Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-chapman/) Browse all 493 Flip quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There's a flip side to having prominent public intellectuals, which is that they start meddling in politics and often with quite disastrous results.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Will Self" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/there-s-a-flip-side-to-having-prominent-public-intellectuals-which-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Flip" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/there-s-a-flip-side-to-having-prominent-public-intellectuals-which-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/will-self-2296_flip_there-s-a-flip-side-to-having-prominent_1032031.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/will-self-2296_flip_there-s-a-flip-side-to-having-prominent_1032031.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/will-self-2296_flip_there-s-a-flip-side-to-having-prominent_1032031.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There's a flip side to having prominent public intellectuals, which is that they start meddling in politics…” — Will Self", "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": "Will Self", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There's a flip side to having...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/there-s-a-flip-side-to-having-prominent-public-intellectuals-which-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/there-s-a-flip-side-to-having-prominent-public-intellectuals-which-is/#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 } } ] } ```