The thing that is most interesting about government servants is that they believe what they are supposed to believe, they really do believe what they are supposed to believe.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Government servants tend to genuinely believe the official positions they are expected to hold.
- In plain terms
- Officials truly believe what they are supposed to believe.
- What can you take from it?
- Bureaucrats internalize the doctrines they enforce.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Why do officials believe their own propaganda?
- How does role shape belief?
Another view
It overlooks those who dissent or act cynically within government.
More from Gertrude Stein
The nineteenth century believed in science but the twentieth century does not.
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