“The idea of the paranoid style as a force in politics would have little contemporary relevance or historical value if it were applied only to men with profoundly disturbed minds. It is the use of paranoid modes of expression by more or less normal people that makes the phenomenon significant.”

— Richard Hofstadter, The Paranoid Style in American Politics

The Paranoid Style in American Politics (1964)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The idea of the paranoid style as a force in politics would have little contemporary relevance or historical value if i…" by Richard Hofstadter?

Richard Hofstadter34

American historian 1916–1970

Richard Hofstadter The Paranoid Style in American Politics

The Paranoid Style in American Politics (1964)

“We were talking briefly about cocaine…yeah. Anything that makes you paranoid and impotent, give me more of that!”

Robin Williams (1951–2014) American actor and stand-up comedian

A Night at the Met (1986)

“Strive not for singularity in dress; Fools have the more and men of sense the less. To look original is not worth while, But be in mind a little out of style.”

Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914) American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist

Source: Epigrams, p. 345

“Rousseau’s ideas were in the air; he only expressed what many of his contemporaries knew, namely that they were faced with a choice and had to decide either for Voltairianism, with its reasonableness and respectability, or for the surrender of historical traditions and a completely new beginning. There is no personal relationship in the whole history of European culture with more profound symbolic significance than that between Voltaire and Rousseau.”

Arnold Hauser (1892–1978) Hungarian art historian

Source: The Social History of Art, Volume III. Rococo, Classicism and Romanticism, 1999, Chapter 2. The New Reading Public

“Not dangerous at all. Not even that lucky. But a sufficiently paranoid mind will discern patterns and threats where only fortune has conspired.”

Glen Cook book Water Sleeps

Source: Water Sleeps (1999), Chapter 30 (p. 112)

“Harry: No, I don't think you're paranoid. I think you're the opposite of paranoid. I think you walk around with the insane delusion that people like you.”

Woody Allen (1935) American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, author, playwright, and musician

Deconstructing Harry (1997)

“As a lifelong habit of marijuana I was used to having even the most dreadful phenomena prove, on further inspection, to be only the figments of my paranoid fancy…”

Michael Chabon book Wonder Boys

Wonder Boys (1995)

“Some people think this is paranoia, but it isn't. Paranoids only think everyone is out to get them. Wizards know it.”

Terry Pratchett book Sourcery

Source: Sourcery

“I envy paranoids; they actually feel people are paying attention to them.”

Susan Sontag (1933–2004) American writer and filmmaker, professor, and activist

Source: "Susan Sontag Finds Romance," interview by Leslie Garis, The New York Times (2 August 1992)

“I don't care how paranoid and irrational this makes me sound, but I know for a fact that the people of Paris want me dead.”

Bill Bryson book Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe

Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe (1991)

“The idea of the paranoid style as a force in politics would have little contemporary relevance or historical value if it were applied only to men with profoundly disturbed minds. It is the use of paranoid modes of expression by more or less normal people that makes the phenomenon significant.”

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Richard Hofstadter34

Related quotes

Related topics