"Those who formally rule take their signals and commands not from the electorate as a body, but from a small group of men. This group will be called the Establishment. It exists even though that existence is stoutly denied. It is one of the secrets of the American social order... A second secret is the fact that the existence of the Establishment - the ruling class - is not supposed to be discussed."

22 likes

Source: Why I Wrote 'The Crucible'. The New Yorker, October 21, 1996.

About the author

Arthur Miller

Playwright, Essayist

Arthur Miller was an influential American playwright known for works like 'Death of a Salesman' that explore themes of truth and human struggle.

All quotes by Arthur Miller →

Same author

More quotes by Arthur Miller

See all →
Arthur Miller Playwright, Essayist

"If a person measures his spiritual fulfillment in terms of cosmic visions, surpassing peace of mind, or ecstasy, then he is not likely to know much spiritual fulfillment. If, however, he measures it in terms of enjoying a sunrise, being warmed by a child's smile, or being able to help someone have a better day, then he is likely to know much spiritual fulfillment."

Read quote
Arthur Miller Playwright, Essayist

"The problem was to sustain at any cost the feeling you had in the theater that you were watching a real person, yes, but an intense condensation of his experience, not simply a realistic series of episodes."

Read quote
Arthur Miller Playwright, Essayist

"I’m a writer, and everything I write is both a confession and a struggle to understand things about myself and this world in which I live. This is what everyone’s work should be-whether you dance or paint or sing. It is a confession, a baring of your soul, your faults, those things you simply cannot or will not understand or accept. You stumble forward, confused, and you share. If you’re lucky, you learn something."

Read quote
Arthur Miller Playwright, Essayist

"We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law!"

Read quote