Page 1 of 10

Quotations on Democracy
Author Quote

In a democracy dissent is an act of faith. Like

J. W. Fulbright medicine, the test of its value is not in its
taste, but in its effects.

Democracy, finally, rests on a higher power

than Parliament. It rests on an informed and
Dr. Eric cultivated and alert public opinion. The
Eustace Members of Parliament are only
Williams representatives of the citizens. They cannot
represent apathy and indifference. They can
play
Many forms of Government have been tried,
and will be tried in this world of sin and woe.
Winston No one pretends that democracy is perfect or
Churchill all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that
democracy is the worst form of Government
except all those others that have been
Many forms of Government have been tried,
and will be tried in this world of sin and woe.
No one pretends that democracy is perfect or
Winston
all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that
Churchill
democracy is the worst form of Government
except all those others that have been tried
from time to time.
Man's capacity for justice makes democracy
Reinhold
possible but man's inclination to injustice
Niebuhr
makes democracy necessary.
Sir Winston Many forms of Government have been tried,
Churchill and will be tried in this world of sin and woe.
No one pretends that democracy is perfect or
all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that
democracy is the worst form of government
 Page 2 of 10

except all those other forms that have been

tried from time to time.
Democracy and socialism have nothing in
Alexis Charles common but one word, equality. But notice
Henri Clrel de the difference while democracy seeks equality
Tocqueville in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint
and servitude.
Personally, I'm in favor of democracy, which
means that the central institutions of society
have to be under popular control. Now, under
capitalism, we can't have democracy by
definition. Capitalism is a system in which the
central institutions of society are in principle
under autocratic control. Thus, a corporation
or an industry is, if we were to think of it in
political terms, fascist that is, it has tight
Noam
control at the top and strict obedience has to
Chomsky
be establishedat every level--there's little
bargaining, a little give and take,but the line
of authority is perfectly straightforward. Just
as I'm opposed to political fascism, I'm
opposed to economic fascism. I think that
until the major institutions of society are
under the popular control of participants and
communities, it's pointless to talk about
democracy.
It's not the voting that's democracy, it's the
Tom Stoppard
counting.
It's not the voting that's democracy; it's the
Tom Stoppard
counting.
Democracy is when the indigent, and not the
Aristotle
men of property, are the rulers.
Thomas
Information is the currency of democracy.
Jefferson
Anything that keeps a politician humble is
Blessing Irish
healthy for democracy.
 Page 3 of 10

Democracy is not a fragile flower still it needs

Ronald Reagan
cultivating.
It has been said that democracy is the worst
Sir Winston
form of government except all the others that
Churchill
have been tried.
James William
In a democracy, dissent is an act of faith.
Fulbright
Jorge Luis
Democracy is an abuse of statistics.
Borges
Jawaharlal Democracy is good. I say this because other
Nehru systems are worse.
Abraham As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a
Lincoln master. This expresses my idea of democracy.
I take a grave view of the press. It is the weak
A. J. Liebling
slat under the bed of democracy.
Democracy is the art and science of running
H. L. Mencken
the circus from the monkey cage.
Mogens In democracy its your vote that counts. In
Jallberg feudalism its your count that votes.
In a democracy dissent is an act of faith. Like
J. W. Fulbright medicine, the test of its value is not in its
taste, but in its effects.
If our democracy is to flourish, it must have
Henry
criticism if our government is to function it
Commager
must have dissent.
We can have democracy in this country, or we
Louis D.
can have great wealth concentrated in the
Brandeis
hands of a few, but we can't have both.
The best argument against democracy is a
Winston
five-minute conversation with the average
Churchill
voter.
Laurence J. Democracy is a process by which the people
Peter are free to choose the man who will get the
 Page 4 of 10

blame.
Democracy consists of choosing your
Alan Coren dictators, after they've told you what it is you
want to hear.
Theodore The flood of money that gushes into politics
White today is a pollution of democracy.
So long as we have enough people in this
Roger Baldwin country willing to fight for their rights, we'll be
called a democracy.
As citizens of this democracy, you are the
Adlai Ewing
rulers and the ruled, the law-givers and the
Stevenson
law-abiding, the beginning and the end.
While democracy must have its organizations
Charles Evans
and controls, its vital breath is individual
Hughes
liberty.
Langston
Hughes, uThe I swear to the LordI still can't seeWhy
Black Man Democracy meansEverybody but me.
Speaksu
Don't ever dare to take your college as a
Alice Duer matter of course - because, like democracy
Miller and freedom, many people you'll never know
have broken their hearts to get it for you.
In the democracy of the dead all men at last
John James
are equal. There is neither rank nor station
Ingalls
nor prerogative in the republic of the grave.
Our enemy sees us clearly. ... They will not
Mikhail
start a war. They're worried about one thing If
Sergeyevich
democracy develops here, if we succeed, we
Gorbachev
will win.
(Recalling the atmosphere at what he called
George
the ceremonial birth of South African
Bernard Shaw
democracy.)
Mary Catherine The saddest life is that of a political aspirant
 Page 5 of 10

under democracy. His failure is ignominious

Bateson
and his success is disgraceful.
Inflation is bringing us true democracy. For
Robert Orben the first time in history, luxuries and
necessities are selling at the same price.
The world must be made safe for democracy.
Woodrow
Its peace must be planted upon the tested
Wilson
foundations of political liberty.
If liberty and equality, as is thought by some,
are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will
Aristotle
be best attained when all persons alike share
in government to the utmost.
What difference does it make to the dead, the
orphans and the homeless, whether the mad
Mahatma
destruction is wrought under the name of
Gandhi
totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or
democracy
Congress is functioning the way the Founding
Fathers intended-not very well. They
Barber B.
understood that if you move too quickly, our
Conable, Jr
democracy will be less responsible to the
majority.
Apparently, a democracy is a place where
numerous elections are held at great cost
Gore Vidal
without issues and with interchangeable
candidates.
The government, which was designed for the
people, has got into the hands of the bosses
Woodrow
and their employers, the special interests. An
Wilson
invisible empire has been set up above the
forms of democracy.
Jeff Melvoin Ed, we just witnessed a peaceful transition in
government. Do you realize how miraculous
that is...Today, tiny Cicely, Alaska, stood up
and put another W in the win category for
 Page 6 of 10

democracy.
Democracy does not guarantee equality of
Irving Kristol conditions - it only guarantees equality of
opportunity.
Democracy encourages the majority to decide
John Simon
things about which the majority is ignorant.
Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that
E. B. White more than half of the people are right more
than half of the time.
If you want to understand democracy, spend
Simeon
less time in the library with Plato and more
Strunsky
time in the buses with people.
El Salvador is a democracy so it's not
surprising that there are many voices to be
Dan Quayle
heard here. Yet in my conversations with
Salvadorans... I have heard a single voice.
Our democracy must be not only the envy of
the world but the engine of our own renewal.
Albert Einstein
There is nothing wrong with America that
cannot be cured by what is right with America.
Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts and
murders itself. There was never a democracy that did not
commit suicide.
A country which proposes to make use of modern war as an
instrument of policy must possess a highly centralized, all-
powerful executive, hence the absurdity of talking about the
defense of democracy by force of arms. A democracy which
makes or effectively
Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried
in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy
is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy
is the worst form of government except all those other forms
that have
You can never have a revolution in order to establish a
 Page 7 of 10

democracy. You must have a democracy in order to have a

revolution
Democracy works. Against us.
Democracy gives every man the right to be his own
oppressor.
Television is democracy at its ugliest.
The love of democracy is that of equality.
Democracy is the name we give the people whenever we need
them.
Democracy is 51% of the people taking away the rights of the
other 49%.
Adultery is the application of democracy to love.
The world must be made safe for democracy.
Democracy: The worship of jackals by jackasses.
Keeping freedom safe from democracy.
The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from
those who are willing to work and give to those who would
not.
Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no
better than we deserve.
I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom
and democracy - but that could change.
Democracy is being allowed to vote for the candidate you
dislike least.
Democracy is the art of running the circus from the monkey
cage.
Democracy is a device that insures we shall be governed no
better than we deserve.
Democracy: 3 wolves & a sheep voting on what's for lunch.
Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a
sheep voting on what to have for dinner.
 Page 8 of 10

The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the

security of all.
Democracy becomes a government of bullies tempered by
editors.
"We are on an irreversable trend towards more feedom and
democracy - but
The best argument against democracy is a five minute talk
with the average voter.
The best argument against democracy is a five minute
conversation with the average voter.
Democracy substitutes election by the incompetent many for
appointment by the corrupt few.
Democracy: The substitution of election by the incompetent
many for appointment by the corrupt few.
The great thing about democracy is that it gives every voter a
chance to do something stupid.
If our democracy is to flourish, it must have criticism; if our
government is to function it must have dissent.
Democracy is the theory that the common people know what
they want and deserve to get it good and hard.
Democracy is the theory that the common people know what
they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.
In a democracy dissent is an act of faith. Like medicine, the
test of its value is not in its taste, but in its effects.
An honest election, under democracy, is an act of innocence
which does not take place more than once in the history of a
given nation.
Of all tyrannies democracy is the most agonizing, the most
inane, the absolute fall of everything great and elevated.
Democracy means government by discussion, but it is only
effective if you can stop people talking.
Democracy is a form of government in which it is permitted to
 Page 9 of 10

wonder aloud what the country could do under first-class

management.
The whole dream of democracy is to raise the proletarian to
the level of stupidity attained by the bourgeois.
On account of being a democracy and run by the people, we
are the only nation in the world that has to keep a
government four years, no matter what it does.
On account of us being a democracy and run by the people,
we are the only nation in the world that has to keep a
government four years, no matter what it does.
The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination
from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy,
indifference, and undernourishment.
The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must
be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty.
What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and
the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under
the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or
democracy?
If liberty and equality, as is thought by some are chiefly to be
found in democracy, they will be best attained when all
persons alike share in the government to the utmost.
What you have when everyone wears the same playclothes
for all occasions, is addressad by nickname, expected to
participate in Show And Tell, and bullied out of any desire
form privacy, is not democracy; it is kindergarten.
It has been observed that a pure democracy if it were
practicable would be the most perfect government.
Experience has proved that no position is more false than
this. The ancient democracies in which the people themselves
deliberated never possessed one
"We are on an irreversable trend towards more feedom and
democracy - but that could change" -D. Quayle
Democracy encourages the majority to decide things about
 Page 10 of 10

which the majority is blissfully ignorant.

"Democracy admits variety and permits criticism." -- Forster
********