Benjamin Constant Quote: Why Paying Politicians Motivates Them Wrongly!

„When you pay the representatives of the people, you do not arouse in them an interest in performing their functions conscientiously; rather, you interest them only in continuing to secure for themselves the exercise of those functions.“

Benjamin ConstantBenjamin Constant's quote reveals why paying representatives often creates wrong incentives – an essential lesson for modern democracies.
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Benjamin Constant was a Swiss-French politician and philosopher who advocated for liberty and the shaping of modern democracies.

This quote warns that paying representatives can distort their motivation. It encourages reflection on genuine responsibility and interests.


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Quote by Benjamin Constant about how paying representatives affects their motivation

Henri-Benjamin Constant de Rebecque (1767–1830) was an influential writer, politician, and thinker of the French Enlightenment. He fought for liberal principles and a representative form of government that guarantees individual freedom. Constant is regarded as a significant voice in political philosophy and has had a major influence on concepts of modern democracy.

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"The government consists of a gang of men exactly like you and me. They have, taking one with another, no special talent for the business of government; they have only a talent for getting and holding office. Their principal device to that end is to search out groups who pant and pine for something they can't get and to promise to give it to them. Nine times out of ten that promise is worth nothing. The tenth time is made good by looting A to satisfy B. In other words, government is a broker in pillage, and every election is sort of an advance auction sale of stolen goods." Henry Louis Mencken
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