Democracy | Some revealing quotes

"Unless democracy is to commit suicide by consenting to its own destruction, it will have to find some formidable answer to those who come to it saying: I demand from you in the name of your principles the rights which I shall deny to you later in the name of my principles." Walter Lippmann

"A free press is not a privilege but an organic necessity in a great society. Without criticism and reliable and intelligent reporting, the government cannot govern. For there is no adequate way in which it can keep itself informed about what the people of the country are thinking and doing and wanting." Walter Lippmann

"To create a minimum standard of life below which no human being can fall is the most elementary duty of the democratic state." Walter Lippmann

"Successful democratic politicians are insecure and intimidated men. They advance politically only as they placate, appease, bribe, seduce, bamboozle, or otherwise manage to manipulate the demanding and threatening elements in their constituencies. The decisive consideration is not whether the proposition is good but whether it is popular -- not whether it will work well and prove itself but whether the active talking constituents like it immediately. Politicians rationalize this servitude by saying that in a democracy public men are the servants of the people." Walter Lippmann

"The public is not cognizant of the real value of education, and does not realize that education as a social force is not receiving the kind of attention it has the right to expect in a democracy." Edward Bernays

"In this possibly terminal phase of human existence, democracy and freedom are more than just ideals to be valued - they may be essential to survival." Noam Chomsky

"It is an obvious and blatant stupidity beyond my ability to articulate how dumb it is for us not to teach our children how to run the government." Richard Dreyfuss

"There is one solution to all of our problems: Teaching our kids clarity of thought and political representation in democracy. That's it." Richard Dreyfuss

"Never let yourself be persuaded that any one Great Man, any one leader, is necessary to the salvation of America. When America consists of one leader and 158 million followers, it will no longer be America." Eisenhower

"The body is a cell state in which every cell is a citizen. Disease is merely the conflict of the citizens of the state brought about by the action of external forces." Rudolf Virchow

"The main political problem is how to prevent the police power from becoming tyrannical. This is the meaning of all the struggles for liberty." Ludwig von Mises

"The difference between the dinosaurs and us is that we have a space program and we can vote..." Philip Plait

"The defence of democracy must consist in making anti-democratic experiences too costly for those who try them; much more costly than a democratic compromise" Karl Popper

"The best defense against democracy is to distract people." Noam Chomsky