Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Comment on this quote Share via Email Print this Page [21-40] of 355 Democracy quotesDemocracy QuotesDemocracy Previous 20 quotes Next 20 quotes Democracy arose from men thinking that if they are equal in any respect they are equal in all respects.~ Aristotle It is the greatest inequality to try to make unequal things equal.~ Aristotle The basis of a democratic state is liberty.~ Aristotle Democracy means government by discussion, but it is only effective if you can stop people talking.~ Clement Atlee The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.~ Marcus Aurelius A democratic despotism is like a theocracy: it assumes its own correctness.~ Walter Bagehot To permit every interest group, especially those who claim to be victimized by unfair expression, their own legislative exceptions to the First Amendment so long as they succeed in obtaining a majority of legislative votes in their favor demonstrates the potentially predatory nature of what defendants seek through this Ordinance.~ Sarah Evans Barker Although totalitarian democracy is democratic in form, it requires an all-knowing elite to guide the masses toward their determined end, and that elite relies on whipping up mass enthusiasm to preserve its power and achieve its goals. Totalitarian democracy is almost always secular and materialistic, and its adherents tend to treat politics as a substitute for religion. Their sacred mission is to use the coercive power of the state to remake man and society according to an abstract ideal of perfection.~ William Barr Today in the United States, the corporate – or ‘mainstream’ – press is massively consolidated. And it has become remarkably monolithic in viewpoint, at the same time that an increasing number of journalists see themselves less as objective reporters of the facts, and more as agents of change.~ William Barr The Framers would have seen a one-size-fits-all government for hundreds of millions of diverse citizens as being utterly unworkable and a straight road to tyranny. That is because they recognized that not every community is exactly the same. What works in Brooklyn might not be a good fit for Birmingham. The federal system allows for this diversity. It also enables people who do not like a certain system to move to a different one.~ William Barr It is easier to run away from a local tyranny than a national one. … [I]f it is one size fits all – if every congressional enactment or Supreme Court decision establishes a single rule for every American – then the stakes are very high as to what that rule is.~ William Barr These developments have given the press an unprecedented ability to mobilize a broad segment of the public on a national scale and direct that opinion in a particular direction.~ William Barr When the entire press ‘advances along the same track,’ as Tocqueville put it, the relationship between the press and the energized majority becomes mutually reinforcing. Not only does it become easier for the press to mobilize a majority, but the mobilized majority becomes more powerful and overweening with the press as its ally. This is not a positive cycle, and I think it is fair to say that it puts the press’s role as a breakwater for the tyranny of the majority in jeopardy. The key to restoring the press in that vital role is to cultivate a greater diversity of voices in the media.~ William Barr Thought that is silenced is always rebellious. Majorities, of course, are often mistaken. This is why the silencing of minorities is necessarily dangerous. Criticism and dissent are the indispensable antidote to major delusions.~ Alan Barth Democrats will play the old Washington game of calling reductions in the rate of growth of spending for any program a 'cut'.~ Bruce Bartlett Civilization exists precisely so that there may be no masses but rather men alert enough never to constitute masses.~ Georges Bernanos The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.~ Edward Bernays The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society.~ Edward Bernays An election is nothing more than the advanced auction of stolen goods.~ Ambrose Bierce Politics, n. Strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles.~ Ambrose Bierce Previous 20 quotes Next 20 quotes Share on Facebook Tweet Email Print