#democracy

Civil government, so far as it is instituted for the security of property, is in reality instituted for the defense of the rich against the poor, or of those who have some property against those who have none at all. ↗

— Adam Smith

#democracy #freedom #history #hope #individualism

But collective thinking is usually short-lived. We're fickle, stupid beings with poor memories and a great gift for self-destruction. ↗

— Suzanne Collins

#humanity #public-opinion #games

Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it. ↗

— Howard Zinn

#civil-disobedience #democracy #dissent #law #protest

Democracy is not just the right to vote, it is the right to live in dignity. ↗

— Naomi Klein

#politics #voting #dignity

Anarchism? You bet your sweet betsy. The only cure for the ills of democracy is more democracy. Much more. ↗

— Edward Abbey

#democracy #anarchism

. . . the only legitimate reason that kingship is not attractive to us is because in this age and this world the only kings available are finite and sinful. Listen to C. S. Lewis describe why he believes in democracy: A great deal of democratic enthusiasm descends from the ideas of people like Rousseau, who believed in democracy because they thought mankind so wise and good that everyone deserved a share in the government. The danger of defending democracy on those grounds is that they’re not true. . . I find that they’re not true without looking further than myself. I don’t deserve a share in governing a hen-roost, much less a nation. . . . The real reason for democracy is . . . Mankind is so fallen that no man can be trusted with unchecked power over his fellows. Aristotle said that some people were only fit to be slaves. I do not contradict him. But I reject slavery because I see no men fit to be masters.1 If there could be a king who is not limited in his wisdom and power and goodness and love for his subjects, then monarchy would be the best of all governments. If such a ruler could ever rise in the world—with no weakness, no folly, no sin—then no wise and humble person would ever want democracy again. The question is not whether God broke into the universe as a king. He did. The question is: What kind of king is he? What difference would his kingship make for you? ↗

— John Piper

#god #kingship #age

Democracy is supposed to give you the feeling of choice, like Painkiller X and Painkiller Y. But they're both just aspirin. ↗

— Gore Vidal

#both #choice #democracy #feeling #give

Our form of democracy is bribery, on the highest scale. ↗

— Gore Vidal

#democracy #form #highest #our #scale

So now is the time, more than ever, for those who truly value all the principles of democracy, especially including dissent, to be the most forceful in speaking up, standing up and speaking out. ↗

— Jim Hightower

#dissent #especially #ever #forceful #including

We're not a democracy. ↗

— Gore Vidal