Quotes about democracy

“To advise according to the laws what was best for the people”

The Bouletic oath, Cleisthenes (credited with creation of Athenian democracy)

“The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty. We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion. We seek no indemnities for ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make. We are but one of the champions of the rights of mankind. We shall be satisfied when those rights have been made as secure as the faith and the freedom of nations can make them.”

Woodrow Wilson, address to Congress (April 2, 1917). (State of War with Germany).

” – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

– Abraham Lincoln (Gettysburg Address)

“But one factor of liberty is to govern and be governed in turn; for the popular principle of justice is to have equality according to number, not worth, … And one is for a man to live as he likes; for they say that this is the function of liberty, inasmuch as to live not as one likes is the life of a man that is a slave.”

—Aristotle, Politics 1317b (Book 6, Part II)

“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 for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”

– Winston Churchill. (Speech in the House of Commons, 11 November 1947)”

“Democracy arose from men’s thinking that if they are equal in any respect, they are equal absolutely.”

— – Aristotle

“Our safety, our liberty, depends upon preserving the Constitution of the United States as our fathers made it inviolate. The people of the United States are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.”

— Abraham Lincoln

“I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts, and beer.”

— Abraham Lincoln

“As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy.”

— Abraham Lincoln

“I am an adherent of the ideal of democracy, although I well know the weaknesses of the democratic form of government. Social equality and economic protection of the individual appeared to me always as the important communal aims of the state. Although I am a typical loner in daily life, my consciousness of belonging to the invisible community of those who strive for truth, beauty, and justice has preserved me from feeling isolated.”

Albert Einstein, in “My Credo”

“Today, the values of democracy, open society, respect for human rights, and equality are becoming recognized all over the world as universal values. To my mind there is an intimate connection between democratic values and the fundamental values of human goodness. Where there is democracy there is a greater possibility for the citizens of the country to express their basic human qualities, and where these basic human qualities prevail, there is also a greater scope for strengthening democracy. Most importantly, democracy is also the most effective basis for ensuring world peace.”

– Dalai Lama

“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Thomas Jefferson

“Democracy is the best revenge.”

— Benazir Bhutto

Humorous quotes on democracy

“The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.”

— Winston Churchill

“Democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people.”

– Oscar Wilde

“You have to remember one thing about the will of the people: it wasn’t that long ago that we were swept away by the Macarena.”

— Jon Stewart

“Two Cheers for Democracy: one because it admits variety and two because it permits criticism. Two cheers are quite enough: there is no occasion to give three.”

E. M. Forster, “What I Believe”, 1938

“Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.”

— George Bernard Shaw

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Democracy by Charles Tilly

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Democracy in America

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Democracy in America at Amazon