Top 50 Democracy Quotes

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Democracy is a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives. With that in mind, check out the top 50 democracy quotes.

#50. Democracy Quotes

50. They should rule who are able to rule best. —Aristotle

#49 – 40. Democracy Quotes

49. The lesson of history is clear: democracy always wins in the end. – Marjorie Kelly

48. Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country. – Franklin D. Roosevelt

47. For, if liberty and equality, as some persons suppose, are chiefly to be found in a democracy, it must be so by every department of government being alike open to all; but as the people are in the majority, and what they vote is law, it follows that such a state is a democracy.” —Aristotle

46. The primal principle of democracy is the worth and dignity of the individual. – Edward Bellamy

45. The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern. —Lord Acton

44. Democracy arises out of the notion that those who are equal in any respect are equal in all respects; because men are equally free, they claim to be absolutely equal. —Aristotle

43. But collective thinking is usually short-lived. We’re fickle, stupid beings with poor memories and a great gift for self-destruction. ― Suzanne Collins

42. Democracy is government of, by and for the people. – Abraham Lincoln

41. It is always easier to fight for one’s principles than to live up to them. —Alfred Adler

40. What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or in the holy name of liberty or democracy? ― Mahatma Gandhi

#39 – 30. Democracy Quotes

39. It is my principle that the will of the majority should always prevail. – Thomas Jefferson

38. Suffrage is the pivotal right. —Susan B. Anthony

37. Totalitarianism is never content to rule by external means, namely, through the state and a machinery of violence; thanks to its peculiar ideology and the role assigned to it in this apparatus of coercion, totalitarianism has discovered a means of dominating and terrorizing human beings from within. —Hannah Arendt

36. The good of man must be the end of the science of politics. —Aristotle

35. After each war there is a little less democracy to save. —Brooks Atkinson

34. If the meanest man in the republic is deprived of his rights then every man in the republic is deprived of his rights. —Jane Addams

33. In a democracy, the individual enjoys not only the ultimate power but carries the ultimate responsibility. – Norman Cousins

32. A government of laws, and not of men. —John Adams

31. I don’t have any formula for ousting a dictator or building democracy. All I can suggest is to forget about yourself and just think of your people. It’s always the people who make things happen. – Corazon Aquino

30. A great democracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be a great democracy. – Theodore Roosevelt

#29 – 20. Democracy Quotes

29. The first duty of a man is to think for himself ― Jose Marti

28. One of the keys to the survival of free institutions is the relationship between private and public life, the way citizens do, or do not, participate in the public sphere. —Robert N. Bellah

27. The capacity to combine commitment with skepticism is essential to democracy. —Mary Catherine Bateson

26. The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. —John Adams

25. Not only every juror’s right but his Duty … to find the Verdict according to his own best Understanding, Judgment and Conscience, tho in Direct opposition to the Direction of the Court. —John Adams

24. Democracy is not just a question of having a vote. It consists of strengthening each citizen’s possibility and capacity to participate in the deliberations involved in life in society. – Fernando Cardoso

23. Democracy is not the law of the majority but protection of the minority. – Albert Camus

22. For, if liberty and equality, as some persons suppose, are chiefly to be found in a democracy, they will be attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost. —Aristotle

21. In a democracy the poor will have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, the will of the majority is supreme. – Aristotle

20. Judges ought to remember that their office is jus dicere and not jus dare; to interpret law and not to make or give law. —Francis Bacon

#19 – 10. Democracy Quotes

19. No oppression is so heavy or lasting as that which is inflicted by the perversion and exorbitance of legal authority. —Joseph Addison

18. He who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must either be a beast or a god. —Aristotle

17. There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge. ― Issac Asimov

16. People shouldn’t be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people. ― Alan Moore

15. I understand democracy as something that gives the weak the same chance as the strong. – Mohandas Gandhi

14. Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide. —John Adams

13. Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people, who have a right … and a desire to know. —John Adams

12. Democracy’s worst fault is that its leaders are likely to reflect the faults and virtues of their constituents. – Robert A. Heinlein

11. If there have been those who doubted whether a confederated representative democracy were a government competent to the wise and orderly management of the common concerns of a mighty nation, those doubts have been dispelled. —John Quincy Adams

10. The road to democracy may be winding and is like a river taking many curves, but eventually the river will reach the ocean. – Chen Shui-bian

#9 – 1. Democracy Quotes

9. The Spirit that prevails among Men of all degrees, all ages and sexes is the Spirit of Liberty. —Abigail Adams

8. Democracy is never a thing done. Democracy is always something that a nation must be doing. -Archibald MacLeish

7. There cannot be daily democracy without daily citizenship. – Ralph Nader

6. Democracy is not so much a form of government as a set of principles. – Woodrow Wilson

5. The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter. ― Winston S. Churchill

4. The people who own the country ought to govern it. – John Kay

3. Democracy substitutes election by the incompetent many for appointment by the corrupt few.- George Bernard Shaw

2. I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain. —John Adams

1. Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.  – Franklin D. Roosevelt

Ideas for the top 50 democracy quotes come from the following sources.^[1]happy publishing – democracy quote^[2]goodreads – democracy quote^[3]Center for Civic Education – Quotations about Democracy, Politics and Government, and Related Matters^[4]Notable Quotes – democracy quote^[5]birthdaywishes.expert – International Day of Democracy | 50 Famous + Original Quotes about Democratic Rule