“And what has come to prevail in democracies is the very reverse of beneficial, in those, that is, which are regarded as the most democratically run. The reason for this lies in the failure properly to define liberty. For there are two marks by which democracy is thought to be defined: "sovereignty of the majority" and "liberty." "Just" is equated with what is equal, and the decision of the majority as to what is equal is regarded as sovereign; and liberty is seen in terms of doing what one wants.” WantTwoReasonRunningLyingPoliticsTermDecisionLibertyEconomyDemocracyEqualMarkMajorityDefinedLiberalismReverseSovereignSovereigntyBeneficial Author:Aristotle
“When the Founders thought of democracy, they saw democracy in the political sphere - a sphere strictly limited by the Constitution's well-defined and enumerated powers given the federal government. Substituting democratic decision making for what should be private decision making is nothing less than tyranny dressed up.” ShouldWellsGovernmentPoliticalGivenDecisionDemocracySawsConstitutionDemocraticTyrannyDefinedDecision MakingSpheresFoundersFederal GovernmentDressed Up Author:Walter E. Williams
“We have, on the whole, more liberty and less equality than Russia has. Russia has less liberty and more equality. Whether democracy should be defined primarily in terms of liberty or equality is a source of unending debate.” ShouldWholeTermLibertyDemocracySourceDebateRussiaDefinedUnending Author:Reinhold Niebuhr
“Tradition is only democracy extended through time; it may be defined as an extension of the franchise. Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who are merely walking about. All democrats object to men being disqualified by accident of birth; tradition objects to their being disqualified by accident of death. Democracy tells us not to neglect a good man's opinion, even if he is our father.” IfsMenGivingMayMeanGovernmentFatherOpinionClassDemocracyObjectsBirthWalkingTraditionVoteDemocratRefuseAccidentsDefinedGood ManNeglectAncestorArrogantSubmitObscureExtensionsOur FatherRough TimesOligarchy Author:Gilbert K. Chesterton
“My life had been defined by the apartheid years. Now we were going into an era of democracy... and I believed that I didn't have really a function as an artist, as a useful artist, in that anymore.” YearsArtistDemocracyFunctionDefinedErasApartheid Author:Athol Fugard
“I believe Britishness is defined not on ethnic and exclusive grounds but through shared values, our history of tolerance, openness and internationalism and our commitment to democracy and liberty, to civic duty and the public space.” BelieveValuesI BelieveSpaceLibertyDemocracyDutyCommitmentToleranceDefinedOpennessExclusiveCivicsCivic DutyInternationalismShared Values Author:David Blunkett
“It can sound trite if you just say citizens need to be educated for democracy to work, but for him it wasn't trite. It was really this strenuous challenge to citizens to use their moments of leisure, which he defined as time away from work, to collect the facts that were necessary for full democratic participation.” IfsNeedsMomentsFactsUseSoundChallengesDemocracyCitizensDemocraticEducatedDefinedLeisureParticipationTime Away Author:Jeffrey Rosen