“Americans cannot escape a certain responsibility for what is done in our name around the world. In a democracy, even one as corrupted as ours, ultimate authority rests with the people. We empower the government with our votes, finance it with our taxes, bolster it with our silent acquiescence. If we are passive in the face of America's official actions overseas, we in effect endorse them.” PeopleIfsWorldDoneGovernmentActionAmericaFacesCertainNamesResponsibilityDemocracyEffectsTaxesAuthorityVoteUltimateSilentFinanceAround The WorldOfficialsEmpoweringPassiveAcquiescence Book:The Eagle's Shadow: Why America Fascinates and Infuriates the World Source: The Eagle's Shadow: Why America Fascinates and Infuriates the World
“I have not the smallest doubt that, if we had a purely democratic government here, the effect would be the same. Either the poor would plunder the rich, and civilisation would perish; or order and property would be saved by a strong military government, and liberty would perish.” IfsGovernmentWould BeOrderStrongPoorLibertyDemocracyRichDoubtEffectsMilitaryPropertyDemocraticSavedSmallestCivilisationPlunderDemocratic Government Author:Thomas B. Macaulay
“It is, the most beautiful truth in morals that we have no such thing as a distinct or divided interest from our race. In their welfare is ours, and by choosing the broadest paths to effect their happiness we choose the surest and the shortest to our own.” BeautifulInterestRaceMoralDemocracyPathEffectsWelfareDivided Author:Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton
“Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide. It is in vain to say that democracy is less vain, less proud, less selfish, less ambitious, or less avaricious than aristocracy or monarchy. It is not true, in fact, and nowhere appears in history. Those passions are the same in all men, under all forms of simple government, and when unchecked, produce the same effects of fraud, violence, and cruelty.” MenLongFactsGovernmentLastsRememberFormPassionSimpleDemocracyViolenceEffectsProduceProudWasteMurderSuicideSelfishCommitCrueltyVainFraudAmbitiousMonarchySuitableAristocracyDemocracies HaveViolence And Cruelty Author:John Adams
“What happened to the Soviet Union happened mainly for domestic reasons. It was a failure of the model based on a command economy and dictatorship. The rejection of freedom and democracy, the decisionmaking monopoly of one party, and the monopoly of one ideology all had a chilling effect on the country. That model turned out to be incapable of making structural changes. It did not open up ways for initiative and was overly centralized.” WayCountryReasonPartyEconomyDemocracyHappenedEffectsModelsUnionsCommandIdeologyRejectionSovietInitiativeDictatorshipIncapableSoviet UnionChillMonopolyCommand Economy Author:Mikhail Gorbachev
“If I and other whistleblowers are sentenced to long years in prison without so much as a chance to explain our motivations to a jury, it will have a deeply chilling effect on future whistleblowers working as I did to expose government abuse and overreach. It will chill speech. It will corrode the quality of our democracy.” IfsYearsLongGovernmentMotivationChanceQualityDemocracyEffectsSpeechAbusePrisonChillJuryWhistleblowers Author:Edward Snowden
“It is quite difficult to establish a clear-cut cause-and-effect relationship, as the causes are manifold and closely connected. It is simply not correct to link the level of democracy to prosperity. It is absolutely clear that the economic wealth of Saudi Arabia exceeds the performance of the Czech Republic. But apparently democracy is quite stable in the Czech Republic, which cannot be said about Saudi Arabia. As we delve into the past, we must not forget about the existing model of society.” SaidPastCausesDifficultWealthForgetLevelsDemocracyClearCuttingEconomicEffectsModelsPerformancesProsperityConnectedLinksRepublicStableExceedCause And EffectArabiaSaudi ArabiaSaudisManifoldCzechCzech Republic Author:Garry Kasparov