“A democracy is a state in which the poor, gaining the upper hand, kill some and banish others, and then divide the offices among the remaining citizens equally, usually by lot.” StatesHandsPoorDemocracyCitizensOfficeDividesUpper Hand Author:Plato
“Having women in office is vital to the health of our democracy because women play a unique role in our society. By and large, women are still the primary caregivers in families, even as we have taken our place in the workforce.” StillsPlayRolesDemocracyTakenOfficeUniquePrimariesOur SocietyWorkforceCaregivers Author:Ellen Malcolm
“Only a work democracy can create the foundation of genuine freedom. Long experience in sociological disputes leads me to expect that a great many people will take offense at the disclosure of this miscalculation. It makes the highest demands on people's will to veracity; it puts a heavy burden on everyday living; it places all social responsibility on those who work, be it in the factory, in the office, on the farm, in the laboratory, or wherever.” PeopleLongSocialResponsibilityDemocracyDemandOfficeHighestFoundationEverydayBurdenHeavyGenuineGreat MenFarmsFactoriesOffenseSocial ResponsibilityDisputesLaboratoryLeading MeDisclosureSociologicalVeracityHeavy BurdensMiscalculationsEveryday Living Author:Wilhelm Reich
“If you have reservations about the system and want to change it, the democratic argument goes, do so within the system: put yourself forward as a candidate for political office, subject yourself to the scrutiny and the vote of fellow citizens. Democracy does not allow for politics outside the democratic system. In this sense, democracy is totalitarian.” IfsWantDoePoliticalDemocracySubjectsCitizensOfficeArgumentVoteFellowsDemocraticCandidatesScrutinyReservations Author:J. M. Coetzee
“In a well-functioning democracy, citizens have the option of voting their political masters out of office. Not so in most companies.” WellsPoliticalCompanyDemocracyMastersCitizensOfficeVoting Author:Gary Hamel
“One of the things that I realized when I left office was that in the 1990's citizens across the world applied more power than they had ever had, as compared with the government, because of more people living under democracies than dictatorships for the first time, the power of the internet, which the young Chinese used to basically change China's policy on the SARS epidemic, and shut it down, and because of the rise in non-governmental organizations like my foundation.” PeopleWorldFirstsGovernmentYoungUsedLeftDemocracyPolicyInternetCitizensOfficeFirst TimeOrganizationDown AndFoundationChinaI RealizedChineseDictatorshipEpidemicsSars Author:William J. Clinton
“The first year I was in office, only about 800 people came out of the Soviet Union, Jews. By the third year I was in office... second year, 1979, 51,000 came out of the Soviet Union. And every one of the human rights heroes - I'll use the word - who have come out of the Soviet Union, have said it was a turning point in their lives, and not only in the Soviet Union but also in places like Czechoslovakia and Hungary and Poland [they] saw this human rights policy of mine as being a great boost to the present democracy and freedom that they enjoy.” PeopleYearsFirstsHumansSaidUseEnjoyDemocracySawsRightsPolicyMinesHeroOfficeThirdsUnionsHuman RightsJewSovietSoviet UnionTurning PointsBoostPolandHungaryCzechoslovakia Author:Jimmy Carter
“I will not be standing for office. I'm nearing 70; there are younger people within our movement. I just wish to contribute intellectually to the historic process of taking Tunisia from the era of repression to one of democracy.” PeopleWishProcessDemocracyMovementOfficeStandingErasHistoricRepressionTunisia Author:Rashid al-Ghannushi
“If democracy is ever to be threatened, it will not be by revolutionary groups burning government offices and occupying the broadcasting and newspaper offices of the world. It will come from disenchantment, cynicism and despair caused by the realisation that the New World Order means we are all to be managed and not represented.” IfsWorldMeanGovernmentPoliticalOrderDemocracyGroupsRevolutionPoliticianDespairOfficeNewspapersManageBurningRevolutionaryRealisingNew WorldCynicismThreatenedRepresentingNew World OrderWorld OrderRealisationBroadcastingDisenchantment Author:Tony Benn
“Politics, under a democracy, reduces itself to a mere struggle for office by flatterers of the proletariat; even when a superior man prevails at that disgusting game he must prevail at the cost of his self-respect. Not many superior men make the attempt. The average great captain of the rabble, when he is not simply a weeper over irremediable wrongs, is a hypocrite so far gone that he is unconscious of his own hypocrisy.. a slimy fellow, offensive to the nose.” MenSelfGamesStruggleGoneDemocracyCostOfficeFellowsMereAverageSuperiorsNosesHypocrisyUnconsciousSelf RespectDisgustingCaptainsOffensiveHypocriteProletariatSuperior ManFlattererSo Far Gone Author:H. L. Mencken
“I've always thought that the role of citizen, the role of advocate, were as important in our democracy as running for office.” ImportantRunningRolesDemocracyCitizensOfficeRunning For Office Author:Hillary Clinton
“As a result of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, American democracy is being undermined by the ability of the Koch brothers and other billionaire families. These wealthy contributors can literally buy politicians and elections by spending hundreds of millions of dollars in support of the candidates of their choice. We need to overturn Citizens United and move toward public funding of elections so that all candidates can run for office without being beholden to the wealthy and powerful.” NeedsRunningMovingChoicesAbilityDecisionUnitedResultsPowerfulMillionsSupportDemocracyBrotherCitizensPoliticianOfficeElectionCourtDollarsSpendingSupremeCandidatesWealthySupreme CourtFundingBillionaireContributorsAmerican DemocracyCourt DecisionCitizens United Author:Bernie Sanders
“The federal government and our democracy is not a speedboat. It's an oceanliner, as I discovered when I came into office. It took a lot of really hard work for us to make significant policy changes, even in our first two years, when we had larger majorities than Mr. Trump will enjoy when he comes into office.” YearsFirstsTwoHardGovernmentEnjoyDemocracyPolicyHard WorkTrumpOfficeMajoritySignificantTwo YearsFederal Government Author:Barack Obama