“Democracy does not require perfect equality, but it does require that citizens share a common life. What matters is that people of different backgrounds and social positions encounter one another, and bump up against one another, in the course of ordinary life.” PeopleDoeDifferentMatterCoursesSocialPerfectCommonDemocracySharePositionCitizensOrdinaryBackgroundsEncountersWhat MattersBumpsOrdinary LifeDifferent BackgroundsCommon Life Author:Michael Sandel
“In a democracy, every ordinary citizen is effectively a king--but a king in a constitutional democracy, a monarch who decides only formally, whose function is merely to sign off on measures proposed by an executive administration. This is why the problem with democratic rituals is homologous to the great problem of constitutional monarchy: how to protect the dignity of the king? How to maintain the appearance that the king effectively makes decisions, when we all know this not to be true?” KnowsProblemDecisionDemocracyKingsCitizensProtectOrdinaryDignityFunctionDemocraticAppearanceBeing TrueAdministrationExecutivesRitualMonarchyMonarchsOrdinary CitizensConstitutional MonarchySigning Off Book:First As Tragedy, Then As Farce Source: First As Tragedy, Then As Farce
“The importance of the ordinary citizen is very greatly underestimated - not so much by those in authority as by the ordinary citizen himself.” DemocracyCitizensAuthorityOrdinaryImportanceUnderestimatedOrdinary Citizens Book:A pocketful of pebbles Source: A pocketful of pebbles
“A democracy without faith is just a machine without power. Nothing can make it function except faith in itself, in the ordinary man and woman.” MenDemocracyOrdinaryMen And WomenMachinesFunctionOrdinary Man Author:Eleanor Dark
“It is a tribute to Indian democracy that a person from a poor family, an ordinary family, is today addressing the nation from the Red Fort.” PersonsTodayNationsPoorPowerfulDemocracyOrdinaryRedIndianTributeFortsPoor Family Author:Narendra Modi
“What we're doing is saying what happens with the establishment and how are we as ordinary human beings are used as pawns. What do we really know about what goes on! We think we are a democracy.... Are we? I'm not so sure.” ThinkingKnowsHumansHappensUsedHuman BeingsDemocracyGoes OnOrdinaryEstablishmentPawns Author:David Suchet
“There is nothing beyond the reach of ordinary citizens doing the daily work of democracy, and no problem too great to tackle with the power of active citizenship.” ProblemDemocracyCitizensOrdinaryActiveCitizenshipNo ProblemDaily WorkOrdinary CitizensActive Citizenship Author:Joan Claybrook
“Our ultimate weapon is not our guns but our beliefs ... Ours are not Western values. They are the universal values of the human spirit and anywhere, any time, ordinary people are given the chance to choose, the choice is the same. Freedom not tyranny. Democracy not dictatorship. The rule of law not the rule of the secret police. The spread of freedom is the best security for the free. It is our last line of defence and our first line of attack.” PeopleFirstsHumansLastsLawSpiritValuesChoicesBeliefGivenLinesChanceSecretDemocracySecurityWeaponsOrdinaryGunUltimateUniversalPoliceWesternSpreadTyrannyDictatorshipHuman SpiritOrdinary PeopleDefenceRule Of LawSecret PoliceWestern Values Author:Tony Blair
“The basic principles of democracy should be observed whatever the country - principles such as civil liberties, a free market, a free press, the priority of the individual over mythical state interests, a state which serves the interests of ordinary people and defends their rights and interests. This is all easy to say but hard to make reality.” PeopleShouldCountryHardStatesRealityIndividualEasyInterestLibertyPrinciplesDemocracyRightsOrdinaryPressesPrioritiesFree MarketOrdinary PeopleCivil LibertiesBasic PrinciplesFree Press Author:Vladimir Putin