“Rather than a democracy, we increasingly have an elective dictatorship. People are merely permitted to choose who will violate the laws and the Constitution.” PeopleLawDemocracyConstitutionDictatorship Author:James Bovard
“The Orange Revolution was a powerful example of democracy around the world. The people of Ukraine are continuing to shape their own future.” PeopleWorldPowerfulDemocracyExampleRevolutionShapesAround The WorldContinuingOrangeUkraine Author:Scott McClellan
“How can we speak of Democracy or Freedom when from the very beginning of life we mould the child to undergo tyranny, to obey a dictator? How can we expect democracy when we have reared slaves? Real freedom begins at the beginning of life, not at the adult stage. These people who have been diminished in their powers, made short-sighted, devitalized by mental fatigue, whose bodies have become distorted, whose wills have been broken by elders who say: "your will must disappear and mine prevail!"-how can we expect them, when school-life is finished, to accept and use the rights of freedom?” PeopleChildrenHas BeensMadeRealUseBodySchoolLife IsSpeakAcceptingDemocracyRightsStageMinesBrokenAdultsSlaveFinishedDisappearTyrannyDictatorEldersFatigueMouldSchool LifeShort SightedReal FreedomBeginning Of Life Author:Maria Montessori
“Former Secretary (Hillary) Clinton has dedicated her life to serving and engaging people across the world in democracy. These efforts as a citizen, an activist, and a leader have earned Secretary Clinton this year's Liberty Medal.” PeopleWorldYearsEffortLibertyLeaderDemocracyCitizensClintonFormerServingActivistDedicatedSecretaryEngagingMedal Author:Jeb Bush
“Democracy means the power of the people and the possibility of influencing the governing parties. Russia had had enough experience with a one-party-system - we will not go back there.” PeopleMeanEnoughPartyDemocracyInfluencePossibilityRussiaGoverningHad Enough Author:Vladimir Putin
“Rulers like Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser started subsidizing bread as a way to buy loyalty, or at least obedience, and this system became so pervasive that the Tunisian scholar Larbi Sadiki described countries who used it as dimuqratiyyat al-khubz - "democracies of bread." But the problem with this system of offering bread in exchange for genuine democracy is that it can never last - sooner or later, the bread will run out, and people will start demanding bread and roses too.” PeopleWayCountryProblemRunningLastsUsedDemocracyRoseLoyaltyGenuineBreadObedienceAlsOfferingScholarRulersSooner Or LaterEgypt Author:Annia Ciezadlo
“I also did a great amount of writing while doing research. It gave me the opportunity to meet and talk to people other than family, but also to explore my own memory deeper by comparing it to the memories of others who were in my home town during, for example, the political transition from socialism to a nationalistic "democracy" or during the bombings.” PeopleWritingHomePoliticalOpportunityMemoriesMy OwnDemocracyExampleAmountResearchTownsDeeperSocialismCompareTransitionBombingNationalisticHome Town Author:Sasa Stanisic
“I'm worried about people who say Bush is lying. It's much more frightening that he's not lying, that he believes what he believes: that it's his mission to change the Middle East into a democracy. That's more unnerving.” PeopleBelieveLyingDemocracyMiddleMissionsEastWorriedMiddle EastFrightening Author:Seymour Hersh
“My links with [Mahatma] Gandhi now are very political links because I do not believe there is any other politics available to us in the late twentieth century, a period of a totalitarianism linked with the market. There is really no other way you can do politics and create freedom for people without the kinds of instruments he revived. Civil disobedience is a way to create permanent democracy, perennial democracy, a direct democracy.” PeopleWayBelieveKindPoliticalCan DoDemocracyCenturyPeriodsLateDirectInstrumentsAvailablePermanentLinksLinkedTwentieth CenturyTotalitarianismDisobedienceCivil DisobedienceDirect Democracy Author:Vandana Shiva
“People who thought that she was busy going around trying to stir up difficulty where there was none or less than she imagined, were quite critical of her. She was, we must never forget, a public figure. And in democracies, public figures tend to attract criticism as well as praise. The most dangerous thing would be if anybody were regarded as above criticism. And Eleanor Roosevelt is, in recent years, getting there.” PeopleIfsTryingYearsWellsWould BeForgetDemocracyDangerousFiguresCriticismDifficultyPraiseBusyCriticalNever ForgetDangerous ThingsEleanorPublic Figures Author:William A. Rusher
“There is a reason why these people [from Wall Street] are putting huge amounts of money into our political system. And in my view, it is undermining American democracy and it is allowing Congress to represent wealthy campaign contributors and not the working families of this country.” PeopleCountryReasonPoliticalViewsDemocracyStreetsHugeWallAmountCongressCampaignsReason WhyWealthyAllowingPolitical SystemsUnderminingContributorsAmerican Democracy Author:Bernie Sanders
“And for those of us who have, you know, looked in sort of the established order of the political fray over the course of the past several years, it looks like chaos. But to the people I think it looks like democracy. And I think that that's something that really is moving us to a new reality, where the parties are going to have to retrofit themselves and adapt to this new realignment.” PeopleThinkingKnowsYearsLooksRealityPastMovingPoliticalOrderCoursesPartyDemocracyChaosFray Author:Ben Domenech
“There was great political uncertainty in South Asia at the time of the Buddha. The older small tribal societies were cracking up and gave way to bigger states. There was much more trade and travel going on than before. To people in the cities the experience of living in a small place where you knew everyone and governed your affairs by consensual democracy had been lost.” PeopleWayStatesPoliticalLostCitiesDemocracyBiggerTradeSouthAffairUncertaintyAsiaGreat PoliticalSouth AsiaSmall PlacesCracking Up Author:Pankaj Mishra
“I think he [Vaclav Havel] is one of the great figures of the 20th century. He is one of the people that was able to be a part of overthrowing a dictatorial system by talking to people and understanding what the elements of democracy really are and respect for each other and elevating.” PeopleThinkingAbleUnderstandingTalkingDemocracyCenturyFiguresElements20th CenturyElevating Author:Judy Woodruff
“First of all, there's no separation of church and state in the Islamic world. They're one and the same. And so when President Bush or Senator Kerry or Prime Minister Blair says, "Look, adopt our secular democracy, look at how good we've done. We have a wonderful level of standard of living for our people," what many Muslims hear is, "Turn your back on God and follow what men say."” PeopleMenWorldFirstsLooksStatesDoneTurnsPresidentChurchLevelsDemocracyWonderfulStandardsSeparationMinistersIslamicPrimeSecularSenatorsPrime MinisterPresident BushChurch And StateSeparation Of Church And StateStandards Of LivingBlair Author:Michael Scheuer
“I think in Pakistan there is already democracy and no dictatorship. And recently a few years ago, the Pakistani people stood against the dictatorship of [Pervez] Musharraf and compelled him to resign. So now it is the people's democracy so I don't think any chance that the people should stand against this administration. Pakistan's situation is different than Egypt. They cannot be compared.” PeopleThinkingShouldYearsDifferentChanceSituationDemocracyYears AgoAdministrationDictatorshipEgyptPakistanCompelledMusharraf Author:Shahbaz Bhatti
“People are increasingly beginning to feel that democracy itself is being destroyed by this latest phase of globalization and that politics doesn't matter because it changes nothing.” PeopleFeelsMatterDemocracyDestroyedPhasesGlobalization Author:Tariq Ali
“My favorite forgotten President in American history is James Buchanan, who in defending really robust and sharp-elbowed debates said, "I like the noise of democracy. I like the sound of people in the streets making noise."” PeopleSaidSoundPresidentDemocracyStreetsForgottenMy FavoriteDebateNoiseAmerican HistoryRobust Author:Jeff Sharlet
“In a wild and diverse democracy each of us should be trying to talk to lots and lots and lots of people outside of our own kind of comfort zone and community, and that injunction goes even further for political leaders. They should talk to everyone, they should listen to everyone, and at the end of the day they should have a mind of their own.” PeopleShouldTryingMindKindEndsPoliticalCommunityLeaderDemocracyComfortShould HaveThe End Of The DayZoneDiverseComfort ZonePolitical LeadersAnd At The End Of The Day Author:Bill Ayers
“We care about equality and democracy within the band and outside the band. For us life is about cooperation and solidarity, not about egotism, greed, or competition. This means that we prefer to work with people and bands that have a similar sort of mentality and attitude.” PeopleMeanCareAttitudeDemocracyCompetitionGreedCollaborationCooperationMentalitySolidarityEgotism Author:G.W. Sok
“Things need to be properly named. Political confusion starts with terminology confusion. Islamism implies some sort of political and social plan for Muslim people. In that classification, we find different categories. Legalist ones, traditional ones and revolutionary ones. Some of them are revolutionary but are non-violent, others are extremely violent. There are also the ones we call the literalists, like the Egyptian party Hizb al-Nour that used to be against democracy and now is getting into the political game.” PeopleNeedsDifferentPoliticalUsedGamesSocialPartyDemocracyPlansViolentConfusionTraditionalUsed To BeRevolutionaryAlsCategoriesEgyptianClassificationNon ViolentTerminologyPolitical Games Author:Tariq Ramadan
“No one can deny that some Islamist groups have credential and popularity. But that does not mean they are a majority. If we are serious about democracy we cannot blame the people for choosing what they want. We must promote the kinds of procedures and processes that are helping the people move ahead.” PeopleIfsWantKindMeanDoeHelpingMovingProcessDemocracyGroupsSeriousBlameMajorityDenyPopularityProceduresMoving AheadIslamists Author:Tariq Ramadan
“We should say to the West: "You have been supporting dictators for too many years. Don't expect the people to introduce democracy over night. It is going to take time." It took time with the French revolution, it took time with the Eastern European revolutions. And it is going to take time there.” PeopleShouldYearsHas BeensNightDemocracyRevolutionWestIntroducingTake TimeDictatorEasternFrench Revolution Author:Tariq Ramadan
“I'm still committed to the socialist idea because the socialist idea, correctly understood, includes the principles of freedom and social justice. It also includes the recognition of the value of democracy. When we speak about social justice, it means that freedom should be used not only in the interest of profit but also in the interest of the advancement of the people who create all values.” PeopleShouldMeanStillsIdeasUsedValuesSpeakSocialInterestJusticePrinciplesDemocracyUnderstoodSocial JusticeProfitCommittedRecognitionSocialistAdvancement Author:Mikhail Gorbachev
“There's one other interesting thing about Western democracy. It didn't arrive at the end point that Karl Marx thought it would that wealth would become more and more concentrated in the hands of the few, that eventually the few would be killed by the many who were deprived, and that a different kind of government would then develop. What happened in Western democracy is that we began to understand that a democratic system can't work if half of the people are starving and the other half are dieting.” PeopleIfsKindDifferentEndsHandsGovernmentWould BeWealthInterestingHalfDemocracyHappenedDemocraticWesternDifferent KindsDeprivedStarvingInteresting ThingsOther HalfDieting Author:John Shelby Spong
“Most people that I know don believe that a handful of corporations request sit together without disclosure, by the way, and pump hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars into the political process. That is not the democracy that many of us believe America should be.” PeopleKnowsWayShouldBelieveTogetherAmericaPoliticalProcessMillionsDemocracyDollarsCorporationsHandfulRequestPumpsDisclosure Author:Bernie Sanders
“As one looks back, one sees that the fall of the Berlin Wall opened the door to three developments - the Eurozone, which was crafted around German unification, the free movement of peoples within Europe, particularly people from the new democracies of Eastern Europe, and, more broadly, it opened the door to globalization.” PeopleLooksFallThreeDemocracyDoorsMovementWallDevelopmentEuropeEasternGlobalizationBerlinEastern EuropeUnificationBerlin WallEurozoneFree Movement Author:Timothy Garton Ash
“"Democracy" means nothing else other than, "rule of the people", in Greek. There is nothing democratic about the political concepts of the United States and Europe.” PeopleMeanStatesPoliticalUnitedUnited StatesDemocracyConceptsEuropeDemocraticGreek Author:Andre Vltchek
“The majority of Arab people see the United States and Israel (definitely not Iran or Syria) as the greatest danger to the world. Could you imagine what the Arab people would do if true democracy (rule of the people) were to be victorious?” PeopleIfsWorldStatesUnitedUnited StatesDemocracyImagineDangerMajorityIsraelIranSyriaTrue Democracy Author:Andre Vltchek
“Democracy holds little appeal for people who are struggling to survive.” PeopleLittlesStruggleDemocracyAppealsStruggling To Survive Author:Paul Kagame
“I stand on the shoulders of giants that have gone before me, in terms of affording people like myself, women, the access to democracy, the vote, medical treatment, education, everything that I've been given. It's all been earned.” PeopleGivenTermGoneDemocracyVoteAccessMedicalShouldersGiantsTreatmentMedical TreatmentAffording Author:Annie Lennox
“We're more concerned about climate or economic equality or racial justice or anything else that is good for people and the planet, we simply must also spend some time wresting back our money-marinated democracy. This will require getting money out of politics and then getting people back in.” PeopleJusticeDemocracyEconomicPlanetsConcernedClimateGet MoneyRacial JusticeEconomic Equality Author:Annie Leonard
“Our constitutional system is founded on democracy: the will of the people, not the unchecked rule of judges.” PeopleDemocracyJudging Author:Mike DeWine
“Some have even suggested that this recent trend has transformed our democracy from one founded on, "We the people," to one ruled by, "We the court."” PeopleDemocracyCourtTrendsTransformed Author:Mike DeWine
“The Constitution empowers the people to resolve our day's most contentious issues. When judges forget this basic truth, they do a disservice to our democracy and to our constitution.” PeopleForgetDemocracyIssuesJudgingConstitutionEmpoweringResolveDisserviceContentious Author:Mike DeWine
“I think that the influence of people with power and money to distort democracy and have their interests served before the rest of the population is the biggest problem. That is caused by two things: campaign finance and the way that's structured, and by the Citizen's United supreme court decision. So those two things are keeping democracy from working right.” PeopleThinkingWayTwoProblemInterestDecisionUnitedDemocracyInfluenceCitizensCourtPopulationCampaignsSupremeFinanceTwo ThingsSupreme CourtCampaign FinanceCourt Decision Author:Shepard Fairey
“In the early period of Left struggles, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, there were many different trajectories for the struggle, whether you call it 'syndicalism' or 'anarchism' or, at the time, 'social democracy', eventually 'Communism', these were different theories of struggle. But all of them shared a basic understanding that the people...experience exploitation, they experience oppression, but they're not prepared to rise up.” PeopleDifferentLeftSocialUnderstandingStruggleDemocracyCenturyTheoryPeriodsLatePreparedOppressionCommunismExploitationTwentieth CenturyAnarchismTrajectorySocial Democracy Author:Vijay Prashad
“I hope March is a guide for today's activists. It took raw courage for young people to volunteer to go to Mississippi in the summer of 1964, and unrelenting faith in the power of democracy to organize such a massive campaign.” PeopleTodayYoungDemocracySummerGuidesCampaignsMarchMassiveActivistOrganizeVolunteerMississippiUnrelenting Author:Andrew Aydin
“Our society is connecting workers with the products people consume and recognizing workers for their contributions. It is important to do that, and to have organized labor - a middle class - to preserve our democracy.” PeopleImportantClassDemocracyMiddleProductsLaborWorkersPreservesOrganizedContributionMiddle ClassOur SocietyRecognizingConnectingOrganized Labor Author:Dolores Huerta
“We need to keep ringing the bell, wake people up to get our democracy together. Farm workers are like a symbol, and it is good that people are paying attention.” PeopleNeedsTogetherAttentionDemocracyWorkersSymbolsPay AttentionFarmsBells Author:Dolores Huerta
“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
“The Russian people chose democracy at the beginning of the 1990s and this was their final choice.” PeopleChoicesDemocracyFinals Author:Vladimir Putin
“In the referendum - which was still decided to take place by the Crimea's old parliament - the majority of citizens voted for belonging to Russia. This is democracy, the people's will.” PeopleStillsDemocracyCitizensDecidedMajorityRussiaBelongingParliamentReferendumsCrimea Author:Vladimir Putin
“But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders.” PeopleCountryMatterVoiceSimpleLeaderDemocracyPolicyDetermineCommunistDragDictatorshipParliamentFascistsBidding Author:Hermann Goring
“It's the same with this idea of a literate public, and also of a democracy in which people have access to and really read the best books. It turns out that even when you create this kind of environment, maybe only 10 percent of the people want to read those books.” PeopleWantKindBookIdeasTurnsDemocracyEnvironmentPercentAccess Author:Robert Hass
“People are always asking, "Is this person in front of me the same on the inside as he or she appears to be on the outside? Is there congruence between what's within that person and the words and actions I'm viewing and hearing externally?" Children ask that about their parents; students ask it about their teachers; parishioners ask it about their pastors and priests; employees ask it about their bosses; and in a democracy, citizens ask it about their political leaders.” PeopleChildrenPersonsActionPoliticalAsksParentLeaderDemocracyTeacherFrontsStudentsCitizensAskingHearingEmployeePriestsBossPastorPolitical LeadersWords And ActionsCongruence Author:Parker J. Palmer
“Nowhere else you will find a country of India's diversity, of India's complexity, one billion people trying to seek their social and economic salvation in the framework of democracy, in the framework of an open economy.” PeopleTryingCountrySocialEconomyDemocracyEconomicDiversityIndiaSalvationBillionsComplexityFramework Author:Manmohan Singh
“India is this great experiment of a billion people of such great diverse persuasions working together, seeking their salvation in the framework of a democracy. I believe it will have some lessons for all the multicultural societies.” PeopleBelieveTogetherI BelieveDemocracyLessonsIndiaSalvationSeekingBillionsExperimentsWorking TogetherDiversePersuasionFrameworkMulticulturalMulticultural Society Author:Manmohan Singh
“For some reason when it comes to democracy, we seem to think that political knowledge doesn't make any kind of difference or we shouldn't say that it does, like it would hurt people's feelings.” PeopleThinkingKindDoeReasonFeelingsSeemsPoliticalDifferencesHurtDemocracy Author:Jason Brennan
“It is quite possible that we will soon come to live under some sort of global despotism, enlightened or not. This is not a nice prospect. And there is only one way of avoiding that this happens: to establish a global democracy. And it is not too late to strive for such a democracy, of a straightforward populist nature, where people on the globe elect a world parliament, which in turn elects a world government.” PeopleWorldWayGovernmentHappensTurnsDemocracyNiceLateStriveOne WayToo LateEnlightenedGlobesAvoidingParliamentStraightforwardDespotismWorld GovernmentPopulist Author:Torbjorn Tannsjo