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Democratic Society Quotes

Browse 186 quotes about Democratic Society.

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Democratic Society Quotes

“As a matter of constitutional tradition, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, we presume that governmental regulation of the content of speech is more likely to interfere with the free exchange of ideas than to encourage it. The interest in encouraging freedom of expression in a democratic society outweighs any theoretical but unproven benefit of censorship.”

IdeasMatterGovernmentInterestExpressionSpeechBenefitsEvidenceTraditionDemocraticAbsenceContraryCensorshipRegulationInterfereTheoreticalFreedom Of ExpressionDemocratic Society
Author:John Paul Stevens
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“As political theorist Michael Parenti points out, historians often overlook Fascism's economic agenda--the partnership between Big Capital and Big Government--in their analysis of its authoritarian social program. Indeed, according to Bertram Gross in his startlingly prescient Friendly Fascism (1980), it is possible to achieve fascist goals within an ostensibly democratic society.”

BigsGovernmentPoliticalSocialGoalEconomicAchieveProgramDemocraticAnalysisFriendlyAgendasHistorianFascismPartnershipGrossFascistsBig GovernmentDemocratic SocietyTheoristsSocial Programs
Author:Richard Heinberg
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“We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society.”

IfsMenWayMindHumansIdeasTogetherHuman BeingsResultsNumbersHeardTasteDemocraticPropagandaOrganizedLogicalManipulationNew World OrderWorld OrderMind ControlDemocratic Society
Book:Propaganda
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“Human existence may be simpler than we thought. There is no predestination, no unfathomed mystery of life. Demons and gods do not vie for our allegiance. Instead, we are self-made, independent, alone, and fragile, a biological species adapted to live in a biological world. What counts for long-term survival is intelligent self-understanding, based upon a greater independence of thought than that tolerated today even in our most advanced democratic societies.”

WorldHumansMayLongMadeSelfTodayUnderstandingTermExistenceGreaterMysterySurvivalIntelligentIndependentIndependenceDemocraticSpeciesToleranceLong TermDemonFragileAllegianceHuman ExistenceAdaptedDemocratic SocietySelf MadeMystery Of LifePredestinationSelf UnderstandingIndependence Of Thought
Author:E. O. Wilson
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“There are credentials for admission to our democratic society [...]. You have to be educated in order to be a participant in our conversation So we are going to go right on trying to discredit you in the eyes of your children, trying to strip your fundamentalist religious community of dignity, trying to make your views seem silly rather than discussable. We are not so inclusivist as to tolerate intolerance such as yours.”

TryingChildrenSeemsEyeOrderCommunityReligiousViewsConversationDignityOur ChildrenDemocraticSillyEducatedYour ChildrenIntoleranceTolerateParticipantsFundamentalistAdmissionDemocratic SocietyDiscreditCredentialsReligious CommunityDiscredit You
Author:Richard Rorty
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“Change from below, the formulation of demands from the populace to end unacceptable injustice, supported by direct action, has played a far larger part in shaping British democracy than most constitutional lawyers, political commentators, historians or statesmen have ever cared to admit. Direct action in a democratic society is fundamentally an educational exercise.”

EndsActionPoliticalDemocracyExerciseDemandDirectDemocraticInjusticeEducationalBritishLawyerHistorianStatesmenCommentatorsDemocratic SocietyDirect Action
Author:Tony Benn
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“When the rate of return on capital exceeds the rate of growth of output and income, as it did in the nineteenth century and seems quite likely to do again in the twenty-first, capitalism automatically generates arbitrary and unsustainable inequalities that radically undermine the meritocratic values on which democratic societies are based.”

FirstsSeemsValuesGrowthDemocracySocietyCenturyReturnCapitalismTwentiesDemocraticRateIncomeInequalityArbitraryExceedNineteenth CenturyDemocratic SocietyOutputUndermining
Book:Capital in the Twenty-First Century
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“In our democratic society, the library stands for hope, for learning, for progress, for literacy, for self-improvement and for civic engagement. The library is a symbol of opportunity, citizenship, equality, freedom of speech and freedom of thought, and hence, is a symbol for democracy itself.”

SelfOpportunityDemocracyProgressSpeechSelf ImprovementDemocraticLibraryImprovementSymbolsEngagementFreedom Of SpeechCitizenshipLiteracyCivicsFreedom Of ThoughtDemocratic SocietyCivic Engagement
Author:Vartan Gregorian
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“The fact is that the average man's love of liberty is nine-tenths imaginary, exactly like his love of sense, justice and truth... Liberty is not a thing for the great masses of men. It is the exclusive possession of a small and disreputable minority, like knowledge, courage and honor. It takes a special sort of man to understand and enjoy liberty - and he is usually an outlaw in democratic societies.”

MenLoveFactsEnjoyJusticeLibertyCourageSpecialHonorMassDemocraticAveragePossessionLibertarianNineMinoritiesImaginaryHis LoveExclusiveOutlawDemocratic SocietyAverage ManGreat Libertarian
Author:H. L. Mencken
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“... an essential feature of a decent society, and an almost defining feature of a democratic society, is relative equality of outcome - not opportunity, but outcome. Without that you can't seriously talk about a democratic state... These concepts of the common good have a long life. They lie right at the core of classical liberalism, of Enlightenment thinking... Like Aristotle, [Adam] Smith understood that the common good will require substantial intervention to assure lasting prosperity of the poor by distribution of public revenues.”

ThinkingLongStatesLyingOpportunityPoorCommonEssentialsEnlightenmentUnderstoodConceptsDemocraticProsperityLibertarianCoreFeaturesOutcomesDecentLiberalismLastingRelativeAdamDistributionRevenueInterventionDefiningLong LifeGood WillCommon GoodDemocratic SocietyClassical Liberalism
Author:Noam Chomsky
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“Citizens of the democratic societies should undertake a course of intellectual self defense to protect themselves from manipulation and control, and to lay the basis for meaningful democracy.”

ShouldSelfCoursesDemocracyCitizensProtectIntellectualBasesLaysDemocraticDefenseBrilliantMeaningfulManipulationSelf DefenseDemocratic Society
Book:Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies
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“I believe that a guarantee of public access to government information is indispensable in the long run for any democratic society.... if officials make public only what they want citizens to know, then publicity becomes a sham and accountability meaningless.”

IfsKnowsWantBelieveLongGovernmentRunningI BelieveInformationCitizensDemocraticAccessOfficialsGuaranteesAccountabilityMeaninglessLong RunsIndispensablePublicityDemocratic Society
Book:Secrets: On the Ethics of Concealment and Revelation
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“Although I have made a fortune in the financial markets, I now fear that the untrammeled intensification of laissez-faire capitalism and the spread of market values into all areas of life is endangering our open and democratic society. The main enemy of the open society, I believe, is no longer the communist but the capitalist threat.”

BelieveMadeLife IsValuesI BelieveEnemySocietyCapitalismAreasThreatFortuneDemocraticFinancialSpreadCommunistCapitalistDemocratic SocietyLaissez FaireFinancial MarketsLaissez Faire Capitalism
Author:George Soros
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“When public men indulge themselves in abuse, when they deny others a fair trial, when they resort to innuendo and insinuation, to libel, scandal, and suspicion, then our democratic society is outraged, and democracy is baffled. It has no apparatus to deal with the boor, the liar, the lout, and the antidemocrat in general.”

MenDealsDemocracyFairsAbuseDemocraticDenyTrialsLiarsSuspicionScandalResortsIndulgeIndulge InDemocratic SocietyOutragedLibelBaffledInnuendoFair Trial
Author:J. William Fulbright
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