Quote by Thomas Jefferson

A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.

A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one p

Summary

This quote suggests that a democracy, despite its idealistic notion of majority rule, can easily lead to oppression and the violation of minority rights. It argues that when decisions are made by a simple majority, there is a risk of disregarding the needs and interests of the minority. The quote implies that a true democracy should not prioritize sheer numerical advantage but rather ensure the protection and representation of all citizens, regardless of their numerical strength.

Topics

Politics Justice Democracy Tyranny Perspective Majority Minority

By Thomas Jefferson

Liked the quote? Share it with your friends.

Random Quotations

Getting to meet people that I've admired my entire life, and

Getting to meet people that I've admired my entire life, and getting to meet them in such a way where they're coming in to play completely different characters than I had ever seen them do is just wonderful.

Life People Character

To meet the expectations of the majority of our people, and

To meet the expectations of the majority of our people, and to open up new vistas of economic opportunity so that the aspirations of Nigerians can stand a fair chance of being fulfilled in a lifetime, there must be a truly committed leadership in a democratic Nigeria.

Ibrahim Babangida

Leadership

It is said that as many days as there are in the whole journ

It is said that as many days as there are in the whole journey, so many are the men and horses that stand along the road, each horse and man at the interval of a days journey; and these are stayed neither by snow nor rain nor heat nor darkness from accomplishing their appointed course with all speed.

Sometimes it takes a walk through the darkness; to totally a

Sometimes it takes a walk through the darkness; to totally appreciate the light

Love Inspirational Darkness

It is unfair to expect a politician to live in private up to

It is unfair to expect a politician to live in private up to the statements he makes in public.

W. Somerset Maugham

Politics

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven do

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new.

Life Death Change People Invention

In Genesis, it says that it is not good for a man to be alon

In Genesis, it says that it is not good for a man to be alone but sometimes it is a great relief.

Alone

We shall never achieve harmony with the land, anymore than w

We shall never achieve harmony with the land, anymore than we shall achieve absolute justice or liberty for people. In these higher aspirations the important thing is not to achieve but to strive.

Nature Science Inspirational

That the public can grow accustomed to any face is proved by

That the public can grow accustomed to any face is proved by the increasing prevalence of Keith's ruined physiognomy on TV documentaries and chat shows, as familiar and homely a horror as Grandpa in The Munsters.

It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation f

It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for subtlety.

Communication

Violent, irrational, intolerant, allied to racism and tribal

Violent, irrational, intolerant, allied to racism and tribalism and bigotry, invested in ignorance and hostile to free inquiry, contemptuous of women and coercive toward children: organized religion ought to have a great deal on its conscience.

Christopher Hitchens

Religion Women Conscience

I didn't want to be one of those women who wake up at 63 yea

I didn't want to be one of those women who wake up at 63 years old and realize they've missed the window of opportunity for marriage and children.

Alanis Morissette

Marriage