Bertrand Russell Quotes About Democracy

• Our great democracies still tend to think that a stupid man is more likely to be honest than a clever man.

  Bertrand Russell

  Clever, Stupid, Men

  "New Hopes for a Changing World". Part III: Man and Himself, Ch. 16: Ideas Which Have Become Obsolete, p. 158. Book by Bertrand Russell, 1951.

• To acquire immunity to eloquence is of the utmost importance to the citizens of a democracy.

  Bertrand Russell

  Democracy, Citizens, Importance

  Bertrand Russell (2009). “The Basic Writings of Bertrand Russell”, p.660, Routledge

• An Honest politician will not be tolerated by a democracy unless he is very stupid ... because only a very stupid man can honestly share the prejudices of more than half the nation.

  Bertrand Russell

  Stupid, Men, Cynical

  Bertrand Russell (1971). “Ladislas Reymont: Romain Rolland ; Bertrand Russell”

• One of the chief obstacles to intelligence is credulity, and credulity could be enormously diminished by instructions as to the prevalent forms of mendacity. Credulity is a greater evil in the present day than it ever was before, because, owing to the growth of education, it is much easier than it used to be to spread misinformation, and, owing to democracy, the spread of misinformation is more important than in former times to the holders of power.

  Bertrand Russell

  Truth, Evil, Growth

  Bertrand Russell, Richard A. Rempel, Beryl Haslam (2000). “Uncertain Paths to Freedom: Russia and China, 1919-22”, p.360, Psychology Press

• Democracy is the process by which people choose the man who'll get the blame.

  Bertrand Russell

  Freedom, Humorous, Men

• Our great democracies still tend to think that a stupid man is more likely to be honest than a clever man, and our politicians take advantage of this prejudice by pretending to be even more stupid than nature has made them.

  Bertrand Russell

  Clever, Stupid, Men

  "New Hopes for a Changing World". Part III: Man and Himself, Ch. 16: Ideas Which Have Become Obsolete, p. 158. Book by Bertrand Russell, 1951.

• Envy is the basis of democracy.

  Bertrand Russell

  Envy, Democracy, Bases

  Conquest of Happiness (1930) ch. 6

• A democrat need not believe that the majority will always reach a wise decision. He should however believe in the necessity of accepting the decision of the majority, be it wise or unwise, until such a time that the majority reaches another decision.

  Bertrand Russell

  Wise, Freedom, Believe

• If one man offers you democracy and another offers you a bag of grain, at what stage of starvation do you prefer the grain to the vote?

  Bertrand Russell

  Men, Democracy, Bags

  Bertrand Russell (2009). “Bertrand Russell's Best”, p.82, Routledge

• A fanatical belief in democracy makes democratic institutions impossible.

  Bertrand Russell

  Democracy, Belief, Impossible

  Bertrand Russell, John G. Slater, Peter Köllner (1997). “Last Philosophical Testament: 1943-68”, p.400, Psychology Press

• Democracy has at least one merit, namely that a Member of Parliament cannot be stupider than his constituents, for the more stupid he is, the more stupid they were to elect him.

  Bertrand Russell

  Stupid, Democracies Have, Democracy

  Bertrand Russell (2009). “Autobiography”, p.66, Routledge

• The institution of representative government to us seems an essential part of democracy, but the ancients never thought of it. Its immense merit was that it enabled a large constituency to exert indirect power, and thus made possible the distribution of political responsibility throughout the great states of modern times.

  Bertrand Russell

  Responsibility, Government, Political

  Bertrand Russell (1993). “The Quotable Bertrand Russell”

• In a democracy it is necessary that people should learn to endure having their sentiments outraged.

  Bertrand Russell

  People, Democracy, Should

  Bertrand Russell, Ray Perkins (Jr.) (2002). “Yours Faithfully, Bertrand Russell: A Lifelong Fight for Peace, Justice, and Truth in Letters to the Editor”, p.161, Open Court Publishing

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