Robert A. Heinlein Quotes About Democracy

Quotes about: Democracy

• Democracy is four wolves and a sheep voting on dinner.

  Robert A. Heinlein

  Truth, Freedom, Knowledge

• What is supposed to happen in a democracy is that each sovereign citizen will always vote in the public interest for the safety and welfare of all. But what does happen is that he votes his own self-interest as he sees it... which for the majority translates as 'Bread and Circuses'.

  Robert A. Heinlein

  Self, Safety, Democracy

• Democracy can survive anything except Democrats

  Robert A. Heinlein

  Democracy, Politics, Democrat

• There is an old song which asserts 'the best things in life are free.' Not true! Utterly false! This was the tragic fallacy which brought on the decadence and collapse of the democracies of the twentieth century; those noble experiments failed because the people had been led to believe that they could simply vote for whatever they wanted...and get it without toil, without sweat, without tears. Nothing of value is free. Even the breath of life is purchased at birth only through gasping effort and pain.

  Robert A. Heinlein

  Song, Pain, Believe

  Robert A. Heinlein (1987). “Starship Troopers”, p.76, Penguin

• The greatest fallacy of democracy is that everyone's opinion is worth the same.

  Robert A. Heinlein

  Freedom, Democracy, Opinion

• A managed democracy is a wonderful thing... for the managers... and its greatest strength is a 'free press' when 'free' is defined as 'responsible' and the managers define what is 'irresponsible'.

  Robert A. Heinlein

  Democracy, Wonderful, Responsible

  Robert A Heinlein (1966). “Moon Is Harsh Mistres”, Berkley

• Democracy is based on the assumption that a million men are wiser than one man. How's that again? I missed something.

  Robert A. Heinlein

  Men, Democracy, Assumption

  Time Enough for Love "Intermission" (1973)

• Democracy's worst fault is that its leaders are likely to reflect the faults and virtues of their constituents.

  Robert A. Heinlein

  Leader, Democracy, Faults

  "Stranger in a Strange Land". Book by Robert A. Heinlein, p. 232, 1991.

• Democracy can't work. Mathematicians, peasants, and animals, that's all there is - so democracy, a theory based on the assumption that mathematicians and peasants are equal, can never work. Wisdom is not additive; its maximum is that of the wisest man in a given group.

  Robert A. Heinlein

  Animal, Men, Wisest Man

  Robert A. Heinlein (2007). “Glory Road”, p.277, Macmillan

• Democracy is a poor system of government at best; the only thing that can honestly be said in its favor is that it is eight times as good as any other method the human race has ever tried.

  Robert A. Heinlein

  Eight, Race, Government

  "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert A. Heinlein, (p. 232), 1991.

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