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Quotes about government

575 quotes from 235 people

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The genius of democracies is seen not only in the great number of new words introduced but even more in the new ideas they express.
Alexis de Tocqueville1805–1859Democracy in America, Volume II (1840), Book One, Chapter XVI.
- Democracy
- Ideas
A democratic government is the only one in which those who vote for a tax can escape the obligation to pay it.
Alexis de Tocqueville1805–1859Democracy in America, Volume I (1835), Chapter XIII.
- Democracy
- Economics
No nation keeps its word. A nation is a big, blind worm, following what? Fate perhaps. A nation has no honor, it has no word to keep.
Carl Jung1875–1961During an interview with H. R. Knickerbocker (1939), quoted in A Life of Jung (2002) by Ronald Hayman, p. 360
There is hardly a political question in the United States which does not sooner or later turn into a judicial one.
Alexis de Tocqueville1805–1859Democracy in America, ed. J. P. Mayer, trans. George Lawrence, vol. 1, part 2, chapter 8, p. 270 (1969). Originally published in 1835–1840.
- America
- Laws
Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.
Alexis de Tocqueville1805–185912 September 1848, “Discours prononcé à l’assemblée constituante le 12 Septembre 1848 sur la question du droit au travail”, Oeuvres complètes, vol. IX, p. 546
- Democracy
The health of a democratic society may be measured by the quality of functions performed by private citizens.
Alexis de Tocqueville1805–1859
- Democracy
A little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their spells dissolve, and the people, recovering their true sight, restore their government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are suffering deeply in spirit, and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public debt…If the game runs sometime against us at home, we must have patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at stake.
Thomas Jefferson1743–1826From a letter to John Taylor (June 1798), after the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts
To those new States whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny.
John F. Kennedy1917–1963John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address (1961)
- America
So long as governments set the example of killing their enemies, private individuals will occasionally kill theirs.
Elbert Hubbard1856–1915The Better Part (1901)
In a state where corruption abounds, laws must be very numerous.
Tacitus55–120
- Laws
It is not necessary to prohibit or encourage oddities of conduct which are not harmful.
Napoleon1769–1821Napoleon : In His Own Words (1916)
- Freedom
Let the welfare of the people be the ultimate law.
Cicero107–43 BCDe Legibus (On the Laws) (c. 40s BC), Book III, section 3
- Laws
The law will never make men free; it is men who have got to make the law free.
Henry David Thoreau1817–1862“Slavery in Massachusetts” (1854)
- Freedom
- Laws
There is no credit to being a comedian, when you have the whole Government working for you. All you have to do is report the facts. I don’t even have to exaggerate.
Will Rogers1879–1935Will Rogers, Ambassador of Good Will, Prince of Wit and Wisdom (1935)
- Humor
This country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when the baby gets hold of a hammer.
Will Rogers1879–1935Daily Telegram #1230, Congress Session, Rogers Says, Is Like Baby Getting A Hammer (4 July 1930)
- Comedy