If the U.S. entered the war [WWI] to make the world safe for democracy, she needed first to make democracy safe in America.

— Emma Goldman, Russian-American writer and lecturer on anarchist philosophy, women’s rights, and social issues, 1869-1940

If the U.S. entered the war [WWI] to make the world safe for democracy, she needed first to make democracy safe in America.

— Unknown Source

The test of a democracy is not the magnificence of buildings or the efficiency of transportation, but rather the care given to the welfare of all the people.

— Unknown Source

Although a democracy must often fight with one hand tied behind its back, it nonetheless has the upper hand.

— Aharon Barak, Israeli law professor, former President of the Supreme Court of Israel, Born 1936

The road to democracy is not a freeway. It is a toll road on which we pay by accepting and carrying out our civic responsibilities.

— Lucius D. Clay, U.S. senior office of the U.S. Army, known for his administration of occupied Germany after World War II.. 1898-1978

Man’s capacity for evil makes democracy necessary and man’s capacity for good makes democracy possible.

— Reinhold Niebuhr, U.S. theologian, ethicist, commentator on politics and public affairs, and professor who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, 1892-1971

Free and fair elections are a necessary – but not sufficient – condition of democracy.

— Uwe Bott, U.S. international political-economic consultant, Born 1956

Democracy is a system of constructive contention.

— Marshall Ganz, U.S. national social organizer, Born 1943

. . . while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.

— Alexis de Tocqueville, French diplomat, political scientist, and historian, 1805-1809

The health of a democratic society may be measured by the quality of functionsperformed by private citizens.

— Alexis de Tocqueville, French diplomat, political scientist, and historian, 1805-1809

We can either have democracy in this country or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of few. But we can’t have both.

— Louis Brandeis, U.S. lawyer and associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, 1856-1941

We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.

— Louis Brandeis, U.S. lawyer and associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, 1856-1941
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