What the public does is not to express its opinions but to align itself for or against a proposal. If read more

What the public does is not to express its opinions but to align itself for or against a proposal. If that theory is accepted, we must abandon the notion that democratic government can be the direct expression of the will of the people. We must abandon the notion that the people govern. Instead we must adopt the theory that, by their occasional mobilizations as a majority, people support or oppose the individuals who actually govern. We must say that the popular will does not direct continuously but that it intervenes occasionally.

Illegitimacy is something we should talk about in terms of not having it.

Illegitimacy is something we should talk about in terms of not having it.

To be a leader of men one must turn one's back on men.

To be a leader of men one must turn one's back on men.

Hell hath no fury like a bureaucrat scorned.

Hell hath no fury like a bureaucrat scorned.

The conception that government should be guided by majority opinion makes sense only if that opinion is independent of government. read more

The conception that government should be guided by majority opinion makes sense only if that opinion is independent of government. The ideal of democracy rests on the belief that the view which will direct government emerges from an independent and spontaneous process. It requires, therefore, the existence of a large sphere independent of majority control in which the opinions of the individuals are formed.

If a politician murders his mother, the first response of the press or of his opponents will likely be not read more

If a politician murders his mother, the first response of the press or of his opponents will likely be not that it was a terrible thing to do, but rather that in a statement made six years before he had gone on record as being opposed to matricide.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that read more

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.

To succeed in politics, it is often necessary to rise above your principles.

To succeed in politics, it is often necessary to rise above your principles.

If we let people see that kind of thing, there would never again be any war.

If we let people see that kind of thing, there would never again be any war.