Why Democracies Fail
The famous "why democracies fail" quotation is
"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits with the result the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy."
Its earliest confirmed use is on page 12A of the Daily Oklahoman on December 9, 1951, which attributed it to Tytler. Later references to the quote specify that it's from the book "The Decline and Fall of the Athenian Republic" by Alexander Fraser Tytler. No record of that book can be found, and nobody can find any other work by Tytler with the quotation. Although most of Tytler's work has been completely lost.
Read more about this topic: Alexander Fraser Tytler
Famous quotes containing the words democracies and/or fail:
“It is a besetting vice of democracies to substitute public opinion for law. This is the usual form in which masses of men exhibit their tyranny.”
—James Fenimore Cooper (1789–1851)
“Well, I am chiefly interested in the renomination, so don’t get disconsolate over that. If we lost the election I shall feel that the party is rejected, whereas if I fail to secure the renomination it will be a personal defeat.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)