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Alexander Fraser Tytler on Democracy

1747–1813 Scotland

← All quotes by Alexander Fraser Tytler

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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. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits, with the result that the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy.

Misattributed

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Alexander Fraser Tytler (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.