22 quotes
Democracy is a political system for people who are not sure that they are right.
Two Hundred Million Americans in Search of a Government (1969)
In the nature of things a political conflict among special interests is never restricted to the groups most immediately interested.
The Semisovereign People (1960)
The failure to understand that unification and division are a part of the same process has produced some illusions about politics.
The Semisovereign People (1960)
Democracy begins as an act of imagination about people. For this reason democracy is a doctrine of social criticism.
Two Hundred Million Americans in Search of a Government (1969)
Sectionalism tends strongly to depress party organization because elections in one-party areas are won not by competing with the opposition party but by eliminating it.
The Semisovereign People (1960)
There is a perpetual effort of the parties to isolate each other. To say it crudely, all radical proposals for the re-organization of American politics propose to isolate the rich.
The Semisovereign People (1960)
From the standpoint of party politics the margins within which pressure groups operate are limited. If a group divides equally in an election, its impact is zero.
The Semisovereign People (1960)
People who do not know what government is are not likely to know what democracy is either, for democracy is only what the soft inside of the oyster looks like.
Two Hundred Million Americans in Search of a Government (1969)
I suppose the most important thing I have done in my field is that I have talked longer and harder and more persistently and enthusiastically about political parties than anyone else alive.
The vice of the groupist theory is that it conceals the most significant aspects of the system. The flaw in the pluralist heaven is that the heavenly chorus sings with a strong upperclass accent. Probably about 90 per cent of the people cannot get into the pressure system.
The Semisovereign People (1960)
Democracy is a competitive political system in which competing leaders and organizations define the alternatives of public policy in such a way that the public can participate in the decision-making process.
The Semisovereign People (1960)
Government is the most successful idea in the world, but for all its success and importance it is something imperfect. There is no ideal state. After thousands of years it is still a mixture of good and evil.
Two Hundred Million Americans in Search of a Government (1969)
Since it is not easy to move special-interest groups from one party camp into the other, is it not better party strategy to try to capitalize on the public hostility toward many of these groups than it is to woo them?
The Semisovereign People (1960)
In the competition of conflicts there is nothing sacred about our preference for big or little conflicts. All depends on what we want most. The outcome is not determined merely by what people want but by their priorities.
The Semisovereign People (1960)
The role of conflict in the political system depends, first, on the morale, self-confidence and security of the individuals and groups who must challenge the dominant groups in the community in order to raise an opposition.
The Semisovereign People (1960)
The distinction between public and special interests is an indispensable tool for the study of politics. To abolish the distinction is to make a shambles of political science by treating things that are different as if they were alike.
The Semisovereign People (1960)
The scope and bias of the pressure system do not fit easily into the calculus of party politics. First, the pressure system is much too small to play the role sometimes assigned to it. Secondly, the supposed party neutrality of the pressure groups is largely a myth.
The Semisovereign People (1960)
The love of people goes far beyond liberty, rights, equality, and justice. It is something positive, seeks the fullest possible self-realization; it contemplates happiness, overflows all differences, and creates the kind of wealth that can be produced only by people who enjoy their common participation in a community.
Two Hundred Million Americans in Search of a Government (1969)
Political conflict is not like an intercollegiate debate in which the opponents agree in advance on a definition of the issues. As a matter of fact, the definition of the alternatives is the supreme instrument of power; the antagonists can rarely agree on what the issues are because power is involved in the definition.
The Semisovereign People (1960)
One possible synthesis of pressure politics and party politics might be produced by describing politics as the socialization of conflict. That is to say, the political process is a sequence: conflicts are initiated by highly motivated, hightension groups so directly and immediately involved that it is difficult for them to see the justice of competing claims.
The Semisovereign People (1960)