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Quotes from Democracy for the Few — Michael Parenti

1933–2026 United States

← All quotes by Michael Parenti

26 quotes

The slums are not the problem, they are the solution; they are the way capitalism deals with the surplus people of a market economy.

Democracy for the Few (2010)

There is nothing sacred about the existing system.

Democracy for the Few (2010)

The close relationship between politics and economics is neither neutral nor coincidental. Large governments evolve through history in order to protect large accumulations of property and wealth.

Democracy for the Few (2010)

The worst forms of tyranny are those so subtle, so deeply ingrained, so thoroughly controlling as not even to be consciously experienced.

Democracy for the Few (2010)

Those who control the wealth of this society have an influence over political life far in excess of their number.

Democracy for the Few (2010)

There is a century-old saying, "The dollar votes more times than the man."

Democracy for the Few (2010)

Even though the crime rate has dropped in recent years, the United States has more police per capita than any other nation in the world.

Democracy for the Few (2010)

The peculiar danger of executive power is that it executes.

Democracy for the Few (2010)

Twelve states in the Great Plains have a wind energy potential greater than the electric use of our entire nation.

Democracy for the Few (2010)

The two party electoral system performs the essential function of helping to legitimate the existing social order.

Democracy for the Few (2010)

Economically deprived groups are seen as a threat because they want more, and more for the have-nots might mean less for the haves.

Democracy for the Few (2010)

One mechanism of repression is the grand jury.

Democracy for the Few (2010)

Profits are what you make when not working.

Democracy for the Few (2010)

It is ironic that people of modest means sometimes become conservative out of a scarcity fear bred by the very capitalist system they support.

Democracy for the Few (2010)

It is not Socialism that subverts democracy, but democracy that subverts capitalism.

Democracy for the Few (2010)

It may come as a surprise to some academics, but there is a marked relationship between economic power and political power.

Democracy for the Few (2010)

The rich have grown richer, but their tax rate has declined. The poor have grown poorer, but their taxes have increased.

Democracy for the Few (2010)

Actually, the New Deal's central dedication was to business recovery rather than social reform.

Democracy for the Few (2010)

The Federalists also used bribes, intimidation, and fraud against opponents of the Constitution.

Democracy for the Few (2010)

American socialism cannot be modeled on the former Soviet Union, China, Cuba, or other countries with different historical, economic, and cultural developments.

Democracy for the Few (2010)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Michael Parenti (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.