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A simple way to determine whether the right to dissent in a particular society is being upheld is to apply the town square test: Can a person walk into the middle of the town square and express his or her views without fear of arrest, imprisonment, or physical harm? If he can, then that person is living in a free society. If not, it's a fear society.

— Natan Sharansky The Case for Democracy (2004)

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More quotes by Natan Sharansky

The free world should not wait for dictatorial regimes to consent to reform.

The Case for Democracy (2004)

The conviction that freedom is a universal desire is not the property of any political camp. ... Yet those who hold it remain a precious few, outnumbered many times over by the skeptics who don't.

The Case for Democracy (2004)

Freedom's skeptics must understand that the democracy that hates you is less dangerous than the dictator who loves you. Indeed, it is the absence of democracy that represents the real threat to peace.

The Case for Democracy (2004)

A lack of moral clarity is also the tragedy that has befallen efforts to advance peace and security in the world. Promoting peace and security is fundamentally connected to promoting freedom and democracy.

The Case for Democracy (2004)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Natan Sharansky (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.