Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.

H.L. Mencken

More information about this quote

Topic

Democracy

Author

H.L. Mencken

Source

A Little Book in C Major

Statement Type

Definition

Language

English

Time

1916 1910s 20th century

Occupation

Writer

From

United States

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Mencken, Henry Louis. A Mencken Chrestomathy. Alfred A. Knopf, 1949, ch. 30. Originally published in A Little Book in C Major, published by John Lane Co., 1916, ch. 2.

Illustrated Quote

A quote by H.L. Mencken about democracy: “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve…”
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A quote by H.L. Mencken about democracy: “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve…”
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A quote by H.L. Mencken about democracy: “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve…”
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Related Quotes

Below are one or more quotes that share at least one tag with the quote at the top of the page

Another quote from the 1910s

My center is giving way, my right is retreating, situation excellent, I am attacking.

Ferdinand Foch

More information about this quote
Topic
Aggression Battle
Speaker
Ferdinand Foch
Language
French
Time
1914 1910s 20th century
Authentication Score 3
Citation

Foch, Ferdinand. Message sent during the first Battle of the Marne. 8 Sept. 1914.

Another quote about Democracy

Democracy passes into despotism.

Socrates

Quoted in Republic, by Plato

Buy the Republic at Amazon Buy the Republic at Amazon
Read the Republic at MIT's classics department website
More information about this quote
Topic
Political theory Democracy Tyranny Politics
Speaker
Socrates

Author

Plato
Source
Republic
Medium
Philosophical dialogue Dialogue
Genre
Philosophical literature
Language
Greek
Time
375 BC 370s BC 4th century BC
Era
Classical antiquity
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Socrates. Quoted in Πολιτεία [Republic], written by Plato. c. 375 BCE.

Current Citation

Socrates. Quoted in Republic, written by Plato, translated by Desmond Lee. Penguin Classics, 2007.

Another quote from 1916

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I ––
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

The Road Not Taken

Read The Road Not Taken at Poetry Foundation
More information about this quote
Topic
Taking a different path Following the crowd

Author

Robert Frost
Source
The Road Not Taken
Medium
Poem
Language
English
Time
1916 1910s 20th century
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Frost, Robert. "The Road Not Taken." Mountain Interval. Henry Holt, 1916, st. 4, I. 3.

Current Citation

Frost, Robert. "The Road Not Taken." Robert Frost: Collected Poems, Prose, and Plays, edited by Richard Poirier and Mark Richardson. Library of America, 1995, st. 4, I. 3.

Another quote of the following type Definition

A revolution is not the same as inviting people to dinner, or writing an essay, or painting a picture... A revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another.

Mao Zedong

More information about this quote
Topic
Revolution

Author

Mao Zedong
Genre
Political literature
Statement Type
Definition
Language
Chinese
Time
1927 1920s 20th century
Authentication Score 2
Citation

Zedong, Mao. "湖南农民运动考察报告 [Report on an Investigation of the Peasant Movement in Hunan]." Zhongyang Fukan, 28 Mar. 1927.