1778
“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of
government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves
money from the public treasure. From that moment on, the majority
always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public
treasury, with the result that democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy
followed by a dictatorship. The average of the world’s greatest civilizations has
been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through the following
sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage,
from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness,
from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to
dependency, from dependency back to bondage.” -- Alexander Tyler, 1778
government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves
money from the public treasure. From that moment on, the majority
always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public
treasury, with the result that democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy
followed by a dictatorship. The average of the world’s greatest civilizations has
been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through the following
sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage,
from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness,
from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to
dependency, from dependency back to bondage.” -- Alexander Tyler, 1778