Aristocrats fear the people, and wish to transfer all power to the higher classes of society.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the fear aristocrats have of the populace and their desire to maintain power among the elite.
In this quote, Thomas Jefferson critiques the aristocracy's apprehension towards the common people, implying that the elite seek to control governance to safeguard their privileges. Jefferson's statement reflects a broader philosophical debate about power distribution and societal hierarchies, emphasizing the tension between the ruling classes and the masses.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about the importance of democratic governance versus elitist control.
The firmness with which the (American) people have withstood the... abuses of the press, the discernment they have manifested between truth and falsehood, show that they may safely be trusted to hear everything true and false and to form a correct judgment between them.
I, place economy among the first & most important republican virtues, & public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared
βWe must make our choice between economy and liberty or confusion and servitude...If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our necessities and comforts, in our labor and in our amusements...if we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people, under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy.
Very many and very meritorious were the worthy patriots who assisted in bringing back our government to its republican tack. To preserve it in that, will require unremitting vigilance.
A nation, as a society, forms a moral person, and every member of it is personally responsible for his society.
Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty.
Power in America today is control of the means of communication.
Fighting corruption is not just good governance. It's self-defense. It's patriotism.
The authority of the Supreme Court must not be permitted to control the Congress or the Executive when acting in their legislative capacities, but to have only such influence as the force of their reasoning may deserve.
There is no excitement anywhere in the world, short of war, to match the excitement of the American presidential campaign.
I had faith in Israel before it was established, I have in it now. I believe it has a glorious future before it - not just another sovereign nation, but as an embodiment of the great ideals of our civilization.
Our tax policy is engineered by people who view tax as a means of achieving changes in our social structure.
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