The most important lesson in the writing trade is that any manuscript is improved if you cut away the fat.
Robert A. HeinleinRead
Democracy is a poor system of government at best; the only thing that can honestly be said in its favor is that it is eight times as good as any other method the human race has ever tried.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Democracy has its flaws, but it is still better than any other governance system tried by humanity.
In this quote, Heinlein expresses a critical yet realistic perspective on democracy. While he acknowledges the imperfections and shortcomings of democratic systems, he emphasizes that, compared to all other forms of governance throughout history, democracy stands out as the least flawed option, highlighting its relative superiority in promoting human freedom and choice.
Themes
DemocracyGovernmentPoliticsHuman RightsFreedom
In practice
Example use cases
In a political speech emphasizing the value of democratic institutions.
More from Robert A. Heinlein
All quotes →An armed society is a polite society.
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Long human words (the longer the better) were easy, unmistakable, and rarely changed their meanings . . . but short words were slippery, unpredictable, changing their meanings without any pattern.
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Progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things.
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When a place gets crowded enough to require ID's, social collapse is not far away. It is time to go elsewhere. The best thing about space travel is that it made it possible to go elsewhere.
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A competent and self-confident person is incapable of jealousy in anything. Jealousy is invariably a symptom of neurotic insecurity.
Robert A. HeinleinRead
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A few profit - and the many pay. But there is a way to stop it. You can't end it by disarmament conferences. You can't eliminate it by peace parleys at Geneva. Well-meaning but impractical groups can't wipe it out by resolutions. It can be smashed effectively only by taking the profit out of war.
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One who has never known the turbulence of life, in whom the petals of the mysterious flower within have never opened; such a one may seem happy, may seem a saint, his single track mind may impress the multitude with its power - but he is ill equipped for life's true adventure into the infinite.
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Man is diminished if he lives without knowledge of his past; without hope of a future he becomes a beast.
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Divinity must live within herself: Passions of rain, or moods in the falling snow; Grievings in loneliness, or unsubdued Elations when the forest blooms; gusty Emotions on wet roads on autumn nights; All pleasures and all pains, remembering The boughs of summer and the winter branch. These are the measures destined for her soul.
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[The Pope] will make the king believe that three are only one, that the bread he eats is not bread... and a thousand other things of the same kind.
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