I go on the principle that a public debt is a public curse and in a republican government more than in any other.
James MadisonRead
I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpations; but, on a candid examination of history, we shall find that turbulence, violence, and abuse of power, by the majority trampling on the rights of the minority, have produced factions and commotions, which, in republics, have, more frequently than any other cause, produced despotism.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Madison warns that gradual erosion of freedom by those in power can be more dangerous than outright violence.
In this quote, James Madison emphasizes the insidious nature of power and how it can lead to the gradual loss of individual freedoms. He suggests that history shows a pattern where the majority can oppress the minority through silent encroachments, which can create factions and lead to despotism. Rather than just violent revolts, it is the subtle and continual infringement of rights that poses a significant threat to liberty.
Themes
FreedomPowerOppressionDemocracyHistory
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about civil rights, this quote could highlight the importance of vigilance against slow encroachments of freedom.
More from James Madison
All quotes →No man is allowed to be a judge in his own cause; because his interest would certainly bias his judgment, and, not improbably, corrupt his integrity. With equal, nay with greater reason, a body of men are unfit to be both judges and parties at the same time.
James MadisonRead
The advice nearest to my heart and deepest in my convictions is that the Union of the States be cherished and perpetuated.
James MadisonRead
Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.
James MadisonRead
The magnitude of this evil among us is so deeply felt, and so universally acknowledged, that no merit could be greater than that of devising a satisfactory remedy for it.
James MadisonRead
It was by the sober sense of our citizens that we were safely and steadily conducted from monarchy to republicanism, and it is by the same agency alone we can be kept from falling back.
James MadisonRead
Similar quotes
Neither the United States nor Israel has the capacity to impose a unilateral solution in the Middle East.
Zbigniew BrzezinskiRead
As soon as politicians start climbing up the ladder, they suddenly become kings. I don't know how it works, but what I do know is that republics came to the world to make sure that no one is more than anyone else. The pomp of office is like something left over from a feudal past: "You need a palace, red carpet, a lot of people behind you saying, 'Yes, sir.' I think all of that is awful."
Jose MujicaRead
I have ever been opposed to banks, - opposed to internal improvements by the general government, - opposed to distribution of public lands among the states, - opposed to taking the power from the hands of the people, - opposed to special monopolies, - opposed to a protective tariff, - opposed to a latitudinal construction of the constitution, - opposed to slavery agitation and disunion. This is my democracy. Point to a single act of my public career not in keeping with these principles.
Sam HoustonRead
Left-wing zealots have often been prepared to ride roughshod over due process and basic considerations of fairness when they think they can get away with it. For them the ends always seems to justify the means. That is precisely how their predecessors came to create the gulag.
Margaret ThatcherRead
I am mortal. I want the nation to get used to freedom before I die.
Mustafa Kemal AtaturkRead
Fear obscures reason, intensifies emotions, and makes it easier for demagogic politicians to mobilize the public on behalf of the policies they want to pursue.
Zbigniew BrzezinskiRead