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One of the most interesting reactions to come out of 1968 was in the first publication of the Trilateral Commission, which believed there was a 'crisis of democracy' from too much participation of the masses.
Noam Chomsky
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Chomsky highlights concerns about excessive public engagement in democratic processes.

In this quote, Noam Chomsky reflects on the perspective of the Trilateral Commission, which argued that an overload of mass participation could be detrimental to democracy. This raises important questions about the balance between engagement and the effective functioning of democratic institutions, suggesting that there are potential pitfalls to too much involvement from the populace in decision-making processes.

Themes

DemocracyParticipationPoliticsMass InvolvementChomsky

In practice

Example use cases

In a political science class discussing the complexities of democratic systems.

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Quote by Noam Chomsky | QuoteProject