--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In order to improve democracy, then, it's…" description: "\"In order to improve democracy, then, it's necessary to change the people, as Brecht ironically proposed.\" — Alain Badiou" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b35/alain-badiou-12380_brecht_in-order-to-improve-democracy-then-it-s_974466.jpg" --- # In order to improve democracy, then, it's necessary to… ![“In order to improve democracy, then, it's necessary to change the people, as Brecht ironically proposed.” quote by Alain Badiou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b35/alain-badiou-12380_brecht_in-order-to-improve-democracy-then-it-s_974466.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b35/alain-badiou-12380_brecht_in-order-to-improve-democracy-then-it-s_974466.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b35/alain-badiou-12380_brecht_in-order-to-improve-democracy-then-it-s_974466.jpg) > “In order to improve democracy, then, it's necessary to change the people, as Brecht ironically proposed.” [Alain Badiou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-badiou/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Improving democracy requires transforming citizens' attitudes and participation, not just institutions. **In simple terms:** Democracy improves when people change. Key Takeaway Focus on civic education and engagement. Themes democracy citizen empowerment political reform Mood reflective critical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - voting - community organizing - public deliberation - education programs Key Concepts social change collective responsibility civic virtue Questions to Reflect On - How can we motivate citizens to embrace democratic values? - What barriers prevent widespread civic engagement? A Different Perspective Changing people is slow and may face resistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brecht/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Necessary change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessary-change/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [Those wanting to improve democracy in their countries should not wait for permission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bulent-ecevit/those-wanting-to-improve-democracy-in-their-countries-should-not-wait/) [Bulent Ecevit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bulent-ecevit/) > [It is the evil in man that makes democracy necessary, and man's belief in justice that makes democracy possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/it-is-the-evil-in-man-that-makes-democracy-necessary-and-man-s-belief/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Democracy is necessary to peace and to undermining the forces of terrorism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benazir-bhutto/democracy-is-necessary-to-peace-and-to-undermining-the-forces-of/) [Benazir Bhutto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benazir-bhutto/) > [Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/man-s-capacity-for-justice-makes-democracy-possible-but-man-s/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [In a democracy it is necessary that people should learn to endure having their sentiments outraged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/in-a-democracy-it-is-necessary-that-people-should-learn-to-endure/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [I don't care if you're a liberal icon or a conservative icon. If you are not willing to be active in your democracy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-don-t-care-if-you-re-a-liberal-icon-or-a-conservative-icon-if-you/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [“Our ambitions were, nonetheless, what those of any sensible group of women at that time, perhaps at any modern time, ought to have been:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renata-adler/our-ambitions-were-nonetheless-what-those-of-any-sensible-group-of/) [Renata Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renata-adler/) > [“Subtle! Subtlety is bourgeois. Brecht us that when he popped drama’s cherry. He fucked drama until it stopped being subtle, like a lady, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-burr-gerrard/subtle-subtlety-is-bourgeois-brecht-us-that-when-he-popped-drama-s/) [David Burr Gerrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-burr-gerrard/) > [I have great respect for Brecht, but his path is not mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-brook/i-have-great-respect-for-brecht-but-his-path-is-not-mine/) [Peter Brook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-brook/) > [“Food comes first and then morality Bertolt brecht”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/food-comes-first-and-then-morality-bertolt-brecht/) [bertolt brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [“Bertolt Brecht: I would also like to be wise. In the old books it says what wisdom is: To shun the strife of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-thien/bertolt-brecht-i-would-also-like-to-be-wise-in-the-old-books-it-says/) [Madeleine Thien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-thien/) > [I was called up in the war and sent to a hospital. I dressed wounds, applied iodine, gave enemas, did blood transfusions. If the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/i-was-called-up-in-the-war-and-sent-to-a-hospital-i-dressed-wounds/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [While I don't script and I don't use other performers, I think my taste for underlying precision gives me something in common with Allan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-antin/while-i-don-t-script-and-i-don-t-use-other-performers-i-think-my/) [David Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-antin/) > [“As a youth I enjoyed — indeed, like most of my contemporaries, revered — the agitprop plays of Brecht, and his indictments of Capitalism.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/as-a-youth-i-enjoyed-indeed-like-most-of-my-contemporaries-revered/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“Brecht was a cynical bohemian bogey of the middle classes, but also much more than a mere provocateur. He developed and dramatized his political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/brecht-was-a-cynical-bohemian-bogey-of-the-middle-classes-but-also/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) ## More by Alain Badiou > [“The oppressed peoples of the earth are not objects for the exquisite turmoil of European consciences. They are subjects from which to learn how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-badiou/the-oppressed-peoples-of-the-earth-are-not-objects-for-the-exquisite/) [Alain Badiou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-badiou/) > [“The audacity of thought is not to repeat 'to the limit' that which is already entirely retained within the situation which the limit limits;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-badiou/the-audacity-of-thought-is-not-to-repeat-to-the-limit-that-which-is/) [Alain Badiou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-badiou/) > [Emancipatory politics always consists in making seem possible precisely that which, from within the situation, is declared to be impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-badiou/emancipatory-politics-always-consists-in-making-seem-possible/) [Alain Badiou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-badiou/) > [To believe that the intolerable crime is to burn a few cars and rob some shops, whereas to kill a young man is trivial,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-badiou/to-believe-that-the-intolerable-crime-is-to-burn-a-few-cars-and-rob/) [Alain Badiou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-badiou/) > [All resistance is a rupture with what is. And every rupture begins, for those engaged in it, through a rupture with oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-badiou/all-resistance-is-a-rupture-with-what-is-and-every-rupture-begins-for/) [Alain Badiou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-badiou/) > [We have the riots we deserve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-badiou/we-have-the-riots-we-deserve/) [Alain Badiou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-badiou/) > [Art attests to what is inhuman in man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-badiou/art-attests-to-what-is-inhuman-in-man/) [Alain Badiou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-badiou/) > [“The 'economy of number' proposed by Peano is an economy of signs whose paradigm is algebraic, whose transparency is consensual, and whose operational effectiveness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-badiou/the-economy-of-number-proposed-by-peano-is-an-economy-of-signs-whose/) [Alain Badiou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-badiou/) > [Love can only consist in failure...on the fallacious assumption that it is a relationship. But it is not. It is a production of truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-badiou/love-can-only-consist-in-failure-on-the-fallacious-assumption-that-it/) [Alain Badiou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-badiou/) > [Evil is the moment when I lack the strength to be true to the Good that compels me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-badiou/evil-is-the-moment-when-i-lack-the-strength-to-be-true-to-the-good/) [Alain Badiou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-badiou/) > [What kind of world does one see when one experiences it from the point of view of two and not one? What is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-badiou/what-kind-of-world-does-one-see-when-one-experiences-it-from-the/) [Alain Badiou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-badiou/) > [We could say that love is a tenacious adventure. The adventurous side is necessary, but equally so is the need for tenacity. To give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-badiou/we-could-say-that-love-is-a-tenacious-adventure-the-adventurous-side/) [Alain Badiou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-badiou/) > [I would say, if you like, that the party is like an out-moded mathematics...that is to say, the mathematics of Euclid. We need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-badiou/i-would-say-if-you-like-that-the-party-is-like-an-out-moded/) [Alain Badiou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-badiou/) > [Evil is the interruption of a truth by the pressure of particular or individual interests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-badiou/evil-is-the-interruption-of-a-truth-by-the-pressure-of-particular-or/) [Alain Badiou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-badiou/) > [Without mathematics, we are blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-badiou/without-mathematics-we-are-blind/) [Alain Badiou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-badiou/) [Explore all 54 Alain Badiou quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-badiou/) ## More Brecht quotes > [“Brecht was a cynical bohemian bogey of the middle classes, but also much more than a mere provocateur. He developed and dramatized his political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/brecht-was-a-cynical-bohemian-bogey-of-the-middle-classes-but-also/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [“As a youth I enjoyed — indeed, like most of my contemporaries, revered — the agitprop plays of Brecht, and his indictments of Capitalism.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/as-a-youth-i-enjoyed-indeed-like-most-of-my-contemporaries-revered/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [While I don't script and I don't use other performers, I think my taste for underlying precision gives me something in common with Allan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-antin/while-i-don-t-script-and-i-don-t-use-other-performers-i-think-my/) [David Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-antin/) > [I was called up in the war and sent to a hospital. I dressed wounds, applied iodine, gave enemas, did blood transfusions. If the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/i-was-called-up-in-the-war-and-sent-to-a-hospital-i-dressed-wounds/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [“Bertolt Brecht: I would also like to be wise. In the old books it says what wisdom is: To shun the strife of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-thien/bertolt-brecht-i-would-also-like-to-be-wise-in-the-old-books-it-says/) [Madeleine Thien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-thien/) > [“Food comes first and then morality Bertolt brecht”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/food-comes-first-and-then-morality-bertolt-brecht/) [bertolt brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [I have great respect for Brecht, but his path is not mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-brook/i-have-great-respect-for-brecht-but-his-path-is-not-mine/) [Peter Brook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-brook/) > [“Subtle! Subtlety is bourgeois. Brecht us that when he popped drama’s cherry. He fucked drama until it stopped being subtle, like a lady, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-burr-gerrard/subtle-subtlety-is-bourgeois-brecht-us-that-when-he-popped-drama-s/) [David Burr Gerrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-burr-gerrard/) > [“Our ambitions were, nonetheless, what those of any sensible group of women at that time, perhaps at any modern time, ought to have been:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renata-adler/our-ambitions-were-nonetheless-what-those-of-any-sensible-group-of/) [Renata Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renata-adler/) > [The dilemma of Brechtian performance is that, for all of Brecht's emphasis on rationality and the undermining of theatrical illusion, the actor must convincingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-auslander/the-dilemma-of-brechtian-performance-is-that-for-all-of-brecht-s/) [Philip Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-auslander/) > [ I've never done a \[Berthold\] Brecht. In the 1960s when the Berliner Ensemble came over \[to England\] with Helene Weigel \[Brecht's second wife\], I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hurt/i-ve-never-done-a-berthold-brecht-in-the-1960s-when-the-berliner/) [John Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hurt/) > [Every work of art (unless it is a psuedo-intellectualist work, a work already comprised in some ideology that it merely illustrates, as with Brecht)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/every-work-of-art-unless-it-is-a-psuedo-intellectualist-work-a-work/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [It would be inappropiate, undignified, at 38, to conduct friendships or love affairs with the ardour or intensity of a 22 year old. Falling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/it-would-be-inappropiate-undignified-at-38-to-conduct-friendships-or/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [I was interested in the ways that artists responded to totalitarianism - the Czech Jazz Section, Romanian absurdist theatre, Brecht's alienation effect. The anything-goes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-royle/i-was-interested-in-the-ways-that-artists-responded-to/) [Nicholas Royle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-royle/) > [I'm from East Berlin. I grew up in the Bertold Brecht, Kurt Weil tradition, also in the old hippie tradition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-hagen/i-m-from-east-berlin-i-grew-up-in-the-bertold-brecht-kurt-weil/) [Nina Hagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-hagen/) [Browse all 30 Brecht quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brecht/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In order to improve democracy, then, it's necessary to change the people, as Brecht ironically proposed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alain Badiou" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-badiou/in-order-to-improve-democracy-then-it-s-necessary-to-change-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brecht" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-badiou/in-order-to-improve-democracy-then-it-s-necessary-to-change-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b35/alain-badiou-12380_brecht_in-order-to-improve-democracy-then-it-s_974466.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b35/alain-badiou-12380_brecht_in-order-to-improve-democracy-then-it-s_974466.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b35/alain-badiou-12380_brecht_in-order-to-improve-democracy-then-it-s_974466.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In order to improve democracy, then, it's necessary to change the people, as Brecht ironically proposed.” — Alain Badiou", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alain Badiou", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-badiou/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In order to improve democracy, then,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-badiou/in-order-to-improve-democracy-then-it-s-necessary-to-change-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-badiou/in-order-to-improve-democracy-then-it-s-necessary-to-change-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```