--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All democracies are based on the…" description: "\"All democracies are based on the proposition that power is very dangerous and that it is extremely important not to let any one person or small group h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/aldous-huxley-97_democracy_all-democracies-are-based-on-the-proposi_2079679.jpg" --- # All democracies are based on the proposition that power is… ![“All democracies are based on the proposition that power is very dangerous and that it is extremely important not to let any one person or small group have too much power for too long a time” quote by Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/aldous-huxley-97_democracy_all-democracies-are-based-on-the-proposi_2079679.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/aldous-huxley-97_democracy_all-democracies-are-based-on-the-proposi_2079679.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/aldous-huxley-97_democracy_all-democracies-are-based-on-the-proposi_2079679.jpg) > “All democracies are based on the proposition that power is very dangerous and that it is extremely important not to let any one person or small group have too much power for too long a time” [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Democracies guard against concentrated power, insisting no individual or small group should dominate for long. **In simple terms:** Democracy limits power concentration. Key Takeaway Support checks and balances. Themes politics power democracy Mood cautious analytical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - elections - legislative reforms - activism - community organizing Key Concepts political theory ethics Questions to Reflect On - How can citizens stay vigilant? - What safeguards are most effective? A Different Perspective Power can still be abused within democratic systems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Democracies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracies/) [Democracies Based](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracies-based-4055130/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Extremely Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremely-important/) [Group Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/group-power-1342781/) [Power Dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-dangerous-282846/) [Small Group](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-group/) [Too long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-long/) [Too much power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-much-power/) ## Related quotes > [Society today is so organised that every individual group has the power to disrupt it. How is their power to be channelled into constructive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-callaghan/society-today-is-so-organised-that-every-individual-group-has-the/) [James Callaghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-callaghan/) > [Power corresponds to the human ability not just to act but to act in concert. Power is never the property of an individual; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/power-corresponds-to-the-human-ability-not-just-to-act-but-to-act-in/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [When you break up the individuals from a community into individual units, they become disempowered because it's the collective consciousness and the collective energy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-h-lipton/when-you-break-up-the-individuals-from-a-community-into-individual/) [Bruce H. Lipton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-h-lipton/) > [It is in the nature of a group and its power to turn against independence, the property of individual strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/it-is-in-the-nature-of-a-group-and-its-power-to-turn-against/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-greater-the-power-the-more-dangerous-the-abuse/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Certainty without power can be interesting, even amusing. Certainty with power can be dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/certainty-without-power-can-be-interesting-even-amusing-certainty/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [A writer who doesn't need the money gains power and is dangerous in a negotiation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-winslow/a-writer-who-doesn-t-need-the-money-gains-power-and-is-dangerous-in-a/) [Don Winslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-winslow/) > [Power is always dangerous. Power attracts the worst and corrupts the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/power-is-always-dangerous-power-attracts-the-worst-and-corrupts-the/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [That's what Judith Herman is saying, and she's absolutely right. Power then breeds an intensification of all because the power can never be absolute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/that-s-what-judith-herman-is-saying-and-she-s-absolutely-right-power/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Concentrated political power is the most dangerous thing on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolph-rummel/concentrated-political-power-is-the-most-dangerous-thing-on-earth/) [Rudolph Rummel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolph-rummel/) > [The main problem with American power is not that it is American... No, the main problem with American power is the power itself. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-garton-ash/the-main-problem-with-american-power-is-not-that-it-is-american-no/) [Timothy Garton Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-garton-ash/) > [Be suspicious of people who have, or crave, power. Never, ever go near power. Don't become friends with anyone who has real power. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-kubrick/be-suspicious-of-people-who-have-or-crave-power-never-ever-go-near/) [Stanley Kubrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-kubrick/) > [“It's dangerous to tell the truth, truth without power is always dangerous. And we should fight! Freedom's not an idea, it's a passion! If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bond/it-s-dangerous-to-tell-the-truth-truth-without-power-is-always/) [Edward Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bond/) > [Moral power is always more dangerous to an oppressor than political force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/moral-power-is-always-more-dangerous-to-an-oppressor-than-political/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“This week in live current events: your eyes. All power can be dangerous: Direct or alternating, you, socket to me. Plugged in and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-gottlieb/this-week-in-live-current-events-your-eyes-all-power-can-be-dangerous/) [Daphne Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-gottlieb/) ## More by Aldous Huxley > [“Unorthodoxy threatens more than the life of a mere individual; it strikes at Society itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/unorthodoxy-threatens-more-than-the-life-of-a-mere-individual-it/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Man has an almost infinite capacity for taking things and people for granted and thereby missing out on the pleasure of being grateful that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/man-has-an-almost-infinite-capacity-for-taking-things-and-people-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [My fate cannot be mastered; it can only be collaborated with and thereby, to some extent, directed. Nor am I the captain of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/my-fate-cannot-be-mastered-it-can-only-be-collaborated-with-and/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Impulse arrested spills over, and the flood is feeling, the flood is passion, the flood is even madness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/impulse-arrested-spills-over-and-the-flood-is-feeling-the-flood-is/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Of course the Dharma-body of the Buddha was the hedge at the bottom of the garden. At the same time, and no less obviously,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/of-course-the-dharma-body-of-the-buddha-was-the-hedge-at-the-bottom/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“The question for the man of sense is: Do we or do we not want to go to hell? And his answer is: No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-question-for-the-man-of-sense-is-do-we-or-do-we-not-want-to-go-to/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“I’ll MAKE you be free whether you want to or not.’ -The Savage”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/i-ll-make-you-be-free-whether-you-want-to-or-not-the-savage/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Thought of the incomprehensible sequence of changes and chances that make up a life, all the beauties and horrors and absurdities whose conjunctions create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/thought-of-the-incomprehensible-sequence-of-changes-and-chances-that/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [The third petition of the Lord's Prayer is repeated daily by millions who have not the slightest intention of letting anyone's will be done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-third-petition-of-the-lord-s-prayer-is-repeated-daily-by-millions/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“Then what’s time for?” asked Lenina in some astonishment. Apparently, for going on walks in the Lake District; for that was what he now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/then-what-s-time-for-asked-lenina-in-some-astonishment-apparently-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [All right then," said the Savage defiantly, "I'm claiming the right to be unhappy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/all-right-then-said-the-savage-defiantly-i-m-claiming-the-right-to-be/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Speed, it seems to me, provides the one genuinely modern pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/speed-it-seems-to-me-provides-the-one-genuinely-modern-pleasure/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“What you need is a gramme of soma.” “All the advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/what-you-need-is-a-gramme-of-soma-all-the-advantages-of-christianity/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [To be enlightened is to be aware, always, of total reality in its immanent otherness - to be aware of it and yet remain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/to-be-enlightened-is-to-be-aware-always-of-total-reality-in-its/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“Quote of the day:Quote of the day: A democracy which makes or even effectively prepares for modern, scientific war must necessarily cease to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/quote-of-the-day-quote-of-the-day-a-democracy-which-makes-or-even/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) [Explore all 1,291 Aldous Huxley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) ## More Democracies quotes > [“the democracies that arose after the First World War (and the Second) often collapsed when a single party seized power in some combination of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-democracies-that-arose-after-the-first-world-war-and-the-second/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [In view of China's growing military strength and intentions, the best way to safeguard Asia's permanent peace and prosperity is to have all Asian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-costa/in-view-of-china-s-growing-military-strength-and-intentions-the-best/) [Jim Costa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-costa/) > [The idea that democracies could be vulnerable to demagogues is not a new notion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kristol/the-idea-that-democracies-could-be-vulnerable-to-demagogues-is-not-a/) [Bill Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kristol/) > [There is one safeguard known generally to the wise, which is an advantage and security to all, but especially to democracies as against despots.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demosthenes/there-is-one-safeguard-known-generally-to-the-wise-which-is-an/) [Demosthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demosthenes/) > [All democracies turn into dictatorships - but not by coup. The people give their democracy to a dictator, whether it's Julius Caesar or Napoleon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lucas/all-democracies-turn-into-dictatorships-but-not-by-coup-the-people/) [George Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lucas/) > [Our Declaration of Independence declares that democracies derive their power from the 'consent of the governed.' But this democracy will fail if only some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-capehart/our-declaration-of-independence-declares-that-democracies-derive/) [Jonathan Capehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-capehart/) > [Developing and newer democracies are much more susceptible to the tactics of populists and demagogues - they often do not have strong institutions, free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/developing-and-newer-democracies-are-much-more-susceptible-to-the/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [It is a law of governance that democracies have to spend themselves dizzy. Citizens of democracies can, after all, tell their government to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/it-is-a-law-of-governance-that-democracies-have-to-spend-themselves/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [Israel is one of the greatest and most modern democracies on the planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matteo-salvini/israel-is-one-of-the-greatest-and-most-modern-democracies-on-the/) [Matteo Salvini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matteo-salvini/) > [What other, newer democracies find relatively easy - conducting an election, the counting of votes, the peaceful transition of power - seems to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barkha-dutt/what-other-newer-democracies-find-relatively-easy-conducting-an/) [Barkha Dutt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barkha-dutt/) > [Democracies don't go to war against each other, and by and large they don't sponsor terrorism. They're more likely to respect the environment and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/democracies-don-t-go-to-war-against-each-other-and-by-and-large-they/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [I think we need to be a superpower of human rights, of support for true grassroots democracy, not corporatist economic development, which suits our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/i-think-we-need-to-be-a-superpower-of-human-rights-of-support-for/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [The all but unanimous judgment seems to be that we, the democracies, are just as responsible for the rise of the dictators as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-emerson-fosdick/the-all-but-unanimous-judgment-seems-to-be-that-we-the-democracies/) [Harry Emerson Fosdick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-emerson-fosdick/) > [“Whatever modern democracies may tell themselves about their commitment to free speech and to diversity of opinion, the values of a given society will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/whatever-modern-democracies-may-tell-themselves-about-their/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Western democracies did not create the virtue of citizenship; on the contrary, they grew from it. Nothing is more evident in The Federalist than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/western-democracies-did-not-create-the-virtue-of-citizenship-on-the/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) [Browse all 231 Democracies quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracies/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "All democracies are based on the proposition that power is very dangerous and that it is extremely important not to let any one person or small group have too much power for too long a time", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aldous Huxley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/all-democracies-are-based-on-the-proposition-that-power-is-very/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Democracies" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/all-democracies-are-based-on-the-proposition-that-power-is-very/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/aldous-huxley-97_democracy_all-democracies-are-based-on-the-proposi_2079679.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/aldous-huxley-97_democracy_all-democracies-are-based-on-the-proposi_2079679.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e33/aldous-huxley-97_democracy_all-democracies-are-based-on-the-proposi_2079679.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All democracies are based on the proposition that power is very dangerous and that it is extremely important…” — Aldous Huxley", "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": "Aldous Huxley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "All democracies are based on the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/all-democracies-are-based-on-the-proposition-that-power-is-very/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/all-democracies-are-based-on-the-proposition-that-power-is-very/#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 } } ] } ```