--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Founders recognized that Government…" description: "\"The Founders recognized that Government is quite literally a necessary evil, that there must be opposition, between its various branches, and between p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a4/david-mamet-1178_branches_the-founders-recognized-that-government_1734449.jpg" --- # The Founders recognized that Government is quite literally… ![“The Founders recognized that Government is quite literally a necessary evil, that there must be opposition, between its various branches, and between political parties, for these are the only ways to temper the individual's greed for power and the electorates' desires for peace by submission to…” quote by David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a4/david-mamet-1178_branches_the-founders-recognized-that-government_1734449.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a4/david-mamet-1178_branches_the-founders-recognized-that-government_1734449.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a4/david-mamet-1178_branches_the-founders-recognized-that-government_1734449.jpg) > “The Founders recognized that Government is quite literally a necessary evil, that there must be opposition, between its various branches, and between political parties, for these are the only ways to temper the individual's greed for power and the electorates' desires for peace by submission to coercion or blandishment.” [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Government must have checks, balances, and opposition to curb power and protect liberty. **In simple terms:** Power needs limits to protect freedom. Key Takeaway Support balanced institutions, demand accountability. Themes politics power checks and balances Mood critical analytical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - elections - legislative debates - public policy formation Key Concepts democracy institutional design political theory Questions to Reflect On - What mechanisms ensure healthy opposition without paralysis? - How can citizens influence balanced governance? A Different Perspective Opposition can become gridlock, hindering effective governance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Branches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/branches/) [Coercion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coercion/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Electorate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/electorate/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Evil Opposition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-opposition-1461209/) [Founders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/founders/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Greed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Individual Greed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual-greed-624390/) [Necessary evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessary-evil/) [Opposition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposition/) [Opposition Various](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposition-various-1461210/) [Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political parties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-parties/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Submission](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/submission/) [Temper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/temper/) [Various](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/various/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [We need to move beyond the demonisation of overpaid traders ... 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McLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-mclean/) [Browse all 1,228 Branches quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/branches/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The Founders recognized that Government is quite literally a necessary evil, that there must be opposition, between its various branches, and between political parties, for these are the only ways to temper the individual's greed for power and the electorates' desires for peace by submission to coercion or blandishment.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Mamet" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/the-founders-recognized-that-government-is-quite-literally-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Branches" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/the-founders-recognized-that-government-is-quite-literally-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a4/david-mamet-1178_branches_the-founders-recognized-that-government_1734449.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a4/david-mamet-1178_branches_the-founders-recognized-that-government_1734449.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a4/david-mamet-1178_branches_the-founders-recognized-that-government_1734449.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The Founders recognized that Government is quite literally a necessary evil, that there must be opposition…” — David Mamet", "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": "David Mamet", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The Founders recognized that Government is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/the-founders-recognized-that-government-is-quite-literally-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/the-founders-recognized-that-government-is-quite-literally-a/#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 } } ] } ```