---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The US exports democracy, hence there…"
description: "\"“The US exports democracy, hence there being very little left for Americans”\" — Dean Cavanagh"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/dean-cavanagh-3359_democracy_the-us-exports-democracy-hence-there-bei_1435149.png"
---

#  The US exports democracy, hence there being very little…

![“The US exports democracy, hence there being very little left for Americans” quote by Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/dean-cavanagh-3359_democracy_the-us-exports-democracy-hence-there-bei_1435149.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/dean-cavanagh-3359_democracy_the-us-exports-democracy-hence-there-bei_1435149.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/dean-cavanagh-3359_democracy_the-us-exports-democracy-hence-there-bei_1435149.png)

> ““The US exports democracy, hence there being very little left for Americans””

[Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The US promotes democracy abroad while neglecting domestic issues, leaving few benefits for its citizens.

**In simple terms:** America pushes democracy overseas but forgets its own people.

Key Takeaway

Balance foreign policy with domestic welfare.

Themes

politics democracy foreign policy

Mood

critical reflective

Type

political commentary

When to use this quote

- government budgeting
- public services
- voter engagement

Key Concepts

nationalism civic neglect policy tradeoffs

Questions to Reflect On

- How can leaders prioritize both global ideals and local needs?
- What are the costs of ignoring domestic welfare?

A Different Perspective

Neglecting home can erode public trust.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Democracy Little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy-little-989800/) [Exports](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exports/) [Exports Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exports-democracy-5121185/) [Left Americans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-americans-3506786/) [Usa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/usa/)

## Related quotes

> [I'm in England so often I haven't really left, but Americans aren't at all like they're misrepresented through their politicians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/i-m-in-england-so-often-i-haven-t-really-left-but-americans-aren-t-at/)

[John Lydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lydon/)

> [If I could leave this body with one wish, it would be that we never give up that search for common ground, .. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-daschle/if-i-could-leave-this-body-with-one-wish-it-would-be-that-we-never/)

[Tom Daschle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-daschle/)

> [In a democracy, every little wrong idea may grow up to become national policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashleigh-brilliant/in-a-democracy-every-little-wrong-idea-may-grow-up-to-become-national/)

[Ashleigh Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashleigh-brilliant/)

> [Talk of democracy has little content when big business rules the life of the country through its control of the means of production, exchange,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/talk-of-democracy-has-little-content-when-big-business-rules-the-life/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [At the bottom of all the tributes paid to democracy is the little man, walking into the little booth, with a little pencil, making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/at-the-bottom-of-all-the-tributes-paid-to-democracy-is-the-little-man-2/)

[Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/)

> [At the bottom of all the tributes paid to democracy is the little man, walking into the little booth, with a little pencil, making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/at-the-bottom-of-all-the-tributes-paid-to-democracy-is-the-little-man/)

[Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/)

> [For China, the GCC countries have emerged as a major market for Chinese manufactured goods and food exports.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjaya-baru/for-china-the-gcc-countries-have-emerged-as-a-major-market-for/)

[Sanjaya Baru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjaya-baru/)

> [The Assad regime is quite reliant on oil exports.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/the-assad-regime-is-quite-reliant-on-oil-exports/)

[Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/)

> [If the United Nations is a country unto itself, then the commodity it exports most is words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-b-fein/if-the-united-nations-is-a-country-unto-itself-then-the-commodity-it/)

[Esther B Fein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-b-fein/)

> [Diplomacy in a sense is the opposite of writing. You have to disperse yourself so much: the lady who comes in crying because shes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-fuentes/diplomacy-in-a-sense-is-the-opposite-of-writing-you-have-to-disperse/)

[Carlos Fuentes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-fuentes/)

> [It is not good to cut exports or imports.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-angel-gurria/it-is-not-good-to-cut-exports-or-imports/)

[Jose Angel Gurria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-angel-gurria/)

> [U.S. exports to China have more than quintupled since China entered the WTO and have grown more quickly than imports. In fact, China is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-paulson/u-s-exports-to-china-have-more-than-quintupled-since-china-entered/)

[Henry Paulson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-paulson/)

> [Even though it is the case that poverty is linked to AIDS, in the sense that Africa is poor and they have a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-oster/even-though-it-is-the-case-that-poverty-is-linked-to-aids-in-the/)

[Emily Oster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-oster/)

> [Canada is a country whose main exports are hockey players and cold fronts. Our main imports are baseball players and acid rain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-trudeau/canada-is-a-country-whose-main-exports-are-hockey-players-and-cold/)

[Pierre Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-trudeau/)

> [Why is Caterpillar bad if we create a new job in India or China to receive U.S. exports? It makes no sense to me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-r-oberhelman/why-is-caterpillar-bad-if-we-create-a-new-job-in-india-or-china-to/)

[Douglas R. Oberhelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-r-oberhelman/)

## More by Dean Cavanagh

> [“Would a DNA test for love take a sample from the heart or the mind?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/would-a-dna-test-for-love-take-a-sample-from-the-heart-or-the-mind/)

[Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/)

> [“Artist Matthew Barney has made a film about “shit”. It is hardly original. Hollywood has made shit films for decades.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/artist-matthew-barney-has-made-a-film-about-shit-it-is-hardly/)

[Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/)

> [“The obsession with the afterlife is born of a panic at not having memories of a before-life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-obsession-with-the-afterlife-is-born-of-a-panic-at-not-having/)

[Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/)

> [“The Path Of Least Resistance Is Littered With The Corpses Of The Bored To Death”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-path-of-least-resistance-is-littered-with-the-corpses-of-the/)

[Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/)

> [You can never read too much into anything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/you-can-never-read-too-much-into-anything/)

[Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/)

> [You can't live in the digital and die in the analog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/you-can-t-live-in-the-digital-and-die-in-the-analog/)

[Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/)

> [“Time to pull the plug on the coma of the left, right paradigm”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/time-to-pull-the-plug-on-the-coma-of-the-left-right-paradigm/)

[Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/)

> [“The ultimate goal of the political elite is to privatize the air. So as not to destroy their own edifice of democratic compassion they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-ultimate-goal-of-the-political-elite-is-to-privatize-the-air-so/)

[Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/)

> [The ego camouflages itself like a fox born and raised in a hen house. Its only worry is that you fail to notice its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-ego-camouflages-itself-like-a-fox-born-and-raised-in-a-hen-house/)

[Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/)

> [We don't fall in love, we fall in lust. We ascend to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/we-don-t-fall-in-love-we-fall-in-lust-we-ascend-to-love/)

[Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/)

> [“Death Laughs In The Faces Of Clocks”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/death-laughs-in-the-faces-of-clocks/)

[Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/)

> [“Keeping your mouth shut whilst eating shit will get you far in life but your soul will die of starvation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/keeping-your-mouth-shut-whilst-eating-shit-will-get-you-far-in-life/)

[Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/)

> [“The future promises us all our very own Truman Shows and when every man and woman is a star the spectacle becomes auto- cannibalizing;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-future-promises-us-all-our-very-own-truman-shows-and-when-every/)

[Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/)

> [The quantum death of Philip Seymour Hoffman. 24 hours before he was "officially" declared dead it was announced on the internet that he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-quantum-death-of-philip-seymour-hoffman-24-hours-before-he-was/)

[Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/)

> [“The Devil fights from behind barricades of linguistic complexity, but the war of words will be won by those armed only with simplistic truths”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-devil-fights-from-behind-barricades-of-linguistic-complexity-but/)

[Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/)

[Explore all 132 Dean Cavanagh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/)

## More Democracy quotes

> [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/elections-belong-to-the-people-it-s-their-decision-if-they-decide-to/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/)

[Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/)

> [If the members of parliament no longer consider themselves mandatories of the taxpayers but deputies of those receiving salaries, wages, subsidies, doles, and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/if-the-members-of-parliament-no-longer-consider-themselves/)

[Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/)

> [For not only every democracy, but certainly every republic, bears within itself the seeds of its own destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-not-only-every-democracy-but-certainly-every-republic-bears/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [There is plenty of time for Republicans to have a Macaca moment. But right now, as of October 17, 2014, the Republican Senate candidates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-continetti/there-is-plenty-of-time-for-republicans-to-have-a-macaca-moment-but/)

[Matthew Continetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-continetti/)

> [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/)

[Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/)

> [ Vote for Donald Trump. You're going to see something and you'll be so happy, you'll be so thrilled. This \[presidential\] election is about every… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/vote-for-donald-trump-you-re-going-to-see-something-and-you-ll-be-so/)

[Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/)

> [The peaceful transition of power is one of the hallmarks of our democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-peaceful-transition-of-power-is-one-of-the-hallmarks-of-our/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/)

[William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/)

> [If you believe in democracy, why shouldn't you know what the government is doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-believe-in-democracy-why-shouldn-t-you-know-what-the/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [Failure to find a way to incorporate political Islam in democracy, however uncomfortable its ideology is for secular liberals, will mean we have given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crispin-blunt/failure-to-find-a-way-to-incorporate-political-islam-in-democracy/)

[Crispin Blunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crispin-blunt/)

> [In a democratic nation, power must be linked with responsibility, and obliged to defend and justify itself within the framework of the general good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/in-a-democratic-nation-power-must-be-linked-with-responsibility-and/)

[Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/)

> [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/)

[Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/)

> [“All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or back gammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/all-voting-is-a-sort-of-gaming-like-checkers-or-back-gammon-with-a/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

[Browse all 11,220 Democracy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“The US exports democracy, hence there being very little left for Americans”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Dean Cavanagh"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-us-exports-democracy-hence-there-being-very-little-left-for/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Democracy"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-us-exports-democracy-hence-there-being-very-little-left-for/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/dean-cavanagh-3359_democracy_the-us-exports-democracy-hence-there-bei_1435149.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/dean-cavanagh-3359_democracy_the-us-exports-democracy-hence-there-bei_1435149.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/dean-cavanagh-3359_democracy_the-us-exports-democracy-hence-there-bei_1435149.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The US exports democracy, hence there being very little left for Americans” — Dean Cavanagh",
                "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": "Dean Cavanagh",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“The US exports democracy, hence there...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-us-exports-democracy-hence-there-being-very-little-left-for/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-us-exports-democracy-hence-there-being-very-little-left-for/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
