--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nowhere has democracy ever worked well…" description: "\"Nowhere has democracy ever worked well without a great measure of local self-government, providing a school of political training for the people at lar..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7c/friedrich-august-von-hayek-141_democracy_nowhere-has-democracy-ever-worked-well-w_2853260.jpg" --- # Nowhere has democracy ever worked well without a great… ![“Nowhere has democracy ever worked well without a great measure of local self-government, providing a school of political training for the people at large as much as for their future leaders.” quote by Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7c/friedrich-august-von-hayek-141_democracy_nowhere-has-democracy-ever-worked-well-w_2853260.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7c/friedrich-august-von-hayek-141_democracy_nowhere-has-democracy-ever-worked-well-w_2853260.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7c/friedrich-august-von-hayek-141_democracy_nowhere-has-democracy-ever-worked-well-w_2853260.jpg) > “Nowhere has democracy ever worked well without a great measure of local self-government, providing a school of political training for the people at large as much as for their future leaders.” [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Effective democracy relies on strong local governance that educates citizens and prepares future leaders. **In simple terms:** Local self‑government is essential for democracy. Key Takeaway Empower local institutions. Themes politics education governance Mood analytical serious Type political educational When to use this quote - municipal councils - school boards - community meetings - policy making Key Concepts decentralization civic education Questions to Reflect On - How can local governments be strengthened? - What role do citizens play in local politics? A Different Perspective Centralized power can undermine local autonomy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Democracy Worked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy-worked-1490741/) [Future leaders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-leaders/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Locals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/locals/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political Training](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-training-1216663/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Providing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/providing/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-government-599204/) [Self-government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-government/) [Training](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/training/) [Training People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/training-people-827005/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [A military without political training is a potential criminal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sankara/a-military-without-political-training-is-a-potential-criminal/) [Thomas Sankara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sankara/) > [It was my fortune, or misfortune, to be called to the office of Chief Executive without any previous political training.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulysses-s-grant/it-was-my-fortune-or-misfortune-to-be-called-to-the-office-of-chief/) [Ulysses S. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulysses-s-grant/) > [May it be to the world... to assume the blessings and security of self-government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/may-it-be-to-the-world-to-assume-the-blessings-and-security-of-self/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [That future depends on the values of self-government, our sense of duty, loyalty, self-confidence and regard for the common good. We are a diverse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-miller/that-future-depends-on-the-values-of-self-government-our-sense-of/) [Jeff Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-miller/) > [When I talk about self-management, self-regulation, self-government, the word I emphasize is self, and my concern is with the reconstruction of the self. Marxists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/when-i-talk-about-self-management-self-regulation-self-government-the/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [Politics is the practical exercise of the art of self-government, and somebody must attend to it if we are to have self-government; somebody must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elihu-root/politics-is-the-practical-exercise-of-the-art-of-self-government-and/) [Elihu Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elihu-root/) > [We spoke and acted as if, given the opportunity for self-government, we would quickly create utopias. Instead injustice, even tyranny, is rampant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-nyerere/we-spoke-and-acted-as-if-given-the-opportunity-for-self-government-we/) [Julius Nyerere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-nyerere/) > [To rail and rant against tyranny is to manifest inferiority, for there is no tyranny but ignorance; to be conscious of one's powers is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-c-riegel/to-rail-and-rant-against-tyranny-is-to-manifest-inferiority-for-there/) [E.C. Riegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-c-riegel/) > [There is no greatness apart from self control. Development that does not include self government will only guarantee our mediocrity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-cooke/there-is-no-greatness-apart-from-self-control-development-that-does/) [Graham Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-cooke/) > [Our forefathers found the evils of free thinking more to be endured than the evils of inquest or suppression. This is because thoughtful, bold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-jackson/our-forefathers-found-the-evils-of-free-thinking-more-to-be-endured/) [Robert H. Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-h-jackson/) > [China is a country with a record of continuous self-government going back 4,000 years, the only society that has achieved this. One must start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/china-is-a-country-with-a-record-of-continuous-self-government-going/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [Local self-government…is the life-blood of liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lothrop-motley/local-self-government-is-the-life-blood-of-liberty/) [John Lothrop Motley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lothrop-motley/) > [Self government is no less essential to the development, growth, and happiness of the individual than to the nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-douglas/self-government-is-no-less-essential-to-the-development-growth-and/) [William H. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-douglas/) > [Nations are beginning to look to some vague organization, some nebulous course of humanity, to pay their bills and tell them what to do.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/nations-are-beginning-to-look-to-some-vague-organization-some/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [The Philippines are ours forever. They are not capable of self-government. How could they be? They are not a self-governing race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-j-beveridge/the-philippines-are-ours-forever-they-are-not-capable-of-self/) [Albert J. Beveridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-j-beveridge/) ## More by Friedrich August von Hayek > [The system of private property is the most important guaranty of freedom, not only for those who own property, but scarcely less for those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/the-system-of-private-property-is-the-most-important-guaranty-of/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [By the time any view becomes a majority view, it is no longer the best view: somebody will already have advanced beyond the point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/by-the-time-any-view-becomes-a-majority-view-it-is-no-longer-the-best/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [Freedom can be preserved only if it is treated as a supreme principle which must not be sacrificed for particular advantages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/freedom-can-be-preserved-only-if-it-is-treated-as-a-supreme-principle/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [Should our moral beliefs really prove to be dependent on factual assumptions shown to be incorrect, it would be hardly moral to defend them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/should-our-moral-beliefs-really-prove-to-be-dependent-on-factual/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [It is true that the virtues which are less esteemed and practiced now--independence, self-reliance, and the willingness to bear risks, the readiness to back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/it-is-true-that-the-virtues-which-are-less-esteemed-and-practiced-now/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [Unlike the rationalism of the French Revolution, true liberalism has no quarrel with religion, and I can only deplore the militant and essentially illiberal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/unlike-the-rationalism-of-the-french-revolution-true-liberalism-has/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [We must make the building of a free society once more an intellectual adventure, a deed of courage… Unless we can make the philosophic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/we-must-make-the-building-of-a-free-society-once-more-an-intellectual/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [The central problem of management is how spontaneous interaction of people within a firm, each possessing only bits of knowledge, can bring about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/the-central-problem-of-management-is-how-spontaneous-interaction-of/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [The discussions of every age are filled with the issues on which its leading schools of thought differ. But the general intellectual atmosphere of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/the-discussions-of-every-age-are-filled-with-the-issues-on-which-its/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [The Nobel Prize confers on an individual an authority which in economics no man ought to possess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/the-nobel-prize-confers-on-an-individual-an-authority-which-in/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [ \[Socialistic\] economic planning, regulation, and intervention pave the way to totalitarianism by building a power structure that will inevitably be seized by the most… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/socialistic-economic-planning-regulation-and-intervention-pave-the/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [It is rather a problem of how to secure the best use of resources known to any of the members of society, for ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/it-is-rather-a-problem-of-how-to-secure-the-best-use-of-resources/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [The state itself becomes more and more identified with the interests of those who run things than with the interests of the people in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/the-state-itself-becomes-more-and-more-identified-with-the-interests/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [We must face the fact that the preservation of individual freedom is incompatible with a full satisfaction of our views of distributive justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/we-must-face-the-fact-that-the-preservation-of-individual-freedom-is/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [Human envy is certainly not one of the sources of discontent that a free society can eliminate. It is probably one of the essential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/human-envy-is-certainly-not-one-of-the-sources-of-discontent-that-a/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) [Explore all 244 Friedrich August von Hayek quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) ## More Democracy quotes > [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. 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