--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is said that every people has the…" description: "\"It is said that every people has the Government it deserves. It is more to the point that every Government has the electorate it deserves; for the orat..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/049/george-bernard-shaw-68_benches_it-is-said-that-every-people-has-the-gov_495612.jpg" --- # It is said that every people has the Government it… ![“It is said that every people has the Government it deserves. It is more to the point that every Government has the electorate it deserves; for the orator of the front bench can edify or debauch an ignorant electorate at will.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/049/george-bernard-shaw-68_benches_it-is-said-that-every-people-has-the-gov_495612.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/049/george-bernard-shaw-68_benches_it-is-said-that-every-people-has-the-gov_495612.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/049/george-bernard-shaw-68_benches_it-is-said-that-every-people-has-the-gov_495612.jpg) > “It is said that every people has the Government it deserves. It is more to the point that every Government has the electorate it deserves; for the orator of the front bench can edify or debauch an ignorant electorate at will.” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Governments reflect the quality of their electorate, and leaders can manipulate an uninformed public for good or ill. **In simple terms:** Governments mirror the people who elect them; leaders can sway them. Key Takeaway Promote informed, critical voting. Themes politics citizen responsibility leadership Mood critical concerned Type philosophical political When to use this quote - election campaigns - civic education - media literacy - policy advocacy - public speeches Key Concepts democratic theory public persuasion Questions to Reflect On - How can citizens become more critically engaged? - What responsibilities do leaders have toward an uninformed electorate? A Different Perspective Voter apathy and misinformation can undermine democratic ideals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Benches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benches/) [Citizenship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizenship/) [Electorate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/electorate/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Honesty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honesty/) [Orators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orators/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) ## Related quotes > [If every nation gets the government it deserves, every generation writes the history which corresponds with its view of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/if-every-nation-gets-the-government-it-deserves-every-generation/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [“Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/loyalty-to-country-always-loyalty-to-government-when-it-deserves-it/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Loyalty to the country always. Loyalty to the government when it deserves it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/loyalty-to-the-country-always-loyalty-to-the-government-when-it/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“All American politicians are bought and paid for by American lobbyists. We no longer have representative government here. We breed monsters like Kissinger and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-fante/all-american-politicians-are-bought-and-paid-for-by-american/) [Dan Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-fante/) > [Every country has the government it deserves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-de-maistre/every-country-has-the-government-it-deserves/) [Joseph de Maistre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-de-maistre/) > [Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/patriotism-is-supporting-your-country-all-the-time-and-your/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A government or a party gets the people it deserves and sooner or later a people gets the government it deserves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/a-government-or-a-party-gets-the-people-it-deserves-and-sooner-or/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [Loyalty to the Nation all the time, loyalty to the Government when it deserves it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/loyalty-to-the-nation-all-the-time-loyalty-to-the-government-when-it/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [People, your Government has returned to you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/people-your-government-has-returned-to-you/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [I want people in all the government agencies to be communicating with people because for me, we're in an era - which didn't exist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-want-people-in-all-the-government-agencies-to-be-communicating-with/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [The citizens of New Hampshire expect and deserve a government as clean as our mountain streams and as open as our blue skies. Today…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lynch/the-citizens-of-new-hampshire-expect-and-deserve-a-government-as/) [John Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lynch/) > [For the people in government,rather than the people who pester it, Washington is an early-rising, hard-working city. It is a popular delusion that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-the-people-in-government-rather-than-the-people-who-pester-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People in government and public life are being kicked around at a high rate of speed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlen-specter/people-in-government-and-public-life-are-being-kicked-around-at-a/) [Arlen Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlen-specter/) > [Why is it is claimed that if people won't or can't take care of their own needs, that people in government can do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/why-is-it-is-claimed-that-if-people-won-t-or-can-t-take-care-of-their/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [While legislation can stimulate and encourage, the real creative ability which builds up and develops the country, and in general makes human existence more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/while-legislation-can-stimulate-and-encourage-the-real-creative/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) [Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More Benches quotes > [No judge can stop us from praying for our country and I pray that on May 6, millions of Americans will join me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-graham/no-judge-can-stop-us-from-praying-for-our-country-and-i-pray-that-on/) [Franklin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-graham/) > [I don't think I've ever bench-pressed anything in my life. Until about two years ago I swam a mile almost every day. Then I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-antosca/i-don-t-think-i-ve-ever-bench-pressed-anything-in-my-life-until-about/) [Nick Antosca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-antosca/) > [What if it turns out there really are witches and vampires and werewolves living right here alongside us? After all, what better disguise could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-lukyanenko/what-if-it-turns-out-there-really-are-witches-and-vampires-and/) [Sergei Lukyanenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-lukyanenko/) > [ A nominee \[to Supreme Court\] must possess the competence, character and temperament to serve on the bench. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-kohl/a-nominee-to-supreme-court-must-possess-the-competence-character-and/) [Herb Kohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-kohl/) > [Truly, the bench is a boon to idlers. Whoever first came up with the idea is a genius: free public resting places where you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/truly-the-bench-is-a-boon-to-idlers-whoever-first-came-up-with-the/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [I'm not one of those actors who romanticizes his trials working out and brags that he can bench press a panda now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-reynolds/i-m-not-one-of-those-actors-who-romanticizes-his-trials-working-out/) [Ryan Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-reynolds/) > [ The model for an NHL without fighting is right there in front of us. The \[playoffs are\] the time of year that fans love… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-dryden/the-model-for-an-nhl-without-fighting-is-right-there-in-front-of-us/) [Ken Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-dryden/) > [We're just a fragile team right now. It seems like when we have a little bit of adversity, when something goes wrong, you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-walz/we-re-just-a-fragile-team-right-now-it-seems-like-when-we-have-a/) Wes Walz > [There were crimson roses on the bench; they looked like splashes of blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/there-were-crimson-roses-on-the-bench-they-looked-like-splashes-of/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [Every man in the game, from the minors on up, is not only fighting against the other side, but he's trying to hold onto…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ty-cobb/every-man-in-the-game-from-the-minors-on-up-is-not-only-fighting/) [Ty Cobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ty-cobb/) > [I was in a garden at the Rodin Museum. For a few minutes I was alone, sitting on a bench between two long hedges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-howe/i-was-in-a-garden-at-the-rodin-museum-for-a-few-minutes-i-was-alone/) [Irving Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-howe/) > [Israel has incredible entrepreneurial spirit and a deep bench of technology talent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roelof-botha/israel-has-incredible-entrepreneurial-spirit-and-a-deep-bench-of/) [Roelof Botha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roelof-botha/) > [At 200 pounds, with a 17-inch neck, a resting pulse of 78, a bench press of 200 pounds, I was very much indeed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-benedict/at-200-pounds-with-a-17-inch-neck-a-resting-pulse-of-78-a-bench-press/) [Dirk Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-benedict/) > [When lifting weights, nothing feels better than achieving a high point on the bench press with no help from your spotter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cheeke/when-lifting-weights-nothing-feels-better-than-achieving-a-high-point/) [Robert Cheeke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cheeke/) > [It's so worth-while being a judge, because, if I make good, I can help prove that a woman's place is as much on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-ellinwood-allen/it-s-so-worth-while-being-a-judge-because-if-i-make-good-i-can-help/) [Florence Ellinwood Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-ellinwood-allen/) [Browse all 305 Benches quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benches/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is said that every people has the Government it deserves. It is more to the point that every Government has the electorate it deserves; for the orator of the front bench can edify or debauch an ignorant electorate at will.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Bernard Shaw" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/it-is-said-that-every-people-has-the-government-it-deserves-it-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Benches" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/it-is-said-that-every-people-has-the-government-it-deserves-it-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/049/george-bernard-shaw-68_benches_it-is-said-that-every-people-has-the-gov_495612.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/049/george-bernard-shaw-68_benches_it-is-said-that-every-people-has-the-gov_495612.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/049/george-bernard-shaw-68_benches_it-is-said-that-every-people-has-the-gov_495612.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is said that every people has the Government it deserves. It is more to the point that every Government…” — George Bernard Shaw", "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": "George Bernard Shaw", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is said that every people...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/it-is-said-that-every-people-has-the-government-it-deserves-it-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/it-is-said-that-every-people-has-the-government-it-deserves-it-is/#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 } } ] } ```