--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is a melancholy fact which exponents…" description: "\"“It is a melancholy fact which exponents of democracy must face that, while all men may be on a level in the eyes of the State, they will continue in f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/john-buchan-7539_democracy_it-is-a-melancholy-fact-which-exponents_1094805.jpg" --- # It is a melancholy fact which exponents of democracy must… ![“It is a melancholy fact which exponents of democracy must face that, while all men may be on a level in the eyes of the State, they will continue in fact to be preposterously unequal.” quote by John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/john-buchan-7539_democracy_it-is-a-melancholy-fact-which-exponents_1094805.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/john-buchan-7539_democracy_it-is-a-melancholy-fact-which-exponents_1094805.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/john-buchan-7539_democracy_it-is-a-melancholy-fact-which-exponents_1094805.jpg) > ““It is a melancholy fact which exponents of democracy must face that, while all men may be on a level in the eyes of the State, they will continue in fact to be preposterously unequal.”” [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Democracy promises legal equality but real social inequality persists. **In simple terms:** Legal equality doesn’t guarantee true fairness. Key Takeaway Work toward substantive equality. Themes politics justice inequality Mood critical hopeful Type political analytical When to use this quote - policy making - education reform - community activism - economic planning Key Concepts democratic theory social stratification Questions to Reflect On - What policies can reduce real inequality? - How does perception of fairness affect society? A Different Perspective Changing deep structures is slow and contested. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Democracy Face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy-face-2848836/) [Equality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equality/) [Exponents Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exponents-democracy-2848835/) [Melancholy Fact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melancholy-fact-2848837/) [Preposterously Unequal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preposterously-unequal-2848834/) [Unequal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unequal/) ## Related quotes > [In contrast to totalitarianism, democracy can face and live with the truth about itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-hook/in-contrast-to-totalitarianism-democracy-can-face-and-live-with-the/) [Sidney Hook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-hook/) > [But none of us wants to be average. 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It will not work today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/separate-and-unequal-didn-t-work-100-years-ago-it-will-not-work-today/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [“Composition is the arrangement of unequal things”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford-canada/composition-is-the-arrangement-of-unequal-things/) [Richard Ford Canada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford-canada/) ## More by John Buchan > [“All this was very loose guessing, and I don't pretend it was ingenious or scientific. I wasn't any kind of Sherlock Holmes. But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/all-this-was-very-loose-guessing-and-i-don-t-pretend-it-was-ingenious/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [You think that a wall as solid as the earth separates civilization from barbarism. 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It is the only way to be inconspicuous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/i-always-try-to-suit-my-clothes-to-my-company-it-is-the-only-way-to/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [“But let none, he added, pray to have the full music; for it will make him who hears it a footsore traveller in”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/but-let-none-he-added-pray-to-have-the-full-music-for-it-will-make/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [“though I was afraid of many things, the thing I feared most mortally was being afraid. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/though-i-was-afraid-of-many-things-the-thing-i-feared-most-mortally/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [ \[W\]ithout humour you cannot run a sweetie-shop, let alone a nation. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/w-ithout-humour-you-cannot-run-a-sweetie-shop-let-alone-a-nation/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [I was a peaceful sedentary man, a lover of a quiet life, with no appetite for perils and commotions. 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