--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When people put their ballots in the…" description: "\"When people put their ballots in the boxes, they are, by that act, inoculated against the feeling that the government is not theirs. They then accept, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fc/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_aberration_when-people-put-their-ballots-in-the-box_769685.jpg" --- # When people put their ballots in the boxes, they are, by… ![“When people put their ballots in the boxes, they are, by that act, inoculated against the feeling that the government is not theirs. They then accept, in some measure, that its errors are their errors, its aberrations their aberrations, that any revolt will be against them. It's a remarkably…” quote by John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fc/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_aberration_when-people-put-their-ballots-in-the-box_769685.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fc/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_aberration_when-people-put-their-ballots-in-the-box_769685.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5fc/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_aberration_when-people-put-their-ballots-in-the-box_769685.jpg) > “When people put their ballots in the boxes, they are, by that act, inoculated against the feeling that the government is not theirs. They then accept, in some measure, that its errors are their errors, its aberrations their aberrations, that any revolt will be against them. It's a remarkably shrewd and rather conservative arrangement when one thinks of it.” [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Voting creates a psychological link to government, making citizens feel responsible for its flaws and less likely to rebel, reinforcing stability. **In simple terms:** Voting ties people to government, reducing revolt. Key Takeaway Recognize the influence of civic participation on political attitudes. Themes politics psychology citizenship stability participation Mood analytical observational Type political philosophical When to use this quote - elections - public policy debates - community activism - government accountability Key Concepts civic theory social identity behavioral economics Questions to Reflect On - How does voting shape your view of government? - Can civic engagement coexist with healthy skepticism? A Different Perspective This arrangement can dampen critical dissent and maintain status quo. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aberration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aberration/) [Accepting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) [Ballots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballots/) [Ballots Boxes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballots-boxes-5952149/) [Boxes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boxes/) [Boxes Act](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boxes-act-5952151/) [Conservative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservative/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Errors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/errors/) [Feeling Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling-government-4428257/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Ballots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-ballots-5952150/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Revolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolt/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) ## Related quotes > [There has been growing quite a strain of irritating feeling between our government and the Russians and it seems to me that it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-l-stimson/there-has-been-growing-quite-a-strain-of-irritating-feeling-between/) [Henry L. Stimson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-l-stimson/) > [It had been held that the economic system, any capitalist system, found its equilibrium at full employment. Left to itself, it was thus that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/it-had-been-held-that-the-economic-system-any-capitalist-system-found/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [The cold war was an aberration. Note how quickly the Europeans turned on America once 400 hostile divisions were no longer on their borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/the-cold-war-was-an-aberration-note-how-quickly-the-europeans-turned/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [The era of the political was one of anomie: crisis, violence, madness and revolution. 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Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-d-crisp/) > [To suppose that the eye could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest possible degree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/to-suppose-that-the-eye-could-have-been-formed-by-natural-selection/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [When I first began examining the global-warming scare, I found nothing more puzzling than the way officially approved scientists kept on being shown to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-booker/when-i-first-began-examining-the-global-warming-scare-i-found-nothing/) [Christopher Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-booker/) > [“I could see clearly that this growing belligerence was an aberration, coming not from intention, but from the Fear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-redfield/i-could-see-clearly-that-this-growing-belligerence-was-an-aberration/) [James Redfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-redfield/) > [I'm very proud of being Italian-American, but people don't realize that the mafia is just this aberration. The real community is built on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chazz-palminteri/i-m-very-proud-of-being-italian-american-but-people-don-t-realize/) [Chazz Palminteri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chazz-palminteri/) > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) ## More by John Kenneth Galbraith > [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Technology means the systematic application of scientific or other organized knowledge to practical tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/technology-means-the-systematic-application-of-scientific-or-other/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [“Men can labor to make sense out of single steps toward the goal without ever pausing to reflect that the goal itself is ludicrous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/men-can-labor-to-make-sense-out-of-single-steps-toward-the-goal/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Consumer wants can have bizarre, frivolous, or even immoral origins, and an admirable case can still be made for a society that seeks to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/consumer-wants-can-have-bizarre-frivolous-or-even-immoral-origins-and/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [That one never need to look beyond the love of money for explanation of human behavior is one of the most jealously guarded simplification…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/that-one-never-need-to-look-beyond-the-love-of-money-for-explanation/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Agriculture is one economic activity that does not obey the laws of demand and supply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/agriculture-is-one-economic-activity-that-does-not-obey-the-laws-of/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [If we were not in Vietnam, all that part of the world would be enjoying the obscurity it so richly deserves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/if-we-were-not-in-vietnam-all-that-part-of-the-world-would-be/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Washington is a place where men praise courage and act on elaborate personal cost-benefit calculations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/washington-is-a-place-where-men-praise-courage-and-act-on-elaborate/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [World War II revealed two of the enduring features of the Keynesian Revolution. One was the moral difference between spending for welfare and spending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/world-war-ii-revealed-two-of-the-enduring-features-of-the-keynesian/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Money is what fueled the industrial society. But in the informational society, the fuel, the power, is knowledge. 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In the absence of new developments, old ones may seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/inventions-that-are-not-made-like-babies-that-are-not-born-are-rarely/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) [Explore all 434 John Kenneth Galbraith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) ## More Aberration quotes > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [I'm very proud of being Italian-American, but people don't realize that the mafia is just this aberration. 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Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-d-crisp/) > [In our wildest aberrations we dream of an equilibrium we have left behind and which we naively expect to find at the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/in-our-wildest-aberrations-we-dream-of-an-equilibrium-we-have-left/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The captain, thinking over this event afterward, realized that by his own lifelong standards he had a crew composed entirely of lunatics, with himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-clement/the-captain-thinking-over-this-event-afterward-realized-that-by-his/) [Hal Clement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-clement/) > [I have no problem with it. I don't look on homosexuality as an aberration. 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Note how quickly the Europeans turned on America once 400 hostile divisions were no longer on their borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/the-cold-war-was-an-aberration-note-how-quickly-the-europeans-turned/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [What I have is P.H. positive chronic myeloid leukemia, which is an aberration in your white blood cells.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kareem-abdul-jabbar/what-i-have-is-p-h-positive-chronic-myeloid-leukemia-which-is-an/) [Kareem Abdul-Jabbar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kareem-abdul-jabbar/) > [“Being born with a talent or an inclination for goodness is the aberration.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/being-born-with-a-talent-or-an-inclination-for-goodness-is-the/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) [Browse all 103 Aberration quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aberration/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When people put their ballots in the boxes, they are, by that act, inoculated against the feeling that the government is not theirs. 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