--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Decision by democratic majority vote is a…" description: "\"Decision by democratic majority vote is a fine form of government, but it's a stinking way to create.\" — Lillian Hellman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca7/lillian-hellman-4752_decision_decision-by-democratic-majority-vote-is_110287.jpg" --- # Decision by democratic majority vote is a fine form of… ![“Decision by democratic majority vote is a fine form of government, but it's a stinking way to create.” quote by Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca7/lillian-hellman-4752_decision_decision-by-democratic-majority-vote-is_110287.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca7/lillian-hellman-4752_decision_decision-by-democratic-majority-vote-is_110287.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca7/lillian-hellman-4752_decision_decision-by-democratic-majority-vote-is_110287.jpg) > “Decision by democratic majority vote is a fine form of government, but it's a stinking way to create.” [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Majority rule can legitimize governance but may also produce suboptimal outcomes when popular sentiment overrides expertise or minority rights. **In simple terms:** Democracy can be inefficient. Key Takeaway Majority decisions risk overlooking nuance. Themes democracy governance decision‑making Mood critical thoughtful Type political critique philosophical observation When to use this quote - legislative voting - board elections - public referenda Key Concepts collective rationality minority protection Practical Applications - incorporate expert panels - ensure minority safeguards Questions to Reflect On - How can democratic systems balance speed and deliberation? - What mechanisms protect minorities without stalling decisions? A Different Perspective Pure majority rule can be swift and reflect popular will, which is valuable in emergencies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Forms of government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forms-of-government/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Majority vote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/majority-vote/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) [Vote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vote/) ## Related quotes > [A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until a majority of voters discover that they can vote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-fraser-tytler/a-democracy-cannot-exist-as-a-permanent-form-of-government-it-can/) [Alexander Fraser Tytler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-fraser-tytler/) > [“The founding fathers, whose infinite wisdom gave us a Constitution and form of government well nigh perfect, located the seat of that government in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leibovich/the-founding-fathers-whose-infinite-wisdom-gave-us-a-constitution-and/) [Mark Leibovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leibovich/) > [I will not be responsible for the loss of the Democratic majority in the United States Senate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-torricelli/i-will-not-be-responsible-for-the-loss-of-the-democratic-majority-in/) [Robert Torricelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-torricelli/) > [For too long, the Democratic majority in Washington has failed to see the value in the sound model of working hard and living within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-brooks/for-too-long-the-democratic-majority-in-washington-has-failed-to-see/) [Susan Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-brooks/) > [I think it's possible for Tennessee to be flipped to a Democratic majority, which would be beneficial to enacting policies that I would like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-baker/i-think-it-s-possible-for-tennessee-to-be-flipped-to-a-democratic/) [Julien Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-baker/) > [All we're getting from the Democratic majority in Congress and from this White House is more bailouts, more spending, more planned stimulus, more deficits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/all-we-re-getting-from-the-democratic-majority-in-congress-and-from/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [Being democratic is not enough, a majority cannot turn what is wrong into right. In order to be considered truly free, countries must also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/being-democratic-is-not-enough-a-majority-cannot-turn-what-is-wrong/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [Truth is not determined by a majority vote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/truth-is-not-determined-by-a-majority-vote/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [Democracy is about voting and it's about a majority vote. And it's time that we started exercising the Democratic process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-stabenow/democracy-is-about-voting-and-it-s-about-a-majority-vote-and-it-s/) [Debbie Stabenow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-stabenow/) > [Thou shalt not steal, except by majority vote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-north/thou-shalt-not-steal-except-by-majority-vote/) [Gary North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-north/) > [Truth is not arrived at by majority vote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-atkins/truth-is-not-arrived-at-by-majority-vote/) [Peter Atkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-atkins/) > [When a legislature decides to steal some of our rights and plans to use police force to accomplish it, what's the real difference between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-richardson/when-a-legislature-decides-to-steal-some-of-our-rights-and-plans-to/) H. L. Richardson > [Don't make decisions by majority vote. The majority is almost always wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-rogers/don-t-make-decisions-by-majority-vote-the-majority-is-almost-always/) [Adrian Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-rogers/) > [“Scientific questions cannot be decided by majority vote in any case.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/scientific-questions-cannot-be-decided-by-majority-vote-in-any-case/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Majorities can be wrong, majorities can overrule rights of minorities. If majorities ruled, we could still have slavery. 80% of the population once enslaved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/majorities-can-be-wrong-majorities-can-overrule-rights-of-minorities/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) ## More by Lillian Hellman > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Failure in the theater is more dramatic and uglier than any other form of writing. It costs so much, you feel so guilty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-dramatic-and-uglier-than-any-other/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [A man should be jailed for telling lies to the young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/a-man-should-be-jailed-for-telling-lies-to-the-young/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [I don't think many writers like their best-known piece of work, particularly when it was written a long time ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/i-don-t-think-many-writers-like-their-best-known-piece-of-work/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [I live in a room and I go to work and I play a game called getting through the day while you wait for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/i-live-in-a-room-and-i-go-to-work-and-i-play-a-game-called-getting/) [LILLIAN HELLMAN](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [There are people who eat the earth and eat all the people on it like in the Bible with the locusts. And other people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/there-are-people-who-eat-the-earth-and-eat-all-the-people-on-it-like/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Nothing you write, if you hope to be good, will ever come out as you first hoped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/nothing-you-write-if-you-hope-to-be-good-will-ever-come-out-as-you/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Haven't you lived in the South long enough to know that nothing is ever anybody's fault?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/haven-t-you-lived-in-the-south-long-enough-to-know-that-nothing-is/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [We will not think noble because we are not noble. We will not live in beautiful harmony because there is no such thing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/we-will-not-think-noble-because-we-are-not-noble-we-will-not-live-in/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [It was an unspoken pleasure, that having come together so many years, ruined so much and repaired a little, we had endured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/it-was-an-unspoken-pleasure-that-having-come-together-so-many-years/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Intellectuals can tell themselves anything, sell themselves any bill of goods, which is why they were so often patsies for the ruling classes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/intellectuals-can-tell-themselves-anything-sell-themselves-any-bill/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Courtesy is breeding. Breeding is an excellent thing. Always remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/courtesy-is-breeding-breeding-is-an-excellent-thing-always-remember/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [You lose your manners when you're poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/you-lose-your-manners-when-you-re-poor/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Fashions in sin change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/fashions-in-sin-change/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Rebels seldom make good revolutionaries, because organized action, even union with other people, is not possible for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/rebels-seldom-make-good-revolutionaries-because-organized-action-even/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) [Explore all 106 Lillian Hellman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) ## More Decision quotes > [Making the right decision is hard,telling someone your decision is even harder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/making-the-right-decision-is-hard-telling-someone-your-decision-is/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [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/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [“How can you make an informed decision about whether to save the world if you never leave your tiny part of it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-david-hutchinson/how-can-you-make-an-informed-decision-about-whether-to-save-the-world/) [Shaun David Hutchinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-david-hutchinson/) > [Love is the foundation from which your decisions about your life should be made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-the-foundation-from-which-your-decisions-about-your-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Indecision becomes decision with time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/indecision-becomes-decision-with-time/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you think of people as making decisions actively, every time we think about the cup of coffee, we say, "How much will I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/if-you-think-of-people-as-making-decisions-actively-every-time-we/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [It was a conscious decision on my part to take up fewer films. And if you're not seen that often on screen, nobody calls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-lever/it-was-a-conscious-decision-on-my-part-to-take-up-fewer-films-and-if/) [Johnny Lever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-lever/) > [Decision is a risk rooted in the courage of being free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tillich/decision-is-a-risk-rooted-in-the-courage-of-being-free/) [Paul Tillich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tillich/) > [I never think of things rationally or intellectually. I swear, every single decision I make is just instinct and my instincts tend to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neill-blomkamp/i-never-think-of-things-rationally-or-intellectually-i-swear-every/) [Neill Blomkamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neill-blomkamp/) > [“it is either you happen to life or life happens to you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sesan-kareem/it-is-either-you-happen-to-life-or-life-happens-to-you/) [Sesan Kareem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sesan-kareem/) > [How strange that something so simple could have been instrumental in my decision to ruin one of my most relationships and friendships, and damage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/how-strange-that-something-so-simple-could-have-been-instrumental-in/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [I am encouraged President Obama now says he will fulfill his constitutional obligation to seek authorization for any potential military action in Syria. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/i-am-encouraged-president-obama-now-says-he-will-fulfill-his/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [In New York, you are constantly faced with this very urgent decision that you have to make, about every twenty minutes...you have to decide,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cross/in-new-york-you-are-constantly-faced-with-this-very-urgent-decision/) [David Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cross/) [Browse all 9,145 Decision quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Decision by democratic majority vote is a fine form of government, but it's a stinking way to create.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lillian Hellman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/decision-by-democratic-majority-vote-is-a-fine-form-of-government-but/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Decision" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/decision-by-democratic-majority-vote-is-a-fine-form-of-government-but/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca7/lillian-hellman-4752_decision_decision-by-democratic-majority-vote-is_110287.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca7/lillian-hellman-4752_decision_decision-by-democratic-majority-vote-is_110287.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca7/lillian-hellman-4752_decision_decision-by-democratic-majority-vote-is_110287.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Decision by democratic majority vote is a fine form of government, but it's a stinking way to create.” — Lillian Hellman", "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": "Lillian Hellman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Decision by democratic majority vote is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/decision-by-democratic-majority-vote-is-a-fine-form-of-government-but/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/decision-by-democratic-majority-vote-is-a-fine-form-of-government-but/#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 } } ] } ```