--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Democracy makes many taxing demands on…" description: "\"Democracy makes many taxing demands on its practitioners, but suspension of the intelligence is not one of them.\" — Margaret Halsey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/margaret-halsey-6554_demand_democracy-makes-many-taxing-demands-on-i_2155330.jpg" --- # Democracy makes many taxing demands on its practitioners… ![“Democracy makes many taxing demands on its practitioners, but suspension of the intelligence is not one of them.” quote by Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/margaret-halsey-6554_demand_democracy-makes-many-taxing-demands-on-i_2155330.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/margaret-halsey-6554_demand_democracy-makes-many-taxing-demands-on-i_2155330.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/margaret-halsey-6554_demand_democracy-makes-many-taxing-demands-on-i_2155330.jpg) > “Democracy makes many taxing demands on its practitioners, but suspension of the intelligence is not one of them.” [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Democracy demands effort, but not the suspension of common sense. **In simple terms:** Democracy needs effort, not stupidity. Key Takeaway Apply common sense in civic duties. Themes politics democracy critical thinking citizenship Mood analytical serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - voting - public debate - community organizing - policy analysis Key Concepts philosophy political science Questions to Reflect On - How does critical thinking improve democracy? - What are the limits of common sense? A Different Perspective People may misuse “common sense” to justify bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) ## Related quotes > [Alpinism places unique demands on its practitioners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-house/alpinism-places-unique-demands-on-its-practitioners/) [Steve House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-house/) > [The essence of democracy is not that everyone makes and administers laws but that lawgivers and rulers should be dependent on the people's will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-essence-of-democracy-is-not-that-everyone-makes-and-administers/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [I think the advantage of democracy is that it makes us less dependent on a group of leaders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azim-premji/i-think-the-advantage-of-democracy-is-that-it-makes-us-less-dependent/) [Azim Premji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azim-premji/) > [A fanatical belief in democracy makes democratic institutions impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/a-fanatical-belief-in-democracy-makes-democratic-institutions/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [When you read about the end of the Soviet Union, it's always about the "death of socialism." They never say "the death of democracy."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/when-you-read-about-the-end-of-the-soviet-union-it-s-always-about-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [A democracy which makes or even effectively prepares for modern, scientific war must necessarily cease to be democratic. No country can be really well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/a-democracy-which-makes-or-even-effectively-prepares-for-modern/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [True Democracy makes no enquiry about the color of the skin, or the place of nativity. Wherever it sees a man, it recognizes a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/true-democracy-makes-no-enquiry-about-the-color-of-the-skin-or-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [democracy always makes for materialism, because the only kind of equality that you can guarantee to a whole people is, broadly speaking, physical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/democracy-always-makes-for-materialism-because-the-only-kind-of/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [As I understand I took most so-called democratic states about 200 years on average to build their democracies. 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Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-h-hamilton/) > [To wait for someone else, or to expect someone else to make my life richer, or fuller, or more satisfying, puts me in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tierney/to-wait-for-someone-else-or-to-expect-someone-else-to-make-my-life/) Kathleen Tierney > [This suspension of one's own reality, this being entirely alone in a strange city (at times I wondered if I had lost the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/this-suspension-of-one-s-own-reality-this-being-entirely-alone-in-a/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [The novel is the dream release, the suspension of reality that history needs to escape its own brutal confinements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-novel-is-the-dream-release-the-suspension-of-reality-that-history/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [California is a place in which a boom mentality and a sense of Chekhovian loss meet in uneasy suspension.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/california-is-a-place-in-which-a-boom-mentality-and-a-sense-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## More by Margaret Halsey > [Life itself, however, flows and is sequential and punishes those who try to compartmentalize it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/life-itself-however-flows-and-is-sequential-and-punishes-those-who/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [the crucial disadvantage of aggression, competitiveness and skepticism as national characteristics is that these qualities cannot be turned off at five o'clock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/the-crucial-disadvantage-of-aggression-competitiveness-and-skepticism/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [Englishwomen's shoes look as if they had been made by someone who had often heard shoes described, but had never seen any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/englishwomen-s-shoes-look-as-if-they-had-been-made-by-someone-who-had/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [it is a waste of time to ask more of people than they have to give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/it-is-a-waste-of-time-to-ask-more-of-people-than-they-have-to-give/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [I would have felt more comfortable on a girder fifty floors above the street, catching white-hot rivets in a pail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/i-would-have-felt-more-comfortable-on-a-girder-fifty-floors-above-the/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [The position of children as a group, in a commercial society, is not wholly advantageous. A commercial society urges its citizens to be responsible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/the-position-of-children-as-a-group-in-a-commercial-society-is-not/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [Money does not corrupt people. What corrupts people is lack of affection ... Money is simply the bandage which wounded people put over their wounds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/money-does-not-corrupt-people-what-corrupts-people-is-lack-of/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [Identity is not found, the way Pharaoh's daughter found Moses in the bulrushes. Identity is built.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/identity-is-not-found-the-way-pharaoh-s-daughter-found-moses-in-the/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [I am living with a rising generation which talks like people coming out of ether.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/i-am-living-with-a-rising-generation-which-talks-like-people-coming/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [children are an embarrassment to a business civilization. A business society needs children for the same reason that a nomadic or a pastoral society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/children-are-an-embarrassment-to-a-business-civilization-a-business/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [The only way not to worry about the race problem is to be doing something about it yourself. When you are, natural human vanity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/the-only-way-not-to-worry-about-the-race-problem-is-to-be-doing/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [Employed as I had been employing it, liquor is a fixative of old patterns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/employed-as-i-had-been-employing-it-liquor-is-a-fixative-of-old/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [in the comparatively short time between my childhood and my daughter's, the business society has ceased urging people to produce and is now exerting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/in-the-comparatively-short-time-between-my-childhood-and-my-daughter/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [A person may be totally unimaginative and have the social vision of a mole, and we still call him a decent man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/a-person-may-be-totally-unimaginative-and-have-the-social-vision-of-a/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [Infants, I note with envy, are receptive to enjoyment in a degree not attained by adults this side of the new Jerusalem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/infants-i-note-with-envy-are-receptive-to-enjoyment-in-a-degree-not/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) [Explore all 98 Margaret Halsey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) ## More Demand quotes > [Our times demand the declaration of the world's resources as the common heritage of all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/our-times-demand-the-declaration-of-the-world-s-resources-as-the/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [Parents who are stressed or disturbed will have more difficulty in meeting their children's needs. Parents who have little support--from friends, relatives, neighbors, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-kamerman/parents-who-are-stressed-or-disturbed-will-have-more-difficulty-in/) Sheila Kamerman > [If a person does not listen to the demands of their own spiritual and heart life and insists on a certain program, you're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/if-a-person-does-not-listen-to-the-demands-of-their-own-spiritual-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Empires fall, ids explode, great symphonies are written, and behind all of it is a single instinct that demands satisfaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/empires-fall-ids-explode-great-symphonies-are-written-and-behind-all/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [My dogs can't do anything--and what a relief. I don't make any demands of them, and I don't try to shape them or their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-chua/my-dogs-can-t-do-anything-and-what-a-relief-i-don-t-make-any-demands/) [Amy Chua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-chua/) > [The trouble is. . .that everybody sneers at restrictions and demands freedom, till something annoying happens; then they demand angrily what has become of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/the-trouble-is-that-everybody-sneers-at-restrictions-and-demands/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [You be greater than your feelings. I don't demand this of you - life does. Otherwise you'll be washed away by feelings. You'll be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/you-be-greater-than-your-feelings-i-don-t-demand-this-of-you-life/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [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/) > [It is an interesting law of romance that a truly strong woman will choose a strong man who disagrees with her over a weak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-is-an-interesting-law-of-romance-that-a-truly-strong-woman-will/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [If we get better our customers will demand we get bigger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-truett-cathy/if-we-get-better-our-customers-will-demand-we-get-bigger/) [S. Truett Cathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-truett-cathy/) > [If our faith in God is not the veriest sham, it demands, and will produce, the abandonment sometimes, the subordination always, of external helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/if-our-faith-in-god-is-not-the-veriest-sham-it-demands-and-will/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) > [Money should be ones demand and command one should not become slave of money..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/money-should-be-ones-demand-and-command-one-should-not-become-slave/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [There was no mistake in us making abortion legal and available on demand. That was what we call progress. Just like it was no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/there-was-no-mistake-in-us-making-abortion-legal-and-available-on/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [Most enjoyable activities are not natural; they demand an effort that initially one is reluctant to make. But once the interaction starts to provide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/most-enjoyable-activities-are-not-natural-they-demand-an-effort-that/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [Azerbaijan unleashed the war, and was defeated in that war; Azerbaijan asked for truce (including from the Commander of Karabakh's forces) and later started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serzh-sargsyan/azerbaijan-unleashed-the-war-and-was-defeated-in-that-war-azerbaijan/) [Serzh Sargsyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serzh-sargsyan/) [Browse all 3,809 Demand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Democracy makes many taxing demands on its practitioners, but suspension of the intelligence is not one of them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Halsey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/democracy-makes-many-taxing-demands-on-its-practitioners-but/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Demand" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/democracy-makes-many-taxing-demands-on-its-practitioners-but/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/margaret-halsey-6554_demand_democracy-makes-many-taxing-demands-on-i_2155330.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/margaret-halsey-6554_demand_democracy-makes-many-taxing-demands-on-i_2155330.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/margaret-halsey-6554_demand_democracy-makes-many-taxing-demands-on-i_2155330.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Democracy makes many taxing demands on its practitioners, but suspension of the intelligence is not one of…” — Margaret Halsey", "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": "Margaret Halsey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Democracy makes many taxing demands on...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/democracy-makes-many-taxing-demands-on-its-practitioners-but/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/democracy-makes-many-taxing-demands-on-its-practitioners-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 } } ] } ```