--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Only a government that is rich and safe…" description: "\"Only a government that is rich and safe can afford to be a democracy, for democracy is the most expensive and nefarious kind of government ever heard o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee1/mark-twain-22_democracy_only-a-government-that-is-rich-and-safe_2486881.png" --- # Only a government that is rich and safe can afford to be a… ![“Only a government that is rich and safe can afford to be a democracy, for democracy is the most expensive and nefarious kind of government ever heard of on earth” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee1/mark-twain-22_democracy_only-a-government-that-is-rich-and-safe_2486881.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee1/mark-twain-22_democracy_only-a-government-that-is-rich-and-safe_2486881.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee1/mark-twain-22_democracy_only-a-government-that-is-rich-and-safe_2486881.png) > “Only a government that is rich and safe can afford to be a democracy, for democracy is the most expensive and nefarious kind of government ever heard of on earth” [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## 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 extensive resources and security, making it costly and potentially corruptible. **In simple terms:** Democracy is costly and can become corrupt. Key Takeaway Ensure strong, well‑funded institutions. Themes politics economics governance democracy corruption Mood cautious critical reflective Type political philosophical warning When to use this quote - national budgeting - policy reform - public trust building - anti‑corruption measures Key Concepts resource allocation public safety institutional design Questions to Reflect On - How can a poor society sustain democracy? - What safeguards prevent democratic decay? A Different Perspective Wealth alone does not guarantee democratic quality; civic engagement matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) ## Related quotes > [The goal to strive for is a poor government but a rich people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-johnson/the-goal-to-strive-for-is-a-poor-government-but-a-rich-people/) [Andrew Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-johnson/) > [People live with the illusion that we have a democratic system, but it's only the outward form of one. In reality we live in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/people-live-with-the-illusion-that-we-have-a-democratic-system-but-it/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“Your king is SUPPOSED to explode? What kind of government system is that?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-smith/your-king-is-supposed-to-explode-what-kind-of-government-system-is/) [Jefferson Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-smith/) > [What kind of government is this? This is a human being. This is not right, and I'm telling everybody you better call your congressman,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-schiavo/what-kind-of-government-is-this-this-is-a-human-being-this-is-not/) [Michael Schiavo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-schiavo/) > [To take an analogy: if we say that a democratic government is the best kind of government, we mean that it most completely fulfills…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-drinkwater/to-take-an-analogy-if-we-say-that-a-democratic-government-is-the-best/) [John Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-drinkwater/) > [“I should have paid greater attention to my mentor in graduate school, Samuel Huntington, who once explained that Americans never recognize that, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fareed-zakaria/i-should-have-paid-greater-attention-to-my-mentor-in-graduate-school/) [Fareed Zakaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fareed-zakaria/) > [That government is best which governs not at all; and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/that-government-is-best-which-governs-not-at-all-and-when-men-are/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [In a democracy, people tend to get the kind of government they deserve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lanchester/in-a-democracy-people-tend-to-get-the-kind-of-government-they-deserve/) [John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/) > [Every citizen has to figure out what kind of government he or she wants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-breyer/every-citizen-has-to-figure-out-what-kind-of-government-he-or-she/) [Stephen Breyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-breyer/) > [Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step toward obtaining it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/let-every-man-make-known-what-kind-of-government-would-command-his/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Democracy is the worst kind of government, I'm sorry. Would you still call yourself a Christian if they elected a new Jesus every four…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-stanhope/democracy-is-the-worst-kind-of-government-i-m-sorry-would-you-still/) [Doug Stanhope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-stanhope/) > [I feel that the majority of people should decide for themselves what kind of government they want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-feel-that-the-majority-of-people-should-decide-for-themselves-what/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ARISTOCRACY, n. Government by the best men. (In this sense the word is obsolete; so is that kind of government.) Fellows that wear downy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/aristocracy-n-government-by-the-best-men-in-this-sense-the-word-is/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [You make men love their government and their country by giving them the kind of government and the kind of country that inspire respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zechariah-chafee/you-make-men-love-their-government-and-their-country-by-giving-them/) [Zechariah Chafee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zechariah-chafee/) > [With the tools of democracy, democracy was murdered and lawlessness made "legal." Raw power ruled, and its only real goal was to destroy all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/with-the-tools-of-democracy-democracy-was-murdered-and-lawlessness/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) ## More by Mark Twain > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. Behind him stretched the illimitable continent of heaven, steeped in a glory of light and color; before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-creator-sat-upon-the-throne-thinking-behind-him-stretched-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-easy-to-quit-smoking-i-ve-done-it-hundreds-of-times/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It is never wrong to do the right thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-never-wrong-to-do-the-right-thing/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There is nothing training can't cannot do. Nothing is above its reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-nothing-training-can-t-cannot-do-nothing-is-above-its-reach/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The higher animals get their teeth without pain or inconvenience. Man gets his through months and months of cruel torture; he will never get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-higher-animals-get-their-teeth-without-pain-or-inconvenience-man/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“As far as I can see, Italy, for fifteen hundred years, has turned all her energies, all her finances, and all her industry to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/as-far-as-i-can-see-italy-for-fifteen-hundred-years-has-turned-all/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Begin with the determination to succeed and the work is half done already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/begin-with-the-determination-to-succeed-and-the-work-is-half-done/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Many public-school children seem to know only two dates—1492 and 4th of July; and as a rule they don't know what happened on either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/many-public-school-children-seem-to-know-only-two-dates-1492-and-4th/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If we could imagine such a man, that is a man who could invent the fly and send him out on his mission and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-we-could-imagine-such-a-man-that-is-a-man-who-could-invent-the-fly/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [You perceive, now, that these things are all impossible except in a dream. You perceive that they are pure and puerile insanities, the silly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-perceive-now-that-these-things-are-all-impossible-except-in-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Lord save us all from a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/lord-save-us-all-from-a-hope-tree-that-has-lost-the-faculty-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Explore all 3,277 Mark Twain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More Democracy quotes > [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/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [If the members of parliament no longer consider themselves mandatories of the taxpayers but deputies of those receiving salaries, wages, subsidies, doles, and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/if-the-members-of-parliament-no-longer-consider-themselves/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [For not only every democracy, but certainly every republic, bears within itself the seeds of its own destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-not-only-every-democracy-but-certainly-every-republic-bears/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [There is plenty of time for Republicans to have a Macaca moment. But right now, as of October 17, 2014, the Republican Senate candidates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-continetti/there-is-plenty-of-time-for-republicans-to-have-a-macaca-moment-but/) [Matthew Continetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-continetti/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [ Vote for Donald Trump. You're going to see something and you'll be so happy, you'll be so thrilled. This \[presidential\] election is about every… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/vote-for-donald-trump-you-re-going-to-see-something-and-you-ll-be-so/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [The peaceful transition of power is one of the hallmarks of our democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-peaceful-transition-of-power-is-one-of-the-hallmarks-of-our/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [If you believe in democracy, why shouldn't you know what the government is doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-believe-in-democracy-why-shouldn-t-you-know-what-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Failure to find a way to incorporate political Islam in democracy, however uncomfortable its ideology is for secular liberals, will mean we have given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crispin-blunt/failure-to-find-a-way-to-incorporate-political-islam-in-democracy/) [Crispin Blunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crispin-blunt/) > [In a democratic nation, power must be linked with responsibility, and obliged to defend and justify itself within the framework of the general good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/in-a-democratic-nation-power-must-be-linked-with-responsibility-and/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/) [Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/) > [“All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or back gammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/all-voting-is-a-sort-of-gaming-like-checkers-or-back-gammon-with-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Browse all 11,220 Democracy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Only a government that is rich and safe can afford to be a democracy, for democracy is the most expensive and nefarious kind of government ever heard of on earth", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/only-a-government-that-is-rich-and-safe-can-afford-to-be-a-democracy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Democracy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/only-a-government-that-is-rich-and-safe-can-afford-to-be-a-democracy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee1/mark-twain-22_democracy_only-a-government-that-is-rich-and-safe_2486881.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee1/mark-twain-22_democracy_only-a-government-that-is-rich-and-safe_2486881.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee1/mark-twain-22_democracy_only-a-government-that-is-rich-and-safe_2486881.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Only a government that is rich and safe can afford to be a democracy, for democracy is the most expensive…” — Mark Twain", "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": "Mark Twain", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Only a government that is rich...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/only-a-government-that-is-rich-and-safe-can-afford-to-be-a-democracy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/only-a-government-that-is-rich-and-safe-can-afford-to-be-a-democracy/#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 } } ] } ```