--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Democracy is a poor system of government…" description: "\"“Democracy is a poor system of government at best; the only thing that can honestly be said in its favor is that it is about eight times as good as any..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58c/robert-a-heinlein-209_democracy_democracy-is-a-poor-system-of-government_698750.jpg" --- # Democracy is a poor system of government at best; the only… ![“Democracy is a poor system of government at best; the only thing that can honestly be said in its favor is that it is about eight times as good as any other method the human race has ever tried. Democracy's worst faults is that its leaders are likely to reflect the faults and virtues of their…” quote by Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58c/robert-a-heinlein-209_democracy_democracy-is-a-poor-system-of-government_698750.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58c/robert-a-heinlein-209_democracy_democracy-is-a-poor-system-of-government_698750.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58c/robert-a-heinlein-209_democracy_democracy-is-a-poor-system-of-government_698750.jpg) > ““Democracy is a poor system of government at best; the only thing that can honestly be said in its favor is that it is about eight times as good as any other method the human race has ever tried. Democracy's worst faults is that its leaders are likely to reflect the faults and virtues of their constituents - a depressingly low level, but what else can you expect?”” [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Democracy is imperfect but still far superior to alternatives, though its leaders mirror the populace’s flaws. **In simple terms:** Democracy is flawed yet better than other systems. Key Takeaway Accept democracy’s limits while striving for better leadership. Themes politics governance human nature Mood cautious critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - elections - public policy - civic education - community organizing Key Concepts democratic theory leadership reflection social critique Questions to Reflect On - How can citizens raise the quality of their representatives? - What mechanisms can reduce the reflection of public flaws in leaders? A Different Perspective It can be hard to improve leadership when voters are uninformed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Human race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-race/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) ## Related quotes > [Democracy is a poor system of government at best; the only thing that can honestly be said in its favor is that it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/democracy-is-a-poor-system-of-government-at-best-the-only-thing-that-2/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [How do we get democracy at the international level? That's our problem. and it's essentially the same problem people faced in the 18th Century…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-george/how-do-we-get-democracy-at-the-international-level-that-s-our-problem/) [Susan George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-george/) > [“Democracy is a poor system; the only thing that can be said for it is that it's eight times as good as any other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/democracy-is-a-poor-system-the-only-thing-that-can-be-said-for-it-is-2/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“Democracy is a poor system; the only thing that can be said for it is that it’s eight times as good as any other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/democracy-is-a-poor-system-the-only-thing-that-can-be-said-for-it-is/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Democracy's worst fault is that its leaders are likely to reflect the faults and virtues of their constituents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/democracy-s-worst-fault-is-that-its-leaders-are-likely-to-reflect-the/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [In California, the fabulously rich support the poor with government jobs, paid for by the middle class which is now living in Arizona.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/in-california-the-fabulously-rich-support-the-poor-with-government/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [I grew up on a farm. I didn't have health insurance until I was 24 years old. So, I didn't even know I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlin-stutzman/i-grew-up-on-a-farm-i-didn-t-have-health-insurance-until-i-was-24/) [Marlin Stutzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlin-stutzman/) > [The contented and economically comfortable have a very discriminating view of government. 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But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-yunus/in-the-united-states-i-saw-how-the-market-liberates-the-individual/) [Muhammad Yunus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-yunus/) > [In a democracy the poor will have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and the will of the majority…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/in-a-democracy-the-poor-will-have-more-power-than-the-rich-because/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Of what good is democracy if it is not for the poor?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-marcos/of-what-good-is-democracy-if-it-is-not-for-the-poor/) [Ferdinand Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-marcos/) > [The capitalist has this over the politician and the clergyman; he has in practice done more to raise the standard of living of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/the-capitalist-has-this-over-the-politician-and-the-clergyman-he-has/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) > [A government is one that thinks and hears the voice of the poor. A government must live for the poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/a-government-is-one-that-thinks-and-hears-the-voice-of-the-poor-a/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) ## More by Robert A. Heinlein > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Ninety percent of all human wisdom is the ability to mind your own business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/ninety-percent-of-all-human-wisdom-is-the-ability-to-mind-your-own/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [If we blow ourselves up we will do it by misapplication of science; if we manage to keep from blowing ourselves up, it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/if-we-blow-ourselves-up-we-will-do-it-by-misapplication-of-science-if/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Nor would anybody suspect. If was one thing all people took for granted, was conviction that if you feed honest figures into a computer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/nor-would-anybody-suspect-if-was-one-thing-all-people-took-for/) [Robert A. 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Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“Some people are ants by nature; they have to work, even when it’s useless. Few people have a talent for constructive laziness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/some-people-are-ants-by-nature-they-have-to-work-even-when-it-s/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“The instinct to survive is human nature itself, and every aspect of our personalities derives from it. Anything that conflicts with the survival instinct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/the-instinct-to-survive-is-human-nature-itself-and-every-aspect-of/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“I tried to dig out of the computer a call directory for Luna. But it was still sulking. I could not get it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/i-tried-to-dig-out-of-the-computer-a-call-directory-for-luna-but-it/) [Robert A. 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