--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: History has shown that the masses have…" description: "\"History has shown that the masses have been quite receptive to the promises of authoritarians which are rarely if ever fulfilled,\" — Ron Paul" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/850/ron-paul-686_authoritarians_history-has-shown-that-the-masses-have-b_21829.png" --- # History has shown that the masses have been quite… ![“History has shown that the masses have been quite receptive to the promises of authoritarians which are rarely if ever fulfilled,” quote by Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/850/ron-paul-686_authoritarians_history-has-shown-that-the-masses-have-b_21829.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/850/ron-paul-686_authoritarians_history-has-shown-that-the-masses-have-b_21829.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/850/ron-paul-686_authoritarians_history-has-shown-that-the-masses-have-b_21829.png) > “History has shown that the masses have been quite receptive to the promises of authoritarians which are rarely if ever fulfilled,” [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often embrace authoritarian promises, but such pledges seldom materialize, revealing a pattern of disillusionment. **In simple terms:** Blind trust in strong leaders leads to unmet expectations. Key Takeaway Authority promises rarely deliver. Themes Power dynamics Public trust Political rhetoric Disillusionment Historical patterns Mood Cautious Skeptical Type Political Historical When to use this quote - Voting decisions - Social movements - Policy debates - Media consumption Key Concepts Authoritarianism Mass psychology Unfulfilled promises Practical Applications - Political analysis - Civic education Questions to Reflect On - Why do people gravitate toward authoritarian solutions? - How can societies safeguard against unfulfilled political promises? A Different Perspective Some argue that authoritarian promises can inspire necessary reforms, though evidence shows limited long-term success. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authoritarians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authoritarians/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass/) [Promise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/promise/) ## Related quotes > [Our effort to build stability through authoritarians in the Middle East for 60 years had given us neither democracy nor stability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/our-effort-to-build-stability-through-authoritarians-in-the-middle/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [Authoritarians tend to consolidate support by using fear, but more importantly by driving a wedge among the people that they want to control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/authoritarians-tend-to-consolidate-support-by-using-fear-but-more/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [The Constitution was definitely and specifically designed to hobble all people who are so foolish as to think themselves capable of leading others by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/the-constitution-was-definitely-and-specifically-designed-to-hobble/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [Somehow, when the authoritarians on the Right search for icons of manly warrior power to venerate, they find only those who like to melodramatically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/somehow-when-the-authoritarians-on-the-right-search-for-icons-of/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [I have never said authoritarians are pathological](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-altemeyer/i-have-never-said-authoritarians-are-pathological/) Bob Altemeyer > [“When political leaders set a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become more important. It is hard to subvert a rule-of-law state without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/when-political-leaders-set-a-negative-example-professional/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [The behavioral scientist Karen Stenner has written very eloquently about people who have what she calls an authoritarian predisposition, a personality type that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/the-behavioral-scientist-karen-stenner-has-written-very-eloquently/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [The real division is not between conservatives and revolutionaries but between authoritarians and libertarians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-real-division-is-not-between-conservatives-and-revolutionaries/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Steve Bannon is clearly somebody who has studied not-normal politics and the Constitution and the Electoral College. He is somebody who has studied Hitler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/steve-bannon-is-clearly-somebody-who-has-studied-not-normal-politics/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [“Conservatives without conscience do not have horns and tails; if they did they would be easier to identify. Many of them can be quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-dean/conservatives-without-conscience-do-not-have-horns-and-tails-if-they/) [John W. Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-dean/) > [“Have these gentlemen ever seen a revolution? A revolution is certainly the most authoritarian thing there is; it is an act whereby one part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/have-these-gentlemen-ever-seen-a-revolution-a-revolution-is-certainly/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [“Hitler and Mussolini were indeed authoritarians, but it doesn’t follow that authoritarianism equals fascism or Nazism. Lenin and Stalin were authoritarian, but neither was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/hitler-and-mussolini-were-indeed-authoritarians-but-it-doesn-t-follow/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) > [Audacity is the currency for authoritarians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/audacity-is-the-currency-for-authoritarians/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [Authoritarians have always been here. But the features of a given moment make that way of thinking more or less appealing. Germany in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sapolsky/authoritarians-have-always-been-here-but-the-features-of-a-given/) [Robert Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sapolsky/) > [The truth is that regimes of corrupt, personalist rule - in which authoritarians wield the state to reward friends, punish enemies and secure their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamelle-bouie/the-truth-is-that-regimes-of-corrupt-personalist-rule-in-which/) [Jamelle Bouie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamelle-bouie/) ## More by Ron Paul > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [I'm an imperfect messenger, but the message is perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/i-m-an-imperfect-messenger-but-the-message-is-perfect/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [The reality is that our military presence on foreign soil is as offensive to the people that live there as armed Chinese troops would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/the-reality-is-that-our-military-presence-on-foreign-soil-is-as/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [Right now, nobody legalized paper money. Where did that come from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/right-now-nobody-legalized-paper-money-where-did-that-come-from/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [Real patriotism is a willingness to challenge the government when it's wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/real-patriotism-is-a-willingness-to-challenge-the-government-when-it/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [Expect the rapidly expanding homeschooling movement to play a significant role in the revolutionary reforms needed to build a free society with Constitutional protections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/expect-the-rapidly-expanding-homeschooling-movement-to-play-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“Intellectually and compassionately explaining the reason freedom works is required for credibility.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/intellectually-and-compassionately-explaining-the-reason-freedom/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [Governments have nothing. They can't create anything, they never have. All they can do is steal from one group and give it to another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/governments-have-nothing-they-can-t-create-anything-they-never-have/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [Why is it is claimed that if people won't or can't take care of their own needs, that people in government can do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/why-is-it-is-claimed-that-if-people-won-t-or-can-t-take-care-of-their/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [It is dissent from government policies which defines the true Patriot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/it-is-dissent-from-government-policies-which-defines-the-true-patriot/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [The moral and constitutional obligations of our representatives in Washington are to protect our liberty, not coddle the world, precipitating no-win wars, while bringing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/the-moral-and-constitutional-obligations-of-our-representatives-in/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [I will veto any spending bill that contains funding for Planned Parenthood, facilities that perform abortion and all government family planning schemes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/i-will-veto-any-spending-bill-that-contains-funding-for-planned/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [Prices are going up. Unemployment is continue to go up. And we have not had the necessary correction for the financial bubble created by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/prices-are-going-up-unemployment-is-continue-to-go-up-and-we-have-not/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [Scientifically, there's no debate over whether the fetus is alive and human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/scientifically-there-s-no-debate-over-whether-the-fetus-is-alive-and/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [Rights mean you have a right to your life. You have a right to your liberty, and you should have a right to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/rights-mean-you-have-a-right-to-your-life-you-have-a-right-to-your/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) [Explore all 411 Ron Paul quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) ## More Authoritarians quotes > [Our effort to build stability through authoritarians in the Middle East for 60 years had given us neither democracy nor stability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/our-effort-to-build-stability-through-authoritarians-in-the-middle/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [Authoritarians have always been here. But the features of a given moment make that way of thinking more or less appealing. Germany in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sapolsky/authoritarians-have-always-been-here-but-the-features-of-a-given/) [Robert Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sapolsky/) > [Audacity is the currency for authoritarians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/audacity-is-the-currency-for-authoritarians/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [“Hitler and Mussolini were indeed authoritarians, but it doesn’t follow that authoritarianism equals fascism or Nazism. Lenin and Stalin were authoritarian, but neither was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/hitler-and-mussolini-were-indeed-authoritarians-but-it-doesn-t-follow/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) > [“Have these gentlemen ever seen a revolution? A revolution is certainly the most authoritarian thing there is; it is an act whereby one part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/have-these-gentlemen-ever-seen-a-revolution-a-revolution-is-certainly/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [“Conservatives without conscience do not have horns and tails; if they did they would be easier to identify. Many of them can be quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-w-dean/conservatives-without-conscience-do-not-have-horns-and-tails-if-they/) [John W. Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-dean/) > [Steve Bannon is clearly somebody who has studied not-normal politics and the Constitution and the Electoral College. He is somebody who has studied Hitler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/steve-bannon-is-clearly-somebody-who-has-studied-not-normal-politics/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [The real division is not between conservatives and revolutionaries but between authoritarians and libertarians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-real-division-is-not-between-conservatives-and-revolutionaries/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [The behavioral scientist Karen Stenner has written very eloquently about people who have what she calls an authoritarian predisposition, a personality type that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/the-behavioral-scientist-karen-stenner-has-written-very-eloquently/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [“When political leaders set a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become more important. It is hard to subvert a rule-of-law state without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/when-political-leaders-set-a-negative-example-professional/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [I have never said authoritarians are pathological](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-altemeyer/i-have-never-said-authoritarians-are-pathological/) Bob Altemeyer > [Somehow, when the authoritarians on the Right search for icons of manly warrior power to venerate, they find only those who like to melodramatically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/somehow-when-the-authoritarians-on-the-right-search-for-icons-of/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [The Constitution was definitely and specifically designed to hobble all people who are so foolish as to think themselves capable of leading others by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/the-constitution-was-definitely-and-specifically-designed-to-hobble/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [Authoritarians tend to consolidate support by using fear, but more importantly by driving a wedge among the people that they want to control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/authoritarians-tend-to-consolidate-support-by-using-fear-but-more/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [The truth is that regimes of corrupt, personalist rule - in which authoritarians wield the state to reward friends, punish enemies and secure their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamelle-bouie/the-truth-is-that-regimes-of-corrupt-personalist-rule-in-which/) [Jamelle Bouie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamelle-bouie/) [Browse all 24 Authoritarians quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authoritarians/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "History has shown that the masses have been quite receptive to the promises of authoritarians which are rarely if ever fulfilled,", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ron Paul" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/history-has-shown-that-the-masses-have-been-quite-receptive-to-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Authoritarians" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/history-has-shown-that-the-masses-have-been-quite-receptive-to-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/850/ron-paul-686_authoritarians_history-has-shown-that-the-masses-have-b_21829.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/850/ron-paul-686_authoritarians_history-has-shown-that-the-masses-have-b_21829.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/850/ron-paul-686_authoritarians_history-has-shown-that-the-masses-have-b_21829.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“History has shown that the masses have been quite receptive to the promises of authoritarians which are…” — Ron Paul", "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": "Ron Paul", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "History has shown that the masses...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/history-has-shown-that-the-masses-have-been-quite-receptive-to-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/history-has-shown-that-the-masses-have-been-quite-receptive-to-the/#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 } } ] } ```