--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Democracy is not simply a question of…" description: "\"Democracy is not simply a question of structures. It is a state of mind. It is an activity.\" — Rory Stewart" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f69/rory-stewart-11028_activism_democracy-is-not-simply-a-question-of-st_458217.jpg" --- # Democracy is not simply a question of structures. It is a… ![“Democracy is not simply a question of structures. It is a state of mind. It is an activity.” quote by Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f69/rory-stewart-11028_activism_democracy-is-not-simply-a-question-of-st_458217.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f69/rory-stewart-11028_activism_democracy-is-not-simply-a-question-of-st_458217.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f69/rory-stewart-11028_activism_democracy-is-not-simply-a-question-of-st_458217.jpg) > “Democracy is not simply a question of structures. It is a state of mind. It is an activity.” [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Democracy requires active participation and a mindset of engagement, not just institutions. **In simple terms:** Democracy is about mindset and action. Key Takeaway Engage actively in civic life. Themes civic engagement mindset participation Mood hopeful determined Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - voting - community organizing - public debate - policy advocacy Key Concepts democratic theory social responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How can individuals cultivate a democratic mindset? - What daily actions reflect democratic values? A Different Perspective Structural reforms alone cannot sustain democracy without personal commitment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Activism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activism/) [Activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Democracy Simply](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy-simply-2803558/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mind Activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-activity-232704/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [State Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/state-mind/) [State of mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/state-of-mind/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Structure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structure/) [Structures State](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structures-state-2803560/) ## Related quotes > [Democracy is not simply a question of structures. It is a state of mind. It is an activity. And part of that activity is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/democracy-is-not-simply-a-question-of-structures-it-is-a-state-of-2/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [When you do something, if you fix your mind on the activity with some confidence, the quality of your state of mind is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/when-you-do-something-if-you-fix-your-mind-on-the-activity-with-some/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [“democracy is not simply order and rationality displayed in voting, structured decision making, and legislating, but that it also and necessarily is contentious affect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-disalvo/democracy-is-not-simply-order-and-rationality-displayed-in-voting/) [Carl DiSalvo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-disalvo/) > [Democracy is not simply a political system; it is a moral movement and it springs from adventurous faith in human possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-emerson-fosdick/democracy-is-not-simply-a-political-system-it-is-a-moral-movement-and/) [Harry Emerson Fosdick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-emerson-fosdick/) > [“Democracy is not simply a license to indulge individual whims and proclivities. It is also holding oneself accountable to some reasonable degree for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aberjhani/democracy-is-not-simply-a-license-to-indulge-individual-whims-and/) [Aberjhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aberjhani/) > [Zen is mind-less activity, that is, Mind-ful activity, and it may often be advisable to emphasize the mind, and say, Take care of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reginald-horace-blyth/zen-is-mind-less-activity-that-is-mind-ful-activity-and-it-may-often/) [Reginald Horace Blyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-horace-blyth/) > [I don't know how we continue to do politics in a democracy if we simply can't listen to one another, if we simply close…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/i-don-t-know-how-we-continue-to-do-politics-in-a-democracy-if-we/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [All the mind's activity is easy if it is not subjected to reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/all-the-mind-s-activity-is-easy-if-it-is-not-subjected-to-reality/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“The mind is an activity, not a repository.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-henri-fabre/the-mind-is-an-activity-not-a-repository/) [Jean-Henri Fabre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-henri-fabre/) > [Instead of 'watching the thinker,' you can also create a gap in the mind stream simply by directing the focus of your attention into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/instead-of-watching-the-thinker-you-can-also-create-a-gap-in-the-mind/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [The problem is that democracy is not freedom. Democracy is simply majoritarianism, which is inherently incompatible with real freedom. Our founding fathers clearly understood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/the-problem-is-that-democracy-is-not-freedom-democracy-is-simply/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [Music seems to stimulate more parts of our mind than almost every other activity. It combines more parts of our minds. It synchronizes our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tod-machover/music-seems-to-stimulate-more-parts-of-our-mind-than-almost-every/) [Tod Machover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tod-machover/) > [“Fun is not an activity, it is a state of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/fun-is-not-an-activity-it-is-a-state-of-mind/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [A state of mind is something that one assumes. It cannot be purchased, it must be created.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/a-state-of-mind-is-something-that-one-assumes-it-cannot-be-purchased/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [The state of mind which I put myself when I tell a story is one in which superstition flourishes very easily. And I welcome…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/the-state-of-mind-which-i-put-myself-when-i-tell-a-story-is-one-in/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) ## More by Rory Stewart > [This idea that failure is not an option: It makes failure invisible, inconceivable and inevitable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/this-idea-that-failure-is-not-an-option-it-makes-failure-invisible/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [If a relationship is going wrong, if a marriage is going wrong, the answer cannot simply be to say, 'You can't afford to break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/if-a-relationship-is-going-wrong-if-a-marriage-is-going-wrong-the/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [ “He \[Babur\] was a ype of mastiff, bred to fight against wolves, dogs, and humans. . . . The mastiff is perhaps the oldest… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/he-babur-was-a-ype-of-mastiff-bred-to-fight-against-wolves-dogs-and/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [The politicians think the journalists have power, the journalists think bankers have power, bankers think lawyers have power. The truth is, nobody has power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/the-politicians-think-the-journalists-have-power-the-journalists/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [“I recited and followed this song-of-the-places-in-between as a map.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/i-recited-and-followed-this-song-of-the-places-in-between-as-a-map/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [The Afghan government is much better informed, much more intrusive and ambitious than I had guessed. There are amazing craftsmen in Kabul but few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/the-afghan-government-is-much-better-informed-much-more-intrusive-and/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [I have planted over 6,000 trees at home in Scotland, some of them oak. I'd like my children to be able to watch them grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/i-have-planted-over-6-000-trees-at-home-in-scotland-some-of-them-oak/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [“Man's life is brief and transitory, Literature endures forever”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/man-s-life-is-brief-and-transitory-literature-endures-forever/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [If things are going wrong in a country, it's not usually that we don't have enough foreigners. It's usually that we have too many.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/if-things-are-going-wrong-in-a-country-it-s-not-usually-that-we-don-t/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [For politicians to be honest, the public needs to allow them to be honest, and the media, which mediates between the politicians and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/for-politicians-to-be-honest-the-public-needs-to-allow-them-to-be/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [“My feet beat out a steady muffled rhythm. My thoughts participated in each step, never getting ahead of me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/my-feet-beat-out-a-steady-muffled-rhythm-my-thoughts-participated-in/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [I left things out - my motivations, my history, my emotional responses - because I am not good at understanding them or writing about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/i-left-things-out-my-motivations-my-history-my-emotional-responses/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [I like connecting to places by foot, and I'm interested in experiencing how somewhere like Crieff connects to somewhere like London.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/i-like-connecting-to-places-by-foot-and-i-m-interested-in/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [Religions . . . seem to avoid mountain passes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/religions-seem-to-avoid-mountain-passes/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [When my father was posted to Malaysia, we'd take bacon-and-egg sandwiches in our backpacks and go hiking in the jungle or make bamboo rafts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/when-my-father-was-posted-to-malaysia-we-d-take-bacon-and-egg/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) [Explore all 62 Rory Stewart quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) ## More Activism quotes > [“God has a way of picking a “nobody” and turning their world upside down, in order to create a “somebody” that will remove the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/god-has-a-way-of-picking-a-nobody-and-turning-their-world-upside-down/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [“All struggles against oppression in the modern woeld begin by redefining what had previously been consideered private, non-public and non-political issues as matters of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seyla-benhabib/all-struggles-against-oppression-in-the-modern-woeld-begin-by/) [Seyla Benhabib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seyla-benhabib/) > [Joy doesn't betray but sustains activism. And when you face a politics that aspires to make you fearful, alienated and isolated, joy is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/joy-doesn-t-betray-but-sustains-activism-and-when-you-face-a-politics/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“It takes a female to have a baby, It takes a woman to raise a child, It takes a mother to raise them correctly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/it-takes-a-female-to-have-a-baby-it-takes-a-woman-to-raise-a-child-it/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Paul Revere earned his living as a silversmith. But what do we remember him for? His volunteer work. All activism is volunteering in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-j-ellis/paul-revere-earned-his-living-as-a-silversmith-but-what-do-we/) [Susan J. Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-j-ellis/) > [Being in service and being involved in something that is greater than you is what makes a person complete and whole. The very first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-moreno/being-in-service-and-being-involved-in-something-that-is-greater-than/) [Rita Moreno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-moreno/) > [“The times do not call for grassroots political activism, as if the next election might be enough to reverse a massive cultural earthquake. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-d-miller/the-times-do-not-call-for-grassroots-political-activism-as-if-the/) [Paul D. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-d-miller/) > [He went to Paris looking for answers to questions that bothered him so. He was impressive, young and aggressive, saving the world on his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-buffett/he-went-to-paris-looking-for-answers-to-questions-that-bothered-him/) [Jimmy Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-buffett/) > [Poetry is a lousy form of activism; it doesn't really change much. And maybe we can point to one or two historical times when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-gottlieb/poetry-is-a-lousy-form-of-activism-it-doesn-t-really-change-much-and/) [Daphne Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-gottlieb/) > [There's a lot of activism that doesn't deal with empowerment, and you have to empower yourself in order to be relevant to any type…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-kweli/there-s-a-lot-of-activism-that-doesn-t-deal-with-empowerment-and-you/) [Talib Kweli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-kweli/) > [“Until you find a cause you can die for, you are not worthy to live.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ifeanyi-enoch-onuoha/until-you-find-a-cause-you-can-die-for-you-are-not-worthy-to-live/) [Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ifeanyi-enoch-onuoha/) > [Ya'll know what you need to do? Get together, make a We Are The World record.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-jackson/ya-ll-know-what-you-need-to-do-get-together-make-a-we-are-the-world/) [Curtis Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-jackson/) > [“There is no way to tell if we are the pioneers of a visionary new age, whisking humanity into the high vibrations of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-talat-phillips/there-is-no-way-to-tell-if-we-are-the-pioneers-of-a-visionary-new-age/) [Jonathan Talat Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-talat-phillips/) > [Terence McKenna says, "The culture is not your friend." I am not sure we can change this culture. But I think we can rise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/terence-mckenna-says-the-culture-is-not-your-friend-i-am-not-sure-we/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [“A spirituality that is only private and self-absorbed, one devoid of an authentic political and social consciousness, does little to halt the suicidal juggernaut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-harvey/a-spirituality-that-is-only-private-and-self-absorbed-one-devoid-of/) [Andrew Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-harvey/) [Browse all 820 Activism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Democracy is not simply a question of structures. It is a state of mind. It is an activity.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rory Stewart" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/democracy-is-not-simply-a-question-of-structures-it-is-a-state-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Activism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/democracy-is-not-simply-a-question-of-structures-it-is-a-state-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f69/rory-stewart-11028_activism_democracy-is-not-simply-a-question-of-st_458217.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f69/rory-stewart-11028_activism_democracy-is-not-simply-a-question-of-st_458217.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f69/rory-stewart-11028_activism_democracy-is-not-simply-a-question-of-st_458217.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Democracy is not simply a question of structures. It is a state of mind. It is an activity.” — Rory Stewart", "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": "Rory Stewart", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Democracy is not simply a question...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/democracy-is-not-simply-a-question-of-structures-it-is-a-state-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/democracy-is-not-simply-a-question-of-structures-it-is-a-state-of/#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 } } ] } ```