--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If democracy is to be rebuilt … it is…" description: "\"If democracy is to be rebuilt … it is necessary not just for the public to learn to trust their politicians, but for the politicians to learn to trust ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1b/rory-stewart-11028_democracy_if-democracy-is-to-be-rebuilt-it-is-nece_2684326.jpg" --- # If democracy is to be rebuilt … it is necessary not just… ![“If democracy is to be rebuilt … it is necessary not just for the public to learn to trust their politicians, but for the politicians to learn to trust the public.” quote by Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1b/rory-stewart-11028_democracy_if-democracy-is-to-be-rebuilt-it-is-nece_2684326.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1b/rory-stewart-11028_democracy_if-democracy-is-to-be-rebuilt-it-is-nece_2684326.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1b/rory-stewart-11028_democracy_if-democracy-is-to-be-rebuilt-it-is-nece_2684326.jpg) > “If democracy is to be rebuilt … it is necessary not just for the public to learn to trust their politicians, but for the politicians to learn to trust the public.” [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 mutual trust: citizens must trust politicians, and politicians must trust citizens, to rebuild effective governance. **In simple terms:** Democracy needs two‑way trust between public and leaders. Key Takeaway Foster reciprocal trust in politics. Themes politics trust democracy governance social capital Mood hopeful serious Type political educational When to use this quote - elections - community forums - policy making - civic education Key Concepts social contract civic engagement accountability Questions to Reflect On - How can leaders demonstrate trustworthiness? - What mechanisms build public confidence? A Different Perspective Trust is hard to rebuild after corruption scandals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Politician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politician/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) ## Related quotes > [I think our politicians could learn a lot from Mandela.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/i-think-our-politicians-could-learn-a-lot-from-mandela/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [The children of politicians learn the allure and tricks of politics along with their alphabet. They inherit a network of useful contacts, and -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-colley/the-children-of-politicians-learn-the-allure-and-tricks-of-politics/) [Linda Colley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-colley/) > [A free society depends upon a high degree of mutual trust. The public will not give that trust to officials who are not seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-cox/a-free-society-depends-upon-a-high-degree-of-mutual-trust-the-public/) [Archibald Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-cox/) > [One of the things it's so important for any city government is to have the trust of the public.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-wiley/one-of-the-things-it-s-so-important-for-any-city-government-is-to/) [Maya Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-wiley/) > [People's trust in their public institutions depends on their government getting results.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-o-malley/people-s-trust-in-their-public-institutions-depends-on-their/) [Martin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-o-malley/) > [It's critically important that people trust you during a public health crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-e-besser/it-s-critically-important-that-people-trust-you-during-a-public/) [Richard E. Besser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-e-besser/) > [The English doctrine that all power is a trust for the public good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/the-english-doctrine-that-all-power-is-a-trust-for-the-public-good/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [For me, fiscal realism is not a betrayal of Labour values; it is the foundation by which we win the trust of the public.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-alexander/for-me-fiscal-realism-is-not-a-betrayal-of-labour-values-it-is-the/) [Douglas Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-alexander/) > [We should put behind us the era of diminishing trust in public institutions and weakened confidence in our country's public leaders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-ramaphosa/we-should-put-behind-us-the-era-of-diminishing-trust-in-public/) [Cyril Ramaphosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-ramaphosa/) > [It is so difficult to draw a clear line of separation between the abuse and the wholesome use of the press, that as yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/it-is-so-difficult-to-draw-a-clear-line-of-separation-between-the/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [All my trust in the politicians had been rubbed away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-evren/all-my-trust-in-the-politicians-had-been-rubbed-away/) Kenan Evren > [“I trust politicians to do what’s right. For themselves. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-trust-politicians-to-do-what-s-right-for-themselves/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I don't trust politicians. I think that by the time they've made it, with the concessions they've had to make in that position, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-astley/i-don-t-trust-politicians-i-think-that-by-the-time-they-ve-made-it/) [Rick Astley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-astley/) > [Every two years the American politics industry fills the airwaves with the most virulent, scurrilous, wall-to-wall character assassination of nearly every political practitioner in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/every-two-years-the-american-politics-industry-fills-the-airwaves/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [I don't really trust politicians, and our job is to call them out. It's old-school journalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cenk-uygur/i-don-t-really-trust-politicians-and-our-job-is-to-call-them-out-it-s/) [Cenk Uygur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cenk-uygur/) ## 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/) > [Democracy is not simply a question of structures. It is a state of mind. It is an activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/democracy-is-not-simply-a-question-of-structures-it-is-a-state-of/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) [Explore all 62 Rory Stewart quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) ## 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": "If democracy is to be rebuilt … it is necessary not just for the public to learn to trust their politicians, but for the politicians to learn to trust the public.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rory Stewart" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/if-democracy-is-to-be-rebuilt-it-is-necessary-not-just-for-the-public/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Democracy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/if-democracy-is-to-be-rebuilt-it-is-necessary-not-just-for-the-public/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1b/rory-stewart-11028_democracy_if-democracy-is-to-be-rebuilt-it-is-nece_2684326.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1b/rory-stewart-11028_democracy_if-democracy-is-to-be-rebuilt-it-is-nece_2684326.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1b/rory-stewart-11028_democracy_if-democracy-is-to-be-rebuilt-it-is-nece_2684326.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If democracy is to be rebuilt … it is necessary not just for the public to learn to trust their politicians…” — 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": "If democracy is to be rebuilt...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/if-democracy-is-to-be-rebuilt-it-is-necessary-not-just-for-the-public/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/if-democracy-is-to-be-rebuilt-it-is-necessary-not-just-for-the-public/#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 } } ] } ```