--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People who want to understand democracy…" description: "\"People who want to understand democracy should spend less time in the library with Aristotle and more time on the buses and in the subway.\" — Simeon St..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b4/simeon-strunsky-52018_aristotle_people-who-want-to-understand-democracy_264152.jpg" --- # People who want to understand democracy should spend less… ![“People who want to understand democracy should spend less time in the library with Aristotle and more time on the buses and in the subway.” quote by Simeon Strunsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b4/simeon-strunsky-52018_aristotle_people-who-want-to-understand-democracy_264152.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b4/simeon-strunsky-52018_aristotle_people-who-want-to-understand-democracy_264152.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b4/simeon-strunsky-52018_aristotle_people-who-want-to-understand-democracy_264152.jpg) > “People who want to understand democracy should spend less time in the library with Aristotle and more time on the buses and in the subway.” [Simeon Strunsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simeon-strunsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding democracy requires practical experience, not just theoretical study of ancient philosophers. **In simple terms:** Learn democracy by observing everyday life. Key Takeaway Engage directly with public spaces. Themes civic engagement practical learning democracy Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type observational educational When to use this quote - commuting - public meetings - community volunteering - local elections Key Concepts political theory urban observation Questions to Reflect On - How does daily observation change your view of democracy? - What practical steps can you take to experience civic life? A Different Perspective Theory alone cannot capture lived realities of governance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I understand democracy as something that gives the weak the same chance as the strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-understand-democracy-as-something-that-gives-the-weak-the-same/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The rules are rather simple to understand: Under democracy you can defend any view, but only defend it. 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He is an unimaginative thinker, but his results demand our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-cixin/this-is-galileo-said-aristotle-he-advocates-understanding-the-world/) [Liu Cixin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-cixin/) ## More by Simeon Strunsky > [Once a man would spend a week patiently waiting if he missed a stage coach, but now he rages if he misses the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simeon-strunsky/once-a-man-would-spend-a-week-patiently-waiting-if-he-missed-a-stage/) [Simeon Strunsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simeon-strunsky/) > [Famous remarks are very seldom quoted correctly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simeon-strunsky/famous-remarks-are-very-seldom-quoted-correctly/) [Simeon Strunsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simeon-strunsky/) > [The people whom the sons and daughters find it hardest to understand are the fathers and mothers, but young people can get on very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simeon-strunsky/the-people-whom-the-sons-and-daughters-find-it-hardest-to-understand/) [Simeon Strunsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simeon-strunsky/) > [A dining room table with children's eager hungry faces around it, ceases to be a mere dining room table, and becomes an altar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simeon-strunsky/a-dining-room-table-with-children-s-eager-hungry-faces-around-it/) [Simeon Strunsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simeon-strunsky/) > [Statistics are the heart of democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simeon-strunsky/statistics-are-the-heart-of-democracy/) [Simeon Strunsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simeon-strunsky/) > [New York has more hermits than will be found in all the forests, mountains and deserts of the United States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simeon-strunsky/new-york-has-more-hermits-than-will-be-found-in-all-the-forests/) [Simeon Strunsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simeon-strunsky/) [Explore all 7 Simeon Strunsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simeon-strunsky/) ## More Aristotle quotes > [“This is Galileo,” said Aristotle. “He advocates understanding the world through observation and experiment. 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Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [The ancient Greek philosophers were all natural-born dialecticians and Aristotle, the most encyclopaedic intellect among them, had even already analysed the most essential forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/the-ancient-greek-philosophers-were-all-natural-born-dialecticians/) [Friedrich Engels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-engels/) > [“I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well. { His teacher was the legendary philosopher Aristotle }”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/i-am-indebted-to-my-father-for-living-but-to-my-teacher-for-living/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [Aristotle discovered all the half-truths which were necessary to the creation of science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/aristotle-discovered-all-the-half-truths-which-were-necessary-to-the/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The bourgeois thinkers of the eighteenth century thus turned Aristotle's formula on its head: satisfactions which the Greek philosopher had identified with leisure were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-bourgeois-thinkers-of-the-eighteenth-century-thus-turned/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“We are what we repeatedly do. —Aristotle”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-navarro/we-are-what-we-repeatedly-do-aristotle/) [Joe Navarro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-navarro/) > [“When the point of education becomes the production of credentials rather than the cultivation of knowledge, it forfeits the motive recognized by Aristotle: "All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-b-crawford/when-the-point-of-education-becomes-the-production-of-credentials/) [Matthew B. 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