--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Look, America is no more a democracy than…" description: "\"“Look, America is no more a democracy than Russia is a Communist state. The governments of the U.S. and Russia are practically the same. There's only a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/tom-robbins-169_america_look-america-is-no-more-a-democracy-than_3170691.jpg" --- # Look, America is no more a democracy than Russia is a… ![“Look, America is no more a democracy than Russia is a Communist state. The governments of the U.S. and Russia are practically the same. There's only a difference of degree. We both have the same basic form of government: economic totalitarianism. In other words, the settlement to all questions…” quote by Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/tom-robbins-169_america_look-america-is-no-more-a-democracy-than_3170691.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/tom-robbins-169_america_look-america-is-no-more-a-democracy-than_3170691.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/tom-robbins-169_america_look-america-is-no-more-a-democracy-than_3170691.jpg) > ““Look, America is no more a democracy than Russia is a Communist state. The governments of the U.S. and Russia are practically the same. There's only a difference of degree. We both have the same basic form of government: economic totalitarianism. In other words, the settlement to all questions, the solutions to all issues are determined not by what will make the people most healthy and happy in the bodies and their minds but by economics. Dollars or rubles. Economy uber alles. Let nothing interfere with economic growth, even though that growth is castrating truth, poisoning beauty, turning a continent into a shit-heap and riving an entire civilization insane. Don't spill the Coca-Cola, boys, and keep those monthly payments coming.”” [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Governments prioritize economic goals over human well‑being, creating a form of totalitarianism. **In simple terms:** Economics dominate policy, harming humanity. Key Takeaway Question economic motives in politics. Themes politics economics human rights Mood critical provocative Type political philosophical When to use this quote - policy analysis - public debate - activism Key Concepts economic determinism authoritarianism Questions to Reflect On - How does economic focus affect freedom? - What alternatives exist to economic dominance? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex political systems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Capitalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalism/) [Economic growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic-growth/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Healthy and happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/healthy-and-happy/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Russia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/russia/) ## Related quotes > [Look, America is no more a democracy than Russia is a Communist state. The governments of the U.S. and Russia are practically the same.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/look-america-is-no-more-a-democracy-than-russia-is-a-communist-state/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [ “\[T\]he just society is one in which each man may seek the things which belong to his nature. By contrast, a system of economic… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/t-he-just-society-is-one-in-which-each-man-may-seek-the-things-which/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [The worker-mother must learn not to differentiate between yours and mine; she must remember that there are only our children, the children of Russia’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-kollontai/the-worker-mother-must-learn-not-to-differentiate-between-yours-and/) Alexandra Kollontai > [If NATO troops walk in Crimea, they will immediately deploy their forces there. Such a move would be geopolitically sensitive for us because, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/if-nato-troops-walk-in-crimea-they-will-immediately-deploy-their/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [Despite elections and the experience of post-Soviet personal freedoms by the Russian people, the fate of democracy in Russia is perhaps more ambiguous now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lugar/despite-elections-and-the-experience-of-post-soviet-personal-freedoms/) [Richard Lugar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lugar/) > [“Vladimir Putin portrayed himself as an avowed democrat. And yet even then, at the dawn of democracy in Russia, he warned that the imperative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-lee-myers/vladimir-putin-portrayed-himself-as-an-avowed-democrat-and-yet-even/) [Steven Lee Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-lee-myers/) > [There is no democracy in Russia. Dictators do not go away through the vote. Putin relies on riot police, thousands of them, with heavy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/there-is-no-democracy-in-russia-dictators-do-not-go-away-through-the/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [Is America truly a democracy? Has America ever been a democracy with the institution of slavery?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatyana-ali/is-america-truly-a-democracy-has-america-ever-been-a-democracy-with/) [Tatyana Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatyana-ali/) > [If we don't allow people to vote in America, what is our democracy? It's a sham.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-arquette/if-we-don-t-allow-people-to-vote-in-america-what-is-our-democracy-it/) [Patricia Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-arquette/) > [In America, we do not have a democracy. It's not what we have. We have a representative republic and therefore the rules and regulations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/in-america-we-do-not-have-a-democracy-it-s-not-what-we-have-we-have-a/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [America is not a democracy. I think if your kids understood that - and most people don't. We are a representative republic. We're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/america-is-not-a-democracy-i-think-if-your-kids-understood-that-and/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Because America is a democracy, public support for presidential foreign-policy decisions is essential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zbigniew-brzezinski/because-america-is-a-democracy-public-support-for-presidential/) [Zbigniew Brzezinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zbigniew-brzezinski/) > [We women of America tell you that America is not a democracy. Twenty million women are denied the right to vote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-paul/we-women-of-america-tell-you-that-america-is-not-a-democracy-twenty/) [Alice Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-paul/) > [There is no America. There is no democracy. There is only IBM, and ITT, and AT&T, and DuPont, Dow, Union Carbide, and Exxon. Those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-jensen/there-is-no-america-there-is-no-democracy-there-is-only-ibm-and-itt/) [Arthur Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-jensen/) > [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/) ## More by Tom Robbins > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/love-is-the-ultimate-outlaw-it-just-won-t-adhere-to-any-rules-the/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [The party in Alobar’s head, which agitation and anxiety were throwing, now was crashed by a notion: existence can be rearranged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-party-in-alobar-s-head-which-agitation-and-anxiety-were-throwing/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [The world is a wonderfully weird place, consensual reality is significantly flawed, no institution can be trusted, certainty is a mirage, security a delusion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-world-is-a-wonderfully-weird-place-consensual-reality-is/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Anyone who maintains absolute standards of good and evil is dangerous. As dangerous as a maniac with a loaded revolver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/anyone-who-maintains-absolute-standards-of-good-and-evil-is-dangerous/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“I believe in everything; nothing is sacred. I believe in nothing; everything is sacred. Ha Ha Ho Ho Hee Hee.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/i-believe-in-everything-nothing-is-sacred-i-believe-in-nothing/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [A sense of humor...is superior to any religion so far devised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/a-sense-of-humor-is-superior-to-any-religion-so-far-devised/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/love-is-the-ultimate-outlaw-it-just-won-t-adhere-to-any-rules-the-2/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“The glue that holds the natural world together appears to be a harmonious balance of opposites: day and night, light and dark, winter and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-glue-that-holds-the-natural-world-together-appears-to-be-a/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Zippers are primal and modern at the very same time. On the one hand, your zipper is primitive and reptilian, on the other, mechanical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/zippers-are-primal-and-modern-at-the-very-same-time-on-the-one-hand/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“religion is a paramount contributor to human misery. It is not merely the opium of the masses, it is the cyanide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/religion-is-a-paramount-contributor-to-human-misery-it-is-not-merely/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [She continued weeping until the heat of her tear water, the sheer velocity of its flow, finally obscured the already vague circumstances of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/she-continued-weeping-until-the-heat-of-her-tear-water-the-sheer/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [The bottom line is that (a) people are never perfect, but love can be, (b) that is the one and only way that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-bottom-line-is-that-a-people-are-never-perfect-but-love-can-be-b/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Virtually every advancement made by our species since civilization first peeked out of its nest of stone has been initiated by lone individuals, mavericks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/virtually-every-advancement-made-by-our-species-since-civilization/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [When we accept small wonders, we qualify ourselves to imagine great wonders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/when-we-accept-small-wonders-we-qualify-ourselves-to-imagine-great/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) [Explore all 994 Tom Robbins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [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/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Look, America is no more a democracy than Russia is a Communist state. The governments of the U.S. and Russia are practically the same. There's only a difference of degree. We both have the same basic form of government: economic totalitarianism. In other words, the settlement to all questions, the solutions to all issues are determined not by what will make the people most healthy and happy in the bodies and their minds but by economics. Dollars or rubles. Economy uber alles. Let nothing interfere with economic growth, even though that growth is castrating truth, poisoning beauty, turning a continent into a shit-heap and riving an entire civilization insane. 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