--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The perspective that many today are…" description: "\"The perspective that many today are beginning to see as fully realistic is that democracy in our country, and in our part of the world, will suffer the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/407/torbjorn-tannsjo-12405_country_the-perspective-that-many-today-are-begi_1973473.jpg" --- # The perspective that many today are beginning to see as… ![“The perspective that many today are beginning to see as fully realistic is that democracy in our country, and in our part of the world, will suffer the same fate as the Swedish monarchy did before. The democracy is beeing emptied of all power political content at the same time as the forms remain…” quote by Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/407/torbjorn-tannsjo-12405_country_the-perspective-that-many-today-are-begi_1973473.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/407/torbjorn-tannsjo-12405_country_the-perspective-that-many-today-are-begi_1973473.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/407/torbjorn-tannsjo-12405_country_the-perspective-that-many-today-are-begi_1973473.jpg) > “The perspective that many today are beginning to see as fully realistic is that democracy in our country, and in our part of the world, will suffer the same fate as the Swedish monarchy did before. The democracy is beeing emptied of all power political content at the same time as the forms remain, treated with reverence and preservasion.” [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Democracy may become a hollow shell, retaining form but losing real power, similar to the Swedish monarchy before its decline. **In simple terms:** Democracy can become empty and ceremonial. Key Takeaway Guard against empty institutions. Themes politics democracy institutional decay Mood cautious reflective Type analytical critical When to use this quote - elections - policy debates - public protests - media analysis Key Concepts Powerlessness symbolic governance civic disengagement Questions to Reflect On - How do we ensure institutions retain real authority? - What signs indicate a democracy is becoming ceremonial? A Different Perspective Even symbolic forms can mask loss of substance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Democracy Beeing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy-beeing-3327999/) [Democracy Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy-country-1823737/) [Did Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/did-democracy-3328000/) [Fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Monarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monarchy/) [Our country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-country/) [Perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perspective/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Realistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realistic/) [Realistic Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realistic-democracy-3327998/) [Reverence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reverence/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Swedish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swedish/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Treated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treated/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Political violence has no place in Pennsylvania - the birthplace of American democracy - nor anywhere else across this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-shapiro/political-violence-has-no-place-in-pennsylvania-the-birthplace-of/) [Josh Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-shapiro/) > [Democracy was assassinated here when Patrice Lumumba was assassinated. And who brought democracy back to this country? We are the ones who did that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-kabila/democracy-was-assassinated-here-when-patrice-lumumba-was-assassinated/) [Joseph Kabila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-kabila/) > [After installing friendly leaders in Iran and Guatemala, the United States lost interest in promoting democracy in either country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/after-installing-friendly-leaders-in-iran-and-guatemala-the-united/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [The Commission on Presidential Debates must be replaced if we want to have a democracy in this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-b-anderson/the-commission-on-presidential-debates-must-be-replaced-if-we-want-to/) [John B. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-b-anderson/) > [“Democracy in a country where the public is uneducated is no different from having a dictatorship or an elected king.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-z-livaneli/democracy-in-a-country-where-the-public-is-uneducated-is-no-different/) [O.Z. Livaneli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-z-livaneli/) > [In a free country, America, or India, and Japan, and many places, democracy country, free country, but still within the sort of rule of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/in-a-free-country-america-or-india-and-japan-and-many-places/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-d-brandeis/we-can-have-democracy-in-this-country-or-we-can-have-great-wealth/) [Louis D. Brandeis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-d-brandeis/) > [What I see is a grown-up recognition of democracy in this country, that we still have a monarch that plays his part.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-hoyle/what-i-see-is-a-grown-up-recognition-of-democracy-in-this-country/) [Lindsay Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsay-hoyle/) > [I was never convinced that war was the best system to bring democracy to the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silvio-berlusconi/i-was-never-convinced-that-war-was-the-best-system-to-bring-democracy/) [Silvio Berlusconi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silvio-berlusconi/) > [You don't have any vestige of democracy in this country. A report recently came out of Princeton University claiming that, of all the policies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/you-don-t-have-any-vestige-of-democracy-in-this-country-a-report/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Debate is almost non-existent and no one is apparently accountable to anybody apart from their political party bosses. It is bad news for democracy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-suzman/debate-is-almost-non-existent-and-no-one-is-apparently-accountable-to/) [Helen Suzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-suzman/) > [How do you deliver democracy to a country? You don't do it down the barrel of a gun. That's not how you deliver it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moore/how-do-you-deliver-democracy-to-a-country-you-don-t-do-it-down-the/) [Michael Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moore/) > [One person alone can't do anything as important as bringing genuine democracy to a country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aung-san-suu-kyi/one-person-alone-can-t-do-anything-as-important-as-bringing-genuine/) [Aung San Suu Kyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aung-san-suu-kyi/) > [You cannot bring democracy to a country by attacking it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akbar-ganji/you-cannot-bring-democracy-to-a-country-by-attacking-it/) [Akbar Ganji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akbar-ganji/) > [It seems to me very important to the idea of democracy to the country and to the world eventually that all men and women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/it-seems-to-me-very-important-to-the-idea-of-democracy-to-the-country/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) ## More by Torbjorn Tannsjo > [Being a moral realist I see normative ethics as a search of the truth about our obligations and a search of explanation; the idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/being-a-moral-realist-i-see-normative-ethics-as-a-search-of-the-truth/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [I do believe that what I have called populist democracy is to be preferred to what I have called elitist democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/i-do-believe-that-what-i-have-called-populist-democracy-is-to-be/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [It is true that it feels very differently to enjoy a good meal, taking part in an interesting conversation, or to think of how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/it-is-true-that-it-feels-very-differently-to-enjoy-a-good-meal-taking/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [It is obvious that humanity faces existential threats of a global nature. They are global in the sense that is not possible to deal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/it-is-obvious-that-humanity-faces-existential-threats-of-a-global/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [To kill or not to kill, that was the question that haunted me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/to-kill-or-not-to-kill-that-was-the-question-that-haunted-me/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [Are there any good arguments in defence of moral nihilism? I think not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/are-there-any-good-arguments-in-defence-of-moral-nihilism-i-think-not/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [According to deontology it is wrong to kill an innocent human being, period.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/according-to-deontology-it-is-wrong-to-kill-an-innocent-human-being/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [How could it be that I had a legal obligation to kill people I did not know, and who did certainly not consent to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/how-could-it-be-that-i-had-a-legal-obligation-to-kill-people-i-did/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [I want to think that there are better ways of obviating murder than to resort to capital punishment, but I realise that this may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/i-want-to-think-that-there-are-better-ways-of-obviating-murder-than/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [Even where people in different cultures agree they may all have gone wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/even-where-people-in-different-cultures-agree-they-may-all-have-gone/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [The Chinese are generally speaking much more reluctant than Westerners to killing as a means to the rescue of lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/the-chinese-are-generally-speaking-much-more-reluctant-than/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [I am indeed a hedonistic utilitarian. I have defended hedonistic utilitarianism for quite a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/i-am-indeed-a-hedonistic-utilitarian-i-have-defended-hedonistic/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [What we need is legislation, not negotiation, for the entire globe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/what-we-need-is-legislation-not-negotiation-for-the-entire-globe/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [There comes a time where next to everyone will resort to techniques that enhance cognitive, mental including emotive, physical, and other capacities. When this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/there-comes-a-time-where-next-to-everyone-will-resort-to-techniques/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [I believe that one basic question, what we ought to do, period (the moral question), is a genuine one. There exists a true answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/i-believe-that-one-basic-question-what-we-ought-to-do-period-the/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) [Explore all 55 Torbjorn Tannsjo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) ## More Country quotes > [I love playing for my country, getting the support. Especially for the kids and everybody, showing my example of what I can achieve so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-sharapova/i-love-playing-for-my-country-getting-the-support-especially-for-the/) [Maria Sharapova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-sharapova/) > [ That country \[Carthage\] was rapidly sinking into the state of barbarism from whence it had been raised by the Phoenician colonies and Roman laws;… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/that-country-carthage-was-rapidly-sinking-into-the-state-of-barbarism/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [For the Scottish government, the practice of having meetings in different parts of the country is well established, but for the U.K. government, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-sturgeon/for-the-scottish-government-the-practice-of-having-meetings-in/) [Nicola Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-sturgeon/) > [There's no reason someone who has fought for their country should be homeless of jobless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kyle/there-s-no-reason-someone-who-has-fought-for-their-country-should-be/) [Chris Kyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kyle/) > [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/) > [It's very nice to be a rebel saying, 'I stand on my principles,' but if in fact that's not going to have any impact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominic-grieve/it-s-very-nice-to-be-a-rebel-saying-i-stand-on-my-principles-but-if/) [Dominic Grieve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominic-grieve/) > [Most paper money initially existed as a substitute for gold. That's what gave it value. But right now what gives a currency value is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/most-paper-money-initially-existed-as-a-substitute-for-gold-that-s/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [That's what this country is. 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