--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An ideal form of government is democracy…" description: "\"An ideal form of government is democracy tempered with assassination.\" — Voltaire" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38a/voltaire-173_assassination_an-ideal-form-of-government-is-democracy_674020.png" --- # An ideal form of government is democracy tempered with… ![“An ideal form of government is democracy tempered with assassination.” quote by Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38a/voltaire-173_assassination_an-ideal-form-of-government-is-democracy_674020.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38a/voltaire-173_assassination_an-ideal-form-of-government-is-democracy_674020.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38a/voltaire-173_assassination_an-ideal-form-of-government-is-democracy_674020.png) > “An ideal form of government is democracy tempered with assassination.” [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Democracy should be balanced with decisive removal of dangerous elements. **In simple terms:** Democracy needs strong checks. Key Takeaway Consider safeguards against abuse. Themes politics power checks Mood cautious critical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - government reform - policy design - public safety - political activism Key Concepts republicanism authoritarianism ethics Questions to Reflect On - How to balance freedom and security? - What non‑violent checks are effective? A Different Perspective Overreliance on violence can undermine liberty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assassination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assassination/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Democracy Tempered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy-tempered-1544943/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Form Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form-government/) [Forms of government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forms-of-government/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Government Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government-democracy-358651/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) ## Related quotes > [The ideal form of government is democracy tempered with assassination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/the-ideal-form-of-government-is-democracy-tempered-with-assassination/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [The form of government is a democracy when the free, who are also poor and the majority, govern, and an oligarchy when the rich…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-form-of-government-is-a-democracy-when-the-free-who-are-also-poor/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Tyranny is usually tempered with assassination, and Democracy must be tempered with culture. In the absence of this, it turns into a representation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/tyranny-is-usually-tempered-with-assassination-and-democracy-must-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is no better form of government than democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-kurz/there-is-no-better-form-of-government-than-democracy/) [Sebastian Kurz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-kurz/) > [Every culture has its distinctive and normal system of government. Yours is democracy, moderated by corruption. Ours is totalitarianism, moderated by assassination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-culture-has-its-distinctive-and-normal-system-of-government/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is the worst form of government. It is the most inefficient, the most clumsy, the most unpractical… It reduces wisdom to impotence and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-briffault/democracy-is-the-worst-form-of-government-it-is-the-most-inefficient/) [Robert Briffault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-briffault/) > [We are fighting to save a great and precious form of government for ourselves and for the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt-2/we-are-fighting-to-save-a-great-and-precious-form-of-government-for/) [Franklin D Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt-2/) > [The legislator should direct his attention above all to the education of youth; for the neglect of education does harm to the constitution. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-legislator-should-direct-his-attention-above-all-to-the-education/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Democracy, taken in its narrower, purely political, sense, suffers from the fact that those in economic and political power possess the means for molding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/democracy-taken-in-its-narrower-purely-political-sense-suffers-from/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until a majority of voters discover that they can vote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-fraser-tytler/a-democracy-cannot-exist-as-a-permanent-form-of-government-it-can/) [Alexander Fraser Tytler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-fraser-tytler/) > [Each generation has a right to choose for itself the form of government it believes most promotive of its happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/each-generation-has-a-right-to-choose-for-itself-the-form-of/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Decision by democratic majority vote is a fine form of government, but it's a stinking way to create.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/decision-by-democratic-majority-vote-is-a-fine-form-of-government-but/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [I and others of my sex find ourselves controlled by a form of government in the inauguration of which we had no voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-woodhull/i-and-others-of-my-sex-find-ourselves-controlled-by-a-form-of/) [Victoria Woodhull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-woodhull/) > [Any nations right to a form of government and economic system of its own choosing is inalienable. Any nations attempt to dictate to other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/any-nations-right-to-a-form-of-government-and-economic-system-of-its/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [All deductions having been made, democracy has done less harm, and more good, than any other form of government. It gave to human existence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/all-deductions-having-been-made-democracy-has-done-less-harm-and-more/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) ## More by Voltaire > [In every province, the chief occupations, in order of importance, are lovemaking, malicious gossip, and talking nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/in-every-province-the-chief-occupations-in-order-of-importance-are/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Fanaticism, to which men are so much inclined, has always served not only to render them more brutalized but more wicked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/fanaticism-to-which-men-are-so-much-inclined-has-always-served-not/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [History is the study of the world's crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-the-study-of-the-world-s-crime/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [We’re neither pure, nor wise, nor good; we do the best we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/we-re-neither-pure-nor-wise-nor-good-we-do-the-best-we-know/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is with books as with men: a very small number play a great part, the rest are lost in the multitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-with-books-as-with-men-a-very-small-number-play-a-great-part/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Meslier was the most singular phenomenon ever seen among all the meteors fatal to the Christian religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/meslier-was-the-most-singular-phenomenon-ever-seen-among-all-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Being unable to make people more reasonable, I preferred to be happy away from them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/being-unable-to-make-people-more-reasonable-i-preferred-to-be-happy/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [When his highness sends a ship to Egypt, does he trouble his head whether the mice on board are at their ease or not?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/when-his-highness-sends-a-ship-to-egypt-does-he-trouble-his-head/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Madness is to think of too many things in succession too fast, or of one thing too exclusively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/madness-is-to-think-of-too-many-things-in-succession-too-fast-or-of/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/god-gave-us-the-gift-of-life-it-is-up-to-us-to-give-ourselves-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is not inequality which is the real misfortune, it is dependence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-not-inequality-which-is-the-real-misfortune-it-is-dependence/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Providence has given us hope and sleep as a compensation for the many cares of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/providence-has-given-us-hope-and-sleep-as-a-compensation-for-the-many/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Men use thought only to justify their wrong doings, and employ speech only to conceal their thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/men-use-thought-only-to-justify-their-wrong-doings-and-employ-speech/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/work-spares-us-from-three-evils-boredom-vice-and-need/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) [Explore all 934 Voltaire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## More Assassination quotes > [If it comes to a question of law, the charges they brought against me - the Espionage Act - is called the quintessential political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-it-comes-to-a-question-of-law-the-charges-they-brought-against-me/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [ We have the ability to take him \[President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez\] out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-robertson/we-have-the-ability-to-take-him-president-of-venezuela-hugo-chavez/) [Pat Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-robertson/) > [“Assassination is murder with a touch more precision. Brother Sim is precise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lawrence/assassination-is-murder-with-a-touch-more-precision-brother-sim-is/) [Mark Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lawrence/) > [Strange, (is it not?) that battles, martyrs, blood, even assassination should so condense - perhaps only really lastingly condense - a Nationality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/strange-is-it-not-that-battles-martyrs-blood-even-assassination/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [In modern day academia, secretly assassinating your peers is not necessarily performed the same way it was in king Tarquins day. The growth in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-spacey/in-modern-day-academia-secretly-assassinating-your-peers-is-not/) [Simon Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-spacey/) > [The Romans have provided a lot of writers with a model for various interstellar empires, of course, and no wonder. The Roman Empire is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/the-romans-have-provided-a-lot-of-writers-with-a-model-for-various/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [We know from Talmadge Hayer, one of the men who carried out the assassination, who was shot by Ruben X as he tried to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manning-marable/we-know-from-talmadge-hayer-one-of-the-men-who-carried-out-the/) [Manning Marable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manning-marable/) > [Assassination's the fastest way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/assassination-s-the-fastest-way/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [“He also had a condition that was referred to as granulated eyelids and it caused him to blink more than usual, as if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-hansen/he-also-had-a-condition-that-was-referred-to-as-granulated-eyelids/) [Ron Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-hansen/) > [“Hundreds of political assassinations related to minority races, labor leaders and spokesmen against fascism have taken place in the U.S. since World War II.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-brussell/hundreds-of-political-assassinations-related-to-minority-races-labor/) [Mae Brussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-brussell/) > [However, after the assassination of Salman Taseer, the killer of Salman Taseer was welcomed by the religious fanatics. And they showered rose petals on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shahbaz-bhatti/however-after-the-assassination-of-salman-taseer-the-killer-of-salman/) [Shahbaz Bhatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shahbaz-bhatti/) > [There is not a single celebrated Southern name in any of the departments of human industry except those of war, assassination, lynching, murder, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-not-a-single-celebrated-southern-name-in-any-of-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I think that the implication of King's assassination has not been fully appreciated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-louis-gates/i-think-that-the-implication-of-king-s-assassination-has-not-been/) [Henry Louis Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-louis-gates/) > [The Senate has been debased to the level of a forum of hate and character assassination sheltered by the shield of congressional immunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-chase-smith/the-senate-has-been-debased-to-the-level-of-a-forum-of-hate-and/) [Margaret Chase Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-chase-smith/) > [A deep, black grief gripped Robert Kennedy in the months following his brother's assassination. He lost weight, fell into melancholy silences, wore his brother's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurston-clarke/a-deep-black-grief-gripped-robert-kennedy-in-the-months-following-his/) [Thurston Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurston-clarke/) [Browse all 264 Assassination quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assassination/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "An ideal form of government is democracy tempered with assassination.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Voltaire" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/an-ideal-form-of-government-is-democracy-tempered-with-assassination/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Assassination" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/an-ideal-form-of-government-is-democracy-tempered-with-assassination/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38a/voltaire-173_assassination_an-ideal-form-of-government-is-democracy_674020.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38a/voltaire-173_assassination_an-ideal-form-of-government-is-democracy_674020.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38a/voltaire-173_assassination_an-ideal-form-of-government-is-democracy_674020.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An ideal form of government is democracy tempered with assassination.” — Voltaire", "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": "Voltaire", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "An ideal form of government is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/an-ideal-form-of-government-is-democracy-tempered-with-assassination/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/an-ideal-form-of-government-is-democracy-tempered-with-assassination/#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 } } ] } ```