Democracy's Viability

The quote that follows and the accompanying attribution were provided to me many years ago by a friend. I've never researched its accuracy because it is merely one person's opinion that I believe is "on spot."

If its properly quoted, I believe we should ponder the wisdom of Mr. Tytler. If Mr. Tytler is not the source or if the content is not as originally presented - the wisdom (in my opinion) is still profound.

Enjoy!


A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves from the Public Treasury. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the Public Treasury with a result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy always followed by dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence:

From bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to selfishness;
From selfishness to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependency;
From dependency back into bondage.

Alexander Fraser Tytler – 1748 – 1813
“The Decline and Fall of the Athenian Republic”