Lillian Hellman Quotes
Decision by democratic majority vote is a fine form of government, but it's a stinking way to create.
Hellman, Lillian. Interview by John Phillips and Anne Hollander. The Paris Review, no. 33, Winter-Spring 1965.
This was the classic, historical argument the Fascists made to justify their take over of democratic societies; the argument made by every military junta that illegally seized power; by Julius Caesar when he took control of Rome.
Declaration of Humanity. Printed in Japanese Newspapers. Contrast this with the previous Japanese political leadership tradition as {43746}
At the time Democracy as a form of government meant citizens voting for their own laws—not their representatives. Today we call that “Direct Democracy” as in a New England Town Meeting.
This quotation illustrates the "winner take all" conceopt of many political cultures that call themselves and think of theselves as a democracy. But a true democracy does not allow a tyranny of the majority--especially a very narrow minority.
Lillian Florence Hellman was an American playwright, author, and screenwriter known for her success on Broadway, as well as her communist sympathies and political activism. She was blacklisted after her appearance before the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) at the height of the anti-communist campaigns of 1947–1952. Although she continued to work on Broadway in the 1950s, her blacklisting by the American film industry caused a drop in her income. Many praised Hellman for refusing to answer questions by HUAC, but others believed, despite her denial, that she had belonged to the Communist Party.
