Haile Selassie Quotes

Democracies are much better at adapting to modernization than other systems.

Democracy, Republic: What do these words signify? What have they changed in the world? Have men become better, more loyal, kinder? Are the people happier? All goes on as before, as always. Illusions, illusions.

In brief, Western democracy, as other political models, is not exportable to all regions of the world.

The genius of democracies is seen not only in the great number of new words introduced but even more in the new ideas they express.

After WWII .... the West exchanged the old racist coinage for new currency. "Uncivilized" became "underdeveloped". "Savage people" became the "third world". There was a genuine change of heart away from racism and toward respect for equality, but a paternalistic and coercive strain survived.

... as an observer of the actual condition of Egyptian society, I cannot shut my eyes to the fact that popular government, as we understand it, is for a longer time than anyone can foresee at present out of the question. The people neither comprehend it nor desire it. They would come to singular grief if they had it.

All nations are not ready for this.

In general the principle of the World Trade Organization … is that sovereignty and democratic rights have to be subordinated to the rights of investors

She had got to the bottom of this business of democratic government and found out that it was nothing more than government of any other kind.

I don’t believe in democracy because I don’t believe that any group at any time can change the course and goals of their ancestors…

Whatever faults modern democracies may have committed ..., the faults chargeable on monarchs and oligarchies have been less pardonable and more harmful to the peace and progress of mankind.

Democracy is possible, but we have to reinvent our democracy … that would take into account our culture and experience, our social and political reality. We have to adapt democracy to what we are.

In this situation [perestroika] problems and difficulties are unavoidable. For it involves far-reaching changes in everything—in the way of life, the attitude toward work and civic duty. We have chosen, definitively and irrevocably, the route leading to new forms of life: democratizing our society in all spheres.

The essential objection to democracy is that, with few exceptions, it imposes degrading acts and attitudes upon the men responsible for the welfare and dignity of the state.

Democracy is a revolutionary process.

Democracy sounds good but it doesn’t always bring results …. I don’t think I would invest as much money as I am in developing a city in a democracy.

The colonists were struggling not only against the armies of a great nation, but against the settled opinions of mankind; for the world did not then believe that the supreme authority of government could be safely entrusted to the guardianship of the people themselves.

I have long been convinced that institutions purely democratic must, sooner or later, destroy liberty, or civilization, or both….

… every new form of government, fascist, communist or our own democracy had originally for its purpose the making of a world in which people could be happy and content.

The Americans are the first people whom heaven has favored with an opportunity of deliberating upon and choosing forms of government under which they should live.

Strange isn’t it? We are all democrats now.

Once confined to a handful of wealthy countries, it [democracy] became, in a short period of time, the most popular political system in the world. In 1900, only 10 countries were democracies. By mid-century, the number had increased to 30…. By 2005 fully 119 of the world’s 190 countries had become democracies.

The world has witnessed the rise and fall of monarchy, the rise and fall of dictatorship, the rise and fall of feudalism, the rise and fall of communism, and the rise of democracy; and now we are witnessing the fall of democracy... the theme of the evolution of life continues, sweeping away with it all that does not blossom into perfection.

I realized that this was the big secret of democracy -- that change can occur by starting off with just a few people doing something.

Some countries have a parliamentary republic, some are presidential republics and some are still monarchies, but no one sees them as not being democratic. In some countries regional leaders are appointed from the centre and in others they are elected. In Russia, the president is elected through direct secret ballot, and in the United States, the president is elected through a system of electoral colleges.