Thomas Jefferson Quotes

There are three species of government: republican, monarchical, and despotic.

It is acknowledged, namely, that there are in the world three forms of government, autocracy, oligarchy, and democracy: autocracies and oligarchies are administered according to the tempers of their lords, but democratic states according to established laws.

Of the various forms of government which have prevailed in the world, an hereditary monarchy seems to present the fairest scope for ridicule.

Republics decline into democracies and democracies degenerate into despotisms.

One of the distinctions between democracy and other forms of government is that while democracy is messy on the surface, other forms of government are messy underneath.

A Republic without parties is a complete anomaly. The history of all popular governments show how absurd is the idea of their attempting to exist without parties

A monarchy is a merchantman which sails well but will sometimes strike on a rock. A republic is a raft that will never sink.

A [legal] code is almost the only blessing, perhaps it is the only blessing, which absolute governments are better fitted to confer on a nation than popular governments.

Republics, like other forms of government, exist in history and can rise and fall.

But our perfect democracy, which neither needs nor particularly wants voters, is a rarity. It is important to remember there still exist many other forms of government in the world today, and that dozens of foreign governments still long for a democracy such as ours to be imposed on them.

A democracy is ... accounted the meanest and worst of all forms of government.

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.

Just as a royal rule, if not a mere name, must exist by virtue of some great personal superiority in the king, so tyranny, which is the worst of governments, is necessarily the farthest removed from a well-constituted form; oligarchy is little better, for it is a long way from aristocracy, and democracy is the most tolerable of the three.

There be three sorts of government--monarchical, aristocratical, democratical; and they are apt to fall three several ways into ruin--the first, by tyranny; the second, by ambition; the last, by tumults. A commonwealth grounded upon any one of these is not of long continuance; but, wisely mingled, each guards the other and makes that government exact.

Of governments there are said to be only two forms - democracy and oligarchy. For aristocracy is considered to be a kind of oligarchy, as being the rule of a few, and the so-called constitutional government to be really a democracy.

A country can live under a monarchy or a republic, with a parliamentary or a presidential system, under communism or fascism. But it cannot live in anarchy.

Democracy can be defined in many different ways. This is one reason why there have existed so many varieties of -democratic- states in the world

It is better to be the subject of a prince than of a republic, for a republic keeps its subjects under, and gives no share of its greatness save to its own citizens; a prince is common to all, one man is as much his subject as another, therefore every one can hope to be favoured or employed.

Democracy alone, of all forms of government, enlists the full force of men's enlightened will.

Citizenship is what makes a republic; monarchies can get along without it.

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

In republics the executive must be strongest because everything conspires against it, while in monarchies the legislature must be strongest, because everything conspires in favour of the monarch

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.

Some peoples have entrusted the supreme political power to monarchies, others to oligarchies, yet others to the masses. Our [the Jews] lawgiver, however, was attracted by none of these forms of polity, but gave to his constitution the form of what … may be termed a “theocracy”, placing all sovereignty and authority into the hands of God.

You can choose whatever name you like for the two types of government. I personally call the type of government which can be removed without violence democracy, and the other tyranny.