And to say that society ought to be governed by the opinion of the wisest and best, though true, is useless. Whose opinion is to decide who are the wisest and best?
More Quotes from Thomas Babington:
Nothing is so galling to a people not broken in from birth as a paternal, or, in other words, a meddling government, a government which tells them what to read, and say, and eat, and drink and wear.Thomas Babington
American democracy must be a failure because it places the supreme authority in the hands of the poorest and most ignorant part of the society.
Thomas Babington
Persecution produced its natural effect on them. It found them a sect; it made them a faction.
Thomas Babington
And lastly, let us provide in our Constitution for its revision at stated periods
Thomas Babington
There is surely no contradiction in saying that a certain section of the community may be quite competent to protect the persons and property of the rest, yet quite unfit to direct our opinions, or to superintend our private habits.
Thomas Babington
The maxim, that governments ought to train the people in the way in which they should go, sounds well. But is there any reason for believing that a government is more likely to lead the people in the right way than the people to fall into the right way of themselves?
Thomas Babington
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