A Sobering View Of Democracy

According to Alexander Fraser Tyler,

a British contemporary of George Washington:

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government.

It can exist only until the voters discover they can vote themselves

largesse (defined as a liberal gift) out of the public treasury. From that

moment on, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most

benefits from the public treasury, with the result that democracy always

collapses over loose fiscal policy, always to be followed by a dictatorship."