QuoteProject
A free press is not a privilege but an organic necessity in a great society. ... A great society is simply a big and complicated urban society.
Walter Lippmann
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

A free press is essential for the functioning of a complex society.

Walter Lippmann emphasizes that a free press is fundamental for a flourishing society, rather than being a mere privilege. In his view, a great society, which he defines as a large and intricate urban environment, relies on an independent media to inform the public, facilitate discourse, and uphold democratic values. Without such a press, the very fabric of society could weaken, as transparency and accountability are compromised.

Themes

Free PressSocietyNecessityDemocracyInformation

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about media freedom during a political debate.

More from Walter Lippmann

Football strategy does not originate in a scrimmage: it is useless to expect solutions in a political campaign.
Walter LippmannRead
The simple opposition between the people and big business has disappeared because the people themselves have become so deeply involved in big business.
Walter LippmannRead
The news and the truth are not the same thing.
Walter LippmannRead
There is nothing so bad but it can masquerade as moral.
Walter LippmannRead
The tendency of the casual mind is to pick out or stumble upon a sample which supports or defies its prejudices, and then to make it the representative of a whole class.
Walter LippmannRead
The private citizen, beset by partisan appeals for the loan of his Public Opinion, will soon see, perhaps, that these appeals are not a compliment to his intelligence, but an imposition on his good nature and an insult to his sense of evidence.
Walter LippmannRead

Similar quotes

Our science, so called, is always more barren and mixed with error than our sympathies.
Henry David ThoreauRead
Ever since then I have believed that God is not only a gentleman and a sport; he is a Kentuckian too.
William FaulknerRead
The media's power is frail. Without the people's support, it can be shut off with the ease of turning a light switch.
Corazon AquinoRead
We have had in our nation a well-celebrated Declaration of Independence. But our success as a country will depend upon a new 'Declaration of Inter-dependence.' A belief in how much we need each other, how much we share one common destiny.
Cory BookerRead
We must talk about poverty, because people insulated by their own comfort lose sight of it.
Dorothy DayRead
Even with the best intentions, you can have a nuclear war, a nuclear holocaust, through miscalculation, through accidents.
Mohamed ElbaradeiRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.

Quote by Walter Lippmann | QuoteProject