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The motive power of democracy is love
Henri Bergson
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Democracy thrives on the love and care of its citizens towards one another and their society.

Henri Bergson's quote emphasizes that the fundamental driving force behind democracy is the love that individuals have for each other and their collective well-being. In a democratic society, it is this affection and concern that motivates people to participate actively in governance, promote justice, and foster solidarity, thereby creating a more harmonious and thriving community.

Themes

DemocracyLoveCitizenshipCommunitySociety

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech about community involvement, one might say, 'As Henri Bergson said, the motive power of democracy is love.'

More from Henri Bergson

For life is tendency, and the essence of a tendency is to develop in the form of a sheaf, creating, by its very growth, divergent directions among which its impetus is divided.
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To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.
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Laughter is the corrective force which prevents us from becoming cranks.
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I believe that the time given to refutation in philosophy is usually time lost. Of the many attacks directed by many thinkers against each other, what now remains? Nothing, or assuredly very little. That which counts and endures is the modicum of positive truth which each contributes. The true statement is, of itself, able to displace the erroneous idea, and becomes, without our having taken the trouble of refuting anyone, the best of refutations.
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Religion is to mysticism what popularization is to science
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And I also see how this body influences external images: it gives back movement to them.
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