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One of the statistics that always amazes me is the approval of the Chinese government, not elected, is over 80 percent. The approval of the U.S. government, fully elected, is 19 percent. Well, we elected these people and they didn't elect those people. Isn't it supposed to be different? Aren't we supposed to like the people that we elected?
Bill Gates
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote reflects on the contrasting approval ratings of elected versus non-elected governments.

Bill Gates highlights the paradox in political approval ratings between elected governments, like that of the United States, which has a low approval rate, and non-elected governments, such as China's, which boasts a high approval rate. He questions whether democratic elections should naturally lead to greater satisfaction among the populace, pointing out the discrepancy in expectations between the two types of governance.

Themes

PoliticsApprovalGovernmentDemocracyElections

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in discussions about government accountability and approval ratings during a political seminar.

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