Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice.
Woodrow WilsonRead
That a peasant may become king does not render the kingdom democratic.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The possibility of someone from a humble background rising to power does not make a system inherently fair or equal.
This quote emphasizes that simply allowing individuals from lower social classes, such as peasants, to ascend to high positions, such as kings, does not equate to a democratic system. True democracy involves more than the elevation of specific individuals; it requires structural equality and fairness across society as a whole.
Themes
DemocracyEqualitySocial MobilityPowerKingPeasant
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about political systems, one might quote this to illustrate the limitations of social mobility.
More from Woodrow Wilson
All quotes βSince trade ignores national boundaries and the manufacturer insists on having the world as a market, the flag of his nation must follow him, and the doors of the nations which are closed against him must be battered down. Concessions obtained by financiers must be safeguarded by ministers of state, even if the sovereignty of unwilling nations be outraged in the process. Colonies must be obtained or planted, in order that no useful corner of the world may be overlooked or left unused.
Woodrow WilsonRead
The history of liberty is the history of limitations on the power of government, not the increase of it. When we resist, therefore, the concentration of power, we are resisting the processes of death, because concentration of power is what always precedes the destruction of human liberties.
Woodrow WilsonRead
We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers.
Woodrow WilsonRead
The way to stop financial joyriding is to arrest the chauffeur, not the automobile.
Woodrow WilsonRead
Once lead this people into war, and they'll forget there ever was such a thing as tolerance. To fight, you must be brutal and ruthless, and the spirit of ruthless brutality will enter into the very fiber of our national life, infecting Congress, the courts, the policeman on the beat, the man in the street.
Woodrow WilsonRead
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