Alexander Fraser Tytler Quotes
October 15, 1747 – January 5, 1813
More Alexander Fraser Tytler Quotes
A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits with the result the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy.
Alexander Fraser Tytler— The earliest known attribution of this quote was December 9, 1951, in what appears to be an op-ed piece in The Daily Oklahoman under the byline Elmer T. Peterson, Elmer T. Peterson (9 December 1951). "This is the Hard Core of Freedom". Daily Oklahoman: p. 12A. . The quote has not been found in Tytler's work. It has also been attributed to Alexis de Tocqueville.
— There are many variants circulating with various permutations of majority, voters, citizens, or public. Ronald Reagan is known to have used this in speeches, as reported in Loren Collins, "The Truth About Tytler":
— Other variants:The American Republic will endure until politicians realize they can bribe the people with their own money.The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money.
