4 ms·

Toute nation a le gouvernement qu'elle mérite. (Every nation gets the government it deserves.) https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joseph_de_Maistre https://en.wiki

• abtinf 6y ago
  I think there is an element of truth in it, but I don't agree with that formulation. I think people get the government they demand. There is a concept of "sense of life" that I've found useful. Each person has a certain view of the world around them--its affected by their experiences, the ideas they are taught, and how they observe and act about reality. Imagine if, in the aggregate, people have a positive sense of life--that is, they believe they are efficacious and can work to improve their lives, without fear that the universe is to get them. They will demand one kind of government. They won't stand for certain political leaders. But if they hold the opposite sense of life--one dominated by fear (of others, of their ability to provide, of a universal evil)--they will demand an entirely different kind of government.