Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
Reagan equates people's democracies with authoritarian restriction.
In plain terms
A people's democracy is just like being trapped in a jacket.
What can you take from it?
Terms like people's democracy may hide authoritarian control.

Where it applies

  • political debate
  • international relations
  • ideological critique

Putting it to work

  • analyze political terms
  • compare governance systems

Questions to consider

  • What defines a true democracy?
  • How do labels shape our view of governments?

Another view

It simplifies nuanced political systems into a binary.

More from Ronald Reagan

  1. Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsi…

    Permalink to quote #87
  2. A few months ago I told the American people I did not trade arms for hostages. My heart and my best intentions still tell me that's true, but the facts and the…

    Permalink to quote #89
  3. Too much SALT isn't good for you.

    Permalink to quote #86

Related quotes

  1. 'If our democracy is to flourish, it must have criticism; if our government is to function it must have dissent.'

    Henry Steele CommagerHenry Steele Commager quote #3
  2. Every dictatorship has ultimately strangled in the web of repression it wove for its people, making mistakes that could not be corrected because criticism was …

    Robert F. KennedyRobert F. Kennedy quote #9
  3. Personally I prefer a liberal dictator to democratic government lacking liberalism.

    Friedrich HayekFriedrich Hayek quote #13