H'aint we got all the fools in town on our side? And ain't that a big enough majority in any town?
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The quote points out that having all the fools on one side still makes a majority, implying that majority does not guarantee wisdom.
- In plain terms
- Even a fool-filled majority is still a majority.
- What can you take from it?
- Majority does not equal correctness.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When is a majority misleading?
- How can we guard against majority folly?
Another view
It dismisses the value of consensus in some contexts.
More from Samuel Langhorne Clemens
To be, or not to be; that is the bare bodkin.
Permalink to quote #86 I was a-trembling, because I'd got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to mys…
Permalink to quote #88 We said there warn't no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don't. You feel mighty free and easy and comfo…
Permalink to quote #85
Related quotes
So they go on in strange paradox, decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all-powerful to be impotent.
Winston ChurchillWinston Churchill quote #37 Without peace and without the overwhelming majority of people that believe in peace defending it, working for it, believing in it, security can never really be…
Hussein of JordanHussein of Jordan quote #39 Whenever you find that you are on the side of the majority, it is time to reform.
Samuel Langhorne ClemensSamuel Langhorne Clemens quote #127