You may talk of the tyranny of Nero and Tiberius; but the real tyranny is the tyranny of your next-door neighbor... Public opinion is a permeating influence, and it exacts obedience to itself; it requires us to think other men's thoughts, to speak other men's words, to follow other men's habits.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Social pressure from peers is a stronger tyranny than historical dictators.
- In plain terms
- Your neighbors control you more than kings ever did.
- What can you take from it?
- Public opinion enforces conformity strongly.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Whose thoughts are you thinking?
- How much do you conform?
Another view
Some social norms provide necessary order.
More from Walter Bagehot
A constitutional statesman is in general a man of common opinions and uncommon abilities.
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