Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
Churchill suggests that brief interactions with average voters reveal flaws in democratic decision-making.
In plain terms
Talking to normal voters for five minutes shows why democracy might be a bad idea.
What can you take from it?
Public opinion can appear uninformed when viewed through a critical lens.

Where it applies

  • political debates
  • civic education
  • policy analysis

Putting it to work

  • analyzing voters
  • writing essays
  • campaign strategy

Questions to consider

  • Is the average voter informed enough?
  • What limits democracy?

Another view

It assumes average voters lack intelligence without evidence.

More from Winston Churchill

  1. The ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, next year. And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn't happen.

    Permalink to quote #160
  2. Variant: The best argument against democracy is a five-minute talk with the average voter.

    Permalink to quote #162
  3. Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm.

    Permalink to quote #159

Related quotes

  1. Decision by majorities is as much an expedient as lighting by gas.

    William Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart Gladstone quote #2
  2. Where there is little or no public opinion, there is likely to be bad government, which sooner or later becomes autocratic government.

    William Lyon Mackenzie KingWilliam Lyon Mackenzie King quote #6
  3. It is a truism, of course, that in 'democratic' states the populace must be encouraged to imagine that it makes important decisions by voting, and must therefo…

    Revilo P. OliverRevilo P. Oliver quote #6