...as a general rule states are better governed by the man in the street than by intellectuals. These are the sort of people who want to appear wiser than the laws, who want to get their own way in every general discussion because they feel that they cannot show off their intelligence in matters of greater importance, and who, as result, very often bring ruin on their country. But the other kind - the people who are not so confident in their own intelligence - are prepared to admit that the laws are wiser than they are...
-Thucydides,History of the Peloponnesian War, Speech of Cleon
Came across the quote in Buchanan's Better than Plowing and Other Personal Essays
No comments:
Post a Comment