Truthseeker
12-31-2005, 06:56 PM
Since I started frequenting this site I have several times noticed a quote from an Alexander Tyler about how all democracies are doomed.
Here's something by Mike75:
Actually the flaw in democracy as Professor Alexander Tyler of Scotland put it was, "A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship."
I don't agree with this more importantly I made a startling discovery,
although Alexander Tyler has a very impressive resume the book was not written by him, in fact IT DOES NOT EXIST
here's something I've found and checked:
3. The quote from "Alexander Tyler" is very likely fictitious. His name was actually "Lord Woodhouselee, Alexander Fraser Tytler," and he was a Scottish historian/professor who wrote several books in the late 1700s and early 1800s.
However, there is no record of The Fall of the Athenian Republic or The Decline and Fall of the Athenian Republic in the Library of Congress, which has several other titles by Tytler. This quote has also been cited as being from Tytler's Universal History or from his Elements of General History, Ancient and Modern, books that do exist. These books seem the most likely source of the quote, as they contain extensive discussions of the political systems in historic civilizations, including Athens. Universal History was published after, and based upon, Elements of General History, which was a collection of Professor Tytler's lecture notes.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/tyler.asp
Further I dispute all the claims of this quote.
Athenian democracy was corrupt and weak in many respects, but the exact weakness mentioned refers to citizens voting themselves money,
can only occur in a centralized direct democracy. It does not apply to any form of representative government.
If anyone wants to dispute this refutation I invite the to do so here and I will calmly, and reasonably tear their arguments to shreds.
Here's something by Mike75:
Actually the flaw in democracy as Professor Alexander Tyler of Scotland put it was, "A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship."
I don't agree with this more importantly I made a startling discovery,
although Alexander Tyler has a very impressive resume the book was not written by him, in fact IT DOES NOT EXIST
here's something I've found and checked:
3. The quote from "Alexander Tyler" is very likely fictitious. His name was actually "Lord Woodhouselee, Alexander Fraser Tytler," and he was a Scottish historian/professor who wrote several books in the late 1700s and early 1800s.
However, there is no record of The Fall of the Athenian Republic or The Decline and Fall of the Athenian Republic in the Library of Congress, which has several other titles by Tytler. This quote has also been cited as being from Tytler's Universal History or from his Elements of General History, Ancient and Modern, books that do exist. These books seem the most likely source of the quote, as they contain extensive discussions of the political systems in historic civilizations, including Athens. Universal History was published after, and based upon, Elements of General History, which was a collection of Professor Tytler's lecture notes.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/tyler.asp
Further I dispute all the claims of this quote.
Athenian democracy was corrupt and weak in many respects, but the exact weakness mentioned refers to citizens voting themselves money,
can only occur in a centralized direct democracy. It does not apply to any form of representative government.
If anyone wants to dispute this refutation I invite the to do so here and I will calmly, and reasonably tear their arguments to shreds.