Robert A. Dahl: Quotes about homeland

Robert A. Dahl was American political scientist. Explore interesting quotes on country.

Robert A. Dahl: 60 quotes1 like

“The experience of the democratic countries with the most advanced economies also tells us that no single pattern, or even a dominant one, has emerged; and what has emerged is a product of the special characteristics and the unique history of each country.”

After the Revolution? (1970; 1990), Ch. 3 : Democracy and Markets

“Even in a democratic country, it appears, nondemocratic forms of authority might sometimes be tolerable, perhaps actually desirable.”

After the Revolution? (1970; 1990), Ch. 1 : Three Criteria for Authority

“Does Madison's belief that separation of powers is necessary to prevent tyranny necessarily require a presidential system or even judicial review? As I pointed out, this reading makes Madison silly, or at least a casualty of historical developments, since almost all other democratic countries have rejected the first and some the second. Of course, like all others of his time Madison had to make judgments about constitutional arrangements with very little directly relevant historical experience to go on. Hindsight gives us the advantage of nearly two centuries of later experience, during which most of the stable democracies adopted a parliamentary system, only a few chose a presidential system, and none adopted the American presidential system.”

Foreword : Reflections on A Preface to Democratic Theory
A Preface to Democratic Theory (Expanded ed., 2006)

“If the Madisonian democratic republicans had been able to foresee the later experience with constitutions in democratic countries, including the experience of the United States, would they have made the choices they made in 1787? I very much doubt it.”

Foreword : Reflections on A Preface to Democratic Theory
A Preface to Democratic Theory (Expanded ed., 2006)

“I have stressed inequalities in wealth and incomes because they reveal how far this country falls short not only of an ideal but of an actual condition of equality that was taken for granted by democrats like Jefferson and Madison in the early years of the Republic. But there is another important reason for particularly stressing incomes. When we attempt to compensate for gross inequalities in incomes by means other than providing income itself, the result is likely to be a patchwork of irritating regulations enforced by bureaucratic agencies.”

After the Revolution? (1970; 1990), Ch. 4 : From Principles to Problems

“The democratic process in governing a country is not necessarily enhanced by democratizing subsidiary parts of the process.”

After the Revolution? (1970; 1990), Ch. 1 : Three Criteria for Authority

“Actual practices in the advanced democratic countries are, then, far too diverse and complex to be captured by ideologies.”

After the Revolution? (1970; 1990), Ch. 3 : Democracy and Markets

“Because intelligent choices of public policies require both technical understanding and sensitivity to the values involved, in modern democratic countries a form of specialized intellectual activity has evolved that tends to combine both aspects of policy.”

After the Revolution? (1970; 1990), Ch. 3 : Democracy and Markets

“It seems obvious, then, that the search for solutions to the problems generated by a predominantly privately owned market-oriented society has been and will continue to be a major element in the political agenda of every democratic country.”

After the Revolution? (1970; 1990), Ch. 3 : Democracy and Markets

“In doing so, socialist, labor, and social democratic parties contributed to -- though they were not the sole authors of -- the development of the mixed economies that exist in advanced countries today. If these mixed economies are a far cry from the centralized systems that were created in Eastern Europe under Leninist rulers, they are also very far from the classical liberal model of a self-regulating market economy. If we look to the most advanced economies for guidance, then we should not allow ourselves to be misled by dogma about "free markets."”

After the Revolution? (1970; 1990), Ch. 3 : Democracy and Markets