“The theory of democratic government is not that the will of the people is always right, but rather that normal human beings of average intelligence will, if given a chance, learn the right and best course by bitter experience.”

Source: The Negro (1915), Ch. XI: The Negro in the United States

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The theory of democratic government is not that the will of the people is always right, but rather that normal human be…" by W.E.B. Du Bois?

W.E.B. Du Bois62

American sociologist, historian, activist and writer 1868–1963

Related quotes

“Democratical States must always feel before they can see: it is this that makes their Governments slow, but the people will be right at last.”

George Washington (1732–1799) first President of the United States

Letter to the Marquis de Lafayette (25 July 1785)
1780s

“Human beings can always be relied upon to assert, with vigor, their God-given right to be stupid.”

Dean Koontz book Seize the Night

Seize the Night (1999)

“There is no such thing as an average human being. If you have a normal brain, you are superior.”

Ben Carson (1951) 17th and current United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; American neurosurgeon

“There are some things that no amount of pure intelligence can anticipate, but which can only be learned by bitter experience.”

Arthur C. Clarke book The Road to the Sea

The Road to the Sea, p. 284
2000s and posthumous publications, The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke (2001)

“About the nature of human beings. I discovered that confronted by temptation, we will always fall. Given the right circumstances, every human being on this earth would be willing to commit evil.”

Paulo Coelho book The Devil and Miss Prym

Source: The Devil and Miss Prym

“The Independent Expert is persuaded that recognition of peace as a human right will promote a democratic and equitable international order and that national and international democratization will reduce conflict, since peoples want peace. It is Governments that stumble into war.”

Alfred de Zayas (1947) American United Nations official

2013 <br class="br">Source: United Nations General Assembly - Promotion of a democratic and equitable international order http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/IntOrder/A-68-284_en.pdf.