“We have moved from an age in which government leaders sought to do what was best for the people to one in which the political leadership is convinced it knows what is best for the people, whether they like it or not.”

— Ralph Peters

Source: 2000s, Beyond Terror: Strategy in a Changing World (2002), p. 133

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 "We have moved from an age in which government leaders sought to do what was best for the people to one in which the pol…" by Ralph Peters?

Ralph Peters 18

American military officer, writer, pundit 1952

Related quotes

“Go to the people. Live with them. Learn from them. Love them. Start with what they know. Build with what they have. With the best leaders when the work is done, the task accomplished, the people will say, "We have done this ourselves.”

Laozi (-604) semi-legendary Chinese figure, attributed to the 6th century, regarded as the author of the Tao Te Ching and fou…

Only the final bold section is connected to Laozi (see Ch. 17 of Tao Te Ching above). The origin of the added first section is unclear.
Misattributed

“Free government is self-government. A government of the people by the people. The best government of this sort is that which the people think best.”

Walter Bagehot book The English Constitution

No. V, The House of Commons, p. 159
Cf the Gettysburg Address.
The English Constitution (1867)

“We must also remember that we did not win (2018 Malaysian general election) easily, and after becoming the government, we need to do what is best for the people. It is not impossible for us to lose the nation's leadership if we slack and repeat the mistakes of the past government.”

Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (1952) Malaysian politician

Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (2018) cited in " Wan Azizah reiterates plan to step down once Anwar becomes PM https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2018/09/412288/wan-azizah-reiterates-plan-step-down-once-anwar-becomes-pm" on New Straits Times, 17 September 2018

“[A] leader of a party knows their people best.”

Jacinda Ardern (1980) Prime Minister of New Zealand

Interview with Lisa Owen at Newshub Nation, 21 October 2017

“That is the best government which desires to make the people happy, and knows how to make them happy.”

Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay (1800–1859) British historian and Whig politician

Essay on Mitford's History of Greece (1824)

“"We the people" tell the government what to do, it doesn't tell us. "We the people" are the driver, the government is the car. And we decide where it should go, and by what route, and how fast. Almost all the world's constitutions are documents in which governments tell the people what their privileges are. Our Constitution is a document in which "We the people" tell the government what it is allowed to do. "We the people" are free.”

Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) American politician, 40th president of the United States (in office from 1981 to 1989)

1980s, Second term of office (1985–1989), Farewell Address (1989)

“When people have tried everything and have discovered that nothing works, they will tend to revert to what they know best—which will often be the tribe, the totem, or the taboo.”

Christopher Hitchens (1949–2011) British American author and journalist

“We ought to consider what is the end of government, before we determine which is the best form.”

John Adams (1735–1826) 2nd President of the United States

1770s, Thoughts on Government (1776)
Context: We ought to consider what is the end of government, before we determine which is the best form. Upon this point all speculative politicians will agree, that the happiness of society is the end of government, as all Divines and moral Philosophers will agree that the happiness of the individual is the end of man. From this principle it will follow, that the form of government which communicates ease, comfort, security, or, in one word, happiness, to the greatest number of persons, and in the greatest degree, is the best.

“I have always felt that the real purpose of government is to enhance the lives of people and that a leader can best do that by restraining government in most cases instead of enlarging it at every opportunity.”

Gerald Ford (1913–2006) American politician, 38th President of the United States (in office from 1974 to 1977)

A Time to Heal (1979)
1970s

“If I had to choose one which best characterized the condition of being a political leader in Athens, the word would be "tension."”

Moses I. Finley (1912–1986) American historian

Source: Democracy Ancient And Modern (Second Edition) (1985), Chapter 2, Athenian Demagogues, p. 60

“We have moved from an age in which government leaders sought to do what was best for the people to one in which the political leadership is convinced it knows what is best for the people, whether they like it or not.”

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Ralph Peters 18

Related quotes

Related topics