“Government will always be conducted for the benefit of those who govern. If the few alone govern, the interests of the few only will be provided for; if the people themselves have a share in the government, the interests of the many will be consulted.”

— John Russell, 1st Earl Russell

Source: Essays and Sketches of Life and Character (1820), p. 136

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Dec. 7, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Government will always be conducted for the benefit of those who govern. If the few alone govern, the interests of the …" by John Russell, 1st Earl Russell?

John Russell, 1st Earl Russell 14

leading Whig and Liberal politician who served as Prime Min… 1792–1878

Related quotes

“In all history there is no war which was not hatched by the governments, the governments alone, independent of the interests of the people, to whom war is always pernicious even when successful.”

Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) Russian writer

Christianity and Patriotism (1895), as translated in The Novels and Other Works of Lyof N. Tolstoï, Vol. 20, p. 44
Context: In all history there is no war which was not hatched by the governments, the governments alone, independent of the interests of the people, to whom war is always pernicious even when successful.
The government assures the people that they are in danger from the invasion of another nation, or from foes in their midst, and that the only way to escape this danger is by the slavish obedience of the people to their government. This fact is seen most prominently during revolutions and dictatorships, but it exists always and everywhere that the power of the government exists. Every government explains its existence, and justifies its deeds of violence, by the argument that if it did not exist the condition of things would be very much worse. After assuring the people of its danger the government subordinates it to control, and when in this condition compels it to attack some other nation. And thus the assurance of the government is corroborated in the eyes of the people, as to the danger of attack from other nations.

“The greatest punishment for those who are not interested in politics is that they are governed by people who are.”

Arnold Toynbee (1852–1883) British economic historian

Alleged source is unkown. There are very few references to this quote in the internet, but early quotes can be found on twitter Tweet from 2010 https://twitter.com/karow55/status/24586690041. Brazillian writer Rodrigo Constantino cited it in the book "Prisioneiros da liberdade‎", page 157, without giving any further references. It may very well be a misquote from Plato's Republic Book 1, 347-C: "Good men are unwilling to rule, either for money's sake or for honour.... So they must be forced to consent under threat of penalty.... The heaviest penalty for declining to rule is to be ruled by someone inferior to yourself."
Disputed

“The national government belongs to the whole American people, and where the whole American people are interested, that interest can be guarded effectively only by the national government.”

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, 26th president of the United States

1910s, The New Nationalism (1910)
Context: I do not ask for overcentralization; but I do ask that we work in a spirit of broad and far-reaching nationalism when we work for what concerns our people as a whole. We are all Americans. Our common interests are as broad as the continent. I speak to you here in Kansas exactly as I would speak in New York or Georgia, for the most vital problems are those which affect us all alike. The national government belongs to the whole American people, and where the whole American people are interested, that interest can be guarded effectively only by the national government. The betterment which we seek must be accomplished, I believe, mainly through the national government.