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· collected 2026-08-21 · by Les Rubin
A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government.
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democracy → exist → government
Those words are widely attributed to Alexander Tytler, the Scottish judge and historian who lived from 1747 to 1813.
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who → attribute → 1813
Historians and researchers have questioned whether Tytler actually wrote the passage in the form in which it is commonly quoted, whether he expressed a similar idea that was later expanded and attributed to him, or whether the passage originated elsewhere.
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passage → question → him
Here is the prophetic quote:
"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government.
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exist → exist → government
It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury.
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they → exist → treasury
From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship.
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democracy → vote → dictatorship
These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage.
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nations → progress → bondage
Look at the United States today and the pattern is hard to miss.
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pattern → look → States
This is exactly what is happening today.
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what → happen → ?
Our founders were statesmen who sacrificed much to create a system focused on the common good.
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who → sacrifice → good
They had businesses, farms, and families and they risked everything to build a limited government unlike any the world had seen.
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world → have → any
Today we are governed largely by professional politicians, many of whom have never signed the front of a paycheck or run a business.
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many → govern → business
Their careers are spent in government, and they are focused on re-election, promising voters increasingly more, but not paying for these programs.
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they → spend → programs
The late Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, a practicing physician, saw this coming.
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this → practice → Oklahoma
In his book The Debt Bomb, written fifteen years ago, he warned of the fiscal path we were on.
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we → write → path
The problems he described are here.
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he → describe → ?
Our federal debt is approaching $40 trillion and will cross that threshold soon.
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debt → approach → threshold
It has grown by roughly $3 trillion in the past year, even though the annual deficit is about $2 trillion.
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deficit → grow → year
Debt relative to the economy stands at about 125% of GDP, higher than after World War II when it peaked at 114%.
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it → stand → %
After the war, we exercised financial restraint with the debt growing at less than 1% per year for 20 years.
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debt → exercise → years
The economy tripled in size, the ratio declined to under 50%, everyone gained.
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everyone → triple → %
Now the trajectory points to a higher debt and a higher ratio.
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trajectory → point → debt
Current projections, which assume no new wars, recessions, or major programs, put the debt at $64 trillion in a decade.
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which → assume → decade
On top of that sit roughly $86 trillion in unfunded obligations for Social Security and Medicare, promises for which the money does not exist.
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money → sit → which
What are we doing to ourselves?
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we → do → ourselves
Have we lost our minds?
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we → lose → minds
Do we still have a basic understanding of economics and financial prudence?
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we → have → economics
A new wave of voices demands ever more expensive programs without a realistic plan to pay for them.
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wave → demand → them
"Tax the rich" they say.
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they → tax → rich
Every serious economist who has examined the numbers knows that approach cannot even close today’s deficits, let alone fund the additional spending proposed.
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approach → examine → spending
Reality requires growth-killing taxes on everyone if the spending continues to grow.
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spending → require → everyone
Limited government and financial responsibility produced the richest and strongest nation the world has known, delivering a standard of living that outpaced other Western countries.
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that → produce → countries
Do we want to follow their path of lower growth and lower living standards?
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we → want → growth
We must control spending if we want to keep growing and avoid going over the fiscal cliff.
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we → control → cliff
At the moment that is exactly where current policy is taking us.
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policy → take → us
They are also visible in a culture which demands more from government.
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which → demand → government
A free society depends on citizens who understand that rights come with responsibilities, that prosperity is created through work and innovation, not government programs.
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prosperity → depend → work
When a nation forgets those lessons, the government starts taking control of our lives.
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government → forget → lives
America has faced enormous challenges before and has always recovered when citizens returned to the principles of individual responsibility, economic freedom, and constitutional restraint.
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citizens → face → responsibility
The same nation that defeated tyranny, built the world’s most dynamic economy, and lifted millions out of poverty still can correct course.
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that → defeat → course
…and 6 more, not listed.
