Reed Fagan’s Reviews > Democracy in America > Status Update
Reed Fagan
is on page 201 of 920
Government of the Democracy in America.
"It is...difficult for the lower classes to discern the best means of attaining [what they] desire. [M]uch acquired knowledge [is] requisite to form a just estimate...of a single individual....The ppl have neither the time nor the means for an invstgtn of this kind. Their conclsns are hastily formed.... Hence it often happens that mountebanks...are able to please the ppl...."
— May 23, 2026 06:07PM
"It is...difficult for the lower classes to discern the best means of attaining [what they] desire. [M]uch acquired knowledge [is] requisite to form a just estimate...of a single individual....The ppl have neither the time nor the means for an invstgtn of this kind. Their conclsns are hastily formed.... Hence it often happens that mountebanks...are able to please the ppl...."
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Reed’s Previous Updates
Reed Fagan
is on page 270 of 920
The Unlimited Power of the Majority.
"Mr. Madison expresses...'it is of great importance in a republic...to guard one part of the society against the injustice of the other part. Justice is the end of government. It is the end of civil society.'
Jefferson also said: '...The tyranny of the legislature is really the danger most to be feared...The tyranny of the executive power will come...but at a more distant period.
— Jun 11, 2026 04:10PM
"Mr. Madison expresses...'it is of great importance in a republic...to guard one part of the society against the injustice of the other part. Justice is the end of government. It is the end of civil society.'
Jefferson also said: '...The tyranny of the legislature is really the danger most to be feared...The tyranny of the executive power will come...but at a more distant period.
Reed Fagan
is on page 265 of 920
The Unlimited Power of the Majority.
"The authority of a king is physical & controls the actions of men w/o subduing their will. But the majority possesses a power that is physical and moral at the same time... I know of no country in which there is so little independence of mind and real freedom of discussion as in America."-p. 263
T's observations are intriguing & call to mind "cancelling" ppl. He might be right.
— Jun 11, 2026 03:42PM
"The authority of a king is physical & controls the actions of men w/o subduing their will. But the majority possesses a power that is physical and moral at the same time... I know of no country in which there is so little independence of mind and real freedom of discussion as in America."-p. 263
T's observations are intriguing & call to mind "cancelling" ppl. He might be right.
Reed Fagan
is on page 253 of 920
Advantages of Democracy.
T gives democracy more backhanded compliments in the finish to this chapter. His most interesting point to me being that one of the hardest things about trying to strip democracy from a ppl who have already lived it, is not their love of freedom, but their habits of actively taking ownership of and acting on the improvement of their towns. Seems T thinks this alone could work against tyranny.
— Jun 09, 2026 10:56AM
T gives democracy more backhanded compliments in the finish to this chapter. His most interesting point to me being that one of the hardest things about trying to strip democracy from a ppl who have already lived it, is not their love of freedom, but their habits of actively taking ownership of and acting on the improvement of their towns. Seems T thinks this alone could work against tyranny.
Reed Fagan
is on page 244 of 920
Advantages of Democracy.
"The Idea of Rights in the US".
"After the general idea of virtue, I know no higher principle than that of right; or rather these two ideas are united in one. The idea of right is simply that of virtue introduced into the political world. It was the idea of right that enabled men to define anarchy and tyranny, and that taught them how to be independent w/o arrogance & to obey w/o servility."
— Jun 08, 2026 10:44AM
"The Idea of Rights in the US".
"After the general idea of virtue, I know no higher principle than that of right; or rather these two ideas are united in one. The idea of right is simply that of virtue introduced into the political world. It was the idea of right that enabled men to define anarchy and tyranny, and that taught them how to be independent w/o arrogance & to obey w/o servility."
Reed Fagan
is on page 244 of 920
One of the more "readable" sections was the last few pages. Be a good spot for a teenage reader to check out.
— Jun 07, 2026 01:58PM
Reed Fagan
is on page 237 of 920
Advantages of Democracy.
T ended the previous ch and begins this ch saying aristocracies avoid fads/whims and know how to govern better than democracies, but that democracies of a well-educated public can overcome these deficiencies over time and with experience. Also, T says aristocracies favor their own at the expense of the poor whereas democracies work for "the well-being of the greatest number". -p 238
— Jun 07, 2026 01:49PM
T ended the previous ch and begins this ch saying aristocracies avoid fads/whims and know how to govern better than democracies, but that democracies of a well-educated public can overcome these deficiencies over time and with experience. Also, T says aristocracies favor their own at the expense of the poor whereas democracies work for "the well-being of the greatest number". -p 238
Reed Fagan
is on page 206 of 920
Gov't of the Democracy in America.
"[Infrequent elections mean] the state is exposed to the perils of a revolution, [frequent elections mean,] to perpetual mutability; the former system threatens the very existence of the government, the latter prevents any steady and consistent policy. The Americans have preferred the second of these evils to the first.... Hence their legislation is strangely mutable."-p 206
— Jun 01, 2026 10:37AM
"[Infrequent elections mean] the state is exposed to the perils of a revolution, [frequent elections mean,] to perpetual mutability; the former system threatens the very existence of the government, the latter prevents any steady and consistent policy. The Americans have preferred the second of these evils to the first.... Hence their legislation is strangely mutable."-p 206
Reed Fagan
is on page 198 of 920
Political Associations in the US.
T thinks political associations (I think as granted by the freedom of assembly) are potentially threatening in that they can freely challenge the laws of the elected officials in Congress and even encourage the breaking of laws they dislike, but ultimately in a democracy they are not fatal to the government b/c they eventually inspire better representation or voting in new leaders.
— May 23, 2026 05:51PM
T thinks political associations (I think as granted by the freedom of assembly) are potentially threatening in that they can freely challenge the laws of the elected officials in Congress and even encourage the breaking of laws they dislike, but ultimately in a democracy they are not fatal to the government b/c they eventually inspire better representation or voting in new leaders.
Reed Fagan
is on page 191 of 920
Liberty of the Press in the US.
T has much to say re: a free press, stating a democracy must have it, but he also thinks thru it much b.s. gets espoused & thus it's inherently problematic. I dislike his tone but must say he's not wrong.
On p. 189 he elaborates on one of my favorite truths of human growth: order, disorder, re-order. Worth checking out.
— May 21, 2026 08:21PM
T has much to say re: a free press, stating a democracy must have it, but he also thinks thru it much b.s. gets espoused & thus it's inherently problematic. I dislike his tone but must say he's not wrong.
On p. 189 he elaborates on one of my favorite truths of human growth: order, disorder, re-order. Worth checking out.
