"The test of a democracy is not whether the people vote, but whether the people rule"

[The following quote is taken from the newspaper article that inspired Gandhi so much, affecting the course of Indian history, as described in this post]

I have myself, for instance, been sternly rebuked of late for saying that what I wanted was not votes, but democracy. People spoke as if this were some sort of awful apostasy from the Liberal Position; whereas, it is a humble remark of exactly the same sort as saying that I want, not the Brighton express, but Brighton; not the Calais boat, but Calais; not a Polar Expedition, but the North Pole. The test of a democracy is not whether the people vote, but whether the people rule…Votes may be the most convenient way of achieving this effect; but votes are quite useless if they do not achieve it. And sometimes they do not.

-October 2, 1909, Illustrated London News