Public opinion is the test of this polity; the best opinion which with its existing habits of deference, the nation will accept: if the free government goes by that opinion, it is a good government of its species; if it contravenes that opinion, it is a bad one.
Bagehot argues that public opinion is a crucial measure of a government's quality and legitimacy.
Share
More from Walter Bagehot
But the Jewish advantage never did so; beginning in religion, contrary to a thousand analogies, it remained religious.
Nothing promotes intellect like intellectual discussion, and nothing promotes intellectual discussion so much as government by discussion.
All savage religions are full of superstitions founded on luck.
One of the greatest pains to human nature is the pain of a new idea.
Other voices in this conversation
