Walter Bagehot: “If everybody does what he thinks right, there will be 657 amendments…”

On the record

If everybody does what he thinks right, there will be 657 amendments to every motion, and none of them will be carried or the motion either.

Said by

Walter Bagehot

Source

Bagehot illustrates the chaos that would ensue if every member of Parliament acted solely on personal judgment.

More from Walter Bagehot

The Parliament, the laws, the press were human institutions; but the Monarchy was a Divine institution.

And, to the effectual maintenance of such a separation, the exclusion of the President's Ministers from the legislature is essential.

Thirdly, we see why so few nations have made rapid advance, and how many have become stationary.

They have given what I may call a CONFIDENCE IN THE UNIVERSE.

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Walter Bagehot: “If everybody does what he thinks right, there will be 657 amendments to every motion, and none of them will be carried…”