Single Idea 5895

[catalogued under 24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 5. Democracy / f. Against democracy]

Full Idea

Can anything be more foolish than to suppose that those, whom individually one despises as illiterate mechanics, are worth anything collectively?

Gist of Idea

If one despises illiterate mechanics individually, they are not worth more collectively

Source

M. Tullius Cicero (Tusculan Disputations [c.44 BCE], V.xxxvi.104)

Book Reference

Cicero: 'Tusculan Disputations', ed/tr. King,J.E. [Harvard Loeb 1927], p.531


A Reaction

Aristotle disagrees (Idea 2823). In 1906 a huge number of people guessed the weight of a cow at a fair, and the average was within one pound of the truth. In our world the healthy workings of the group are warped by the mass media.

Related Idea

Idea 2823 The many may add up to something good, even if they are inferior as individuals [Aristotle]